These are the bus routes across County Durham being saved after a local authority stepped in following a number of proposed cuts.

A number of Go North East services will continue to be operated by them, or another provider, ahead of service changes on Sunday (July 24).

It comes as a raft of bus services across the North East are set to be slashed from the weekend after the firm announced plans earlier this year.

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However, Durham County Council has listed the services being saved or amended after they intervened in the cancellation of some routes.

Full list of services saved after council involvement

- Part of the 25 service from Langley Park to Newcastle will be replaced by a new hourly 725 service between Langley Park and Chester-le-Street.

This will be operated by Weardale Motor Services. Go North East will continue to operate the Chester-le-Street to Newcastle section of the 25 service, now hourly.

- Service 28/28A between Chester-le-Street and Newcastle will be replaced by new services 28/29.

This will see two buses per hour reinstated between Chester-le-Street and Ouston via Pelton Fell, Grange Villa and Beamish which existed before September 2021.

- Service 28 will continue via Birtley to Gateshead and Newcastle while service 29 will operate to Newcastle via Kibblesworth.

The evening service will remain as now, with service 28B running via Birtley and Kibblesworth.

- Service 30 between Stanley to Quaking House and 31 East Stanley to Stanley will now be operated by JH Travel. The timetables will remain the same.

- Go North East service 61 will be extended from Murton to Peterlee via South Hetton, partially replacing links previously served by service 62.

- Service 62A between Easington Village and Peterlee via Easington Colliery and Horden will now run as service 208, at slightly different times.

- The X62 service between Peterlee and Durham City will continue to operate unchanged.

You can read the extensive list of Go North East services being saved and cut by clicking here.

A number of early morning and evening buses that were to have stopped running will now restart to operate.

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On school days, JH Coaches will take over service 890 to Park View School's North Lodge site and a new 874 service from Sacriston to Hermitage Academy.

Stanley Travel will operate service 808 from Castleside to Consett Academy and 836 from Burnopfield to Tanfield School.

Except where noted, the services remain operated by Go North East.

What Durham County Council has said

The council has said that posters are currently being put up at about 1,300 bus stops in County Durham ready for the changes coming into effect on July 24.

It said that such changes have been agreed through a combination of negotiated contracts with Go North East and tendered contracts, which have been won by Go North East and other operators.

It also said that where another operator has won the contract, fares will be in line with those charged by Go North East, including the increase in some fares that will apply from 24 July.

As a result, almost all fares will remain below the level that applied from 2019 until summer 2021.

Councillor Elizabeth Scott, cabinet member for economy and partnerships at Durham County Council, said: "We understand that a sustainable travel network is vital for County Durham and the wider North East. It allows residents to access employment, education and other essential services daily.

"Cabinet has already agreed that savings from the reduced use of concessionary bus passes can be used to enable more services to be rescued, with funding from the council."

"We continue to work with transport providers to offer the best services possible. While we appreciate that change is often unsettling, we have done our utmost to ensure that alternative provision is in place for our residents wherever possible."

What Go North East said

A spokesperson for Go North East previously said: “The number of people returning to places of work and needing to travel has and continues to change as a result of the pandemic, affecting both the demand for our services, and where and when we see congestion on our road network.

“In May, we held a customer consultation, which attracted almost 9,000 responses.

“This feedback has helped to shape our revised network, with some changes made to the original proposals, including many lifeline bus services being saved, such as services 25, 28/28A, 29, 30/31 and 82, following thorough discussions with local authorities.

You can read the extensive list of Go North East services being saved and cut by clicking here.

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