POLITICIANS have joined together to oppose controversial plans to cut rail services at Darlington station.

A letter signed by the leaders of Darlington Borough Council’s various political groups – plus Darlington MP Peter Gibson and Sedgefield MP Paul Howell, whose constituencies cover the council area – has been sent to rail companies.

The letter calls for:

  • The current plans to be put on hold, enabling a fully co-ordinated public consultation to be carried out
  • Full and proper consideration to be given to the implications on all affected operators and passengers
  • No loss of existing connectivity and/or service frequencies for Darlington, no increase in journey times and no detriment to existing connections
  • More evenly spaced connections along the East Coast Main Line (ECML)

READ MORE: LNER responds to timetable concerns from Teesside leaders

An urgent industry commitment and plan to solving ECML capacity issues north of York, which are at the heart of this and have been well known for year.

Councillor Heather Scott, Leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “I have been clear from the outset: this council is strongly opposed to any loss of train services that impact on the ambition and connectivity of Darlington.

“Connectivity within the region and beyond is of the utmost importance and the need for good connecting services is critical. These proposed changes are detrimental to passengers and their ability to use the rail network to access jobs, education and leisure.

“The consultation that has been carried out on the proposed timetable changes so far has been complex to say the least, with four operators proposing changes to their timetables in four separate consultations. I’m not sure passengers will realise the impact, but people need to be at the forefront of rail services and we want to protect the services they rely on.

“Our letter is being sent to four train operators – LNER, TransPennine, Northern and Cross Country – at the same time. We look forward to their response.

"I am grateful for the support of colleagues from all sides of the council chamber, as well as that of our MPs.”

LNER said the changes have been made to manage greater passenger numbers at Durham compared to Darlington.

A spokeswoman said: “Darlington had two London trains per hour, and an average of 1,100 passengers to and from London each way. However, Durham had fewer LNER services and more passengers.

LNER's consultation on timetable changes closes on Thursday, August 5.

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