Passengers hit out at train timetable changes

Durham will see a reduction in some services from December

Passengers have spoken of their disappointment at timetable changes which will reduce a city's direct rail services to Edinburgh and Peterborough.

Durham will lose almost half of its direct links to the Scottish capital from December, with only 17 trains calling at the city instead of the current 29, while journeys to Peterborough will drop to seven from 18 at present.

The majority of cut services are run by LNER - which said it had worked with the industry on the timetable, which will provide faster journeys and more seats.

But passengers said the changes were dramatic and Durham residents were being treated as "second-class citizens".

Andrew Rice commutes from Durham via Peterborough and said the shake-up, which will leave the city without a direct connection to the transport hub between 06:40 and 19:40, was "extremely frustrating".

"I'm very bitterly disappointed but not at all surprised," Mr Rice said.

The off-shore assessor said from December he would either travel via Grantham, or have to take four trains in total to reach his final destination in Lowestoft.

Andrew Rice said he was "bitterly disappointed" with the changes

"When you look at it, you think, come on, this is Durham, the capital city of the county, and we are literally being treated as second-class citizens," he said.

"It's literally concentrating on Edinburgh, Newcastle, London. Nobody else in between matters, we don't matter, we're just there.

"You can't even call that a service really."

LNER said the Durham to Peterborough route was one of its least travelled and the total journey time between Durham and Lowestoft would remain the same, even with an additional change in York.

The operator added the timetable change would bring 60,000 extra seats every week and nearly 10,000 extra services per year across the East Coast Main Line - the majority of those on services towards the North East.

45-minute gaps

The shake-up, which comes into effect from 14 December, will see 22 services departing Durham for London on a week day, up from 19 currently.

A key morning commuter service between Durham and Newcastle which was under threat has also been saved.

Matthew Foskett, who travels on it, said he was "really pleased" there would be an equivalent, but added the rest of the timetable was "pretty disappointing".

"There's still a reasonable number of trains, but in terms of the times heading in, there's regular gaps of over 45 minutes between arrivals in Newcastle from Durham, which isn't helpful," he said.

"This will really put people off using the train on a journey which could support Metro-like frequencies - maximum 30-minute gaps would be a start."

LNER said the 45-minute gap was "broadly in line with what already exists in the current timetable".

A spokesperson added: "We have worked closely with the industry to make sure that there is strong local and national connectivity as the East Coast Main Line timetable changes in December 2025.

"We recognise that the timetable changes may not satisfy everyone, however the planned changes will bring 60,000 additional seats on LNER services across its network per week, alongside close to 10,000 extra services per year.

"The new timetable will provide faster journeys and be of benefit to the greatest number of customers across the north."