Repeated cancellations and inconsistent rail services at Chester-le-Street station is causing ‘chaos’ for passengers, locals have argued. 

On Thursday, just two out of 18 planned TransPennine Express services stopped at the County Durham station, with all others cancelled overnight by the operator. Performance improved on Friday, with only a few cancellations throughout the day, but locals have started to lose faith. 

The operator runs intercity services between Scotland and the north of England, stopping at Darlington, Durham and Chester-le-Street among others in the region. But cancellations and delays have been widespread for several months, leading it to be taken under Government control in May. 

Rail operator Northern also stops at the station, but it is the TransPennine services which are more popular with commuters and day trippers alike.

One passenger who previously relied on TransPennine’s fast links around the region has now given up. She said: “I’ve got Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), so it’s easier for me to get the train than it is the bus with loads of people. But I sat there one day for three hours and no trains came. 

“It’s impossible to get a train anymore, so I don’t even bother looking at the timetable, I just get the bus. If the train was there I know I would be able to travel to Newcastle at least four times a week, but I just can’t.” 

TransPennine Express said its Chester-le-Street services were cancelled on Thursday due to driver availability and pre-planned cancellations.

The Northern Echo: Passengers at Chester-le-Street station heavily rely on Transpennine Express services for their commutes and long distance travel Passengers at Chester-le-Street station heavily rely on Transpennine Express services for their commutes and long distance travel (Image: The Northern Echo)

Thomas Philip Young, a taxi driver in Chester-le-Street, has noticed an uptake in jobs near the station due to the repeat cancellations. He added: “I’ve noticed over the last couple of months I’ve had more people walking down from the station to get a taxi from the Morrison’s taxi rank because the train hasn’t arrived or it didn’t stop. I’ve had more jobs because of the station - it’s garbage. 

“I’ve heard that on the morning train it’s squashed up with people and you can’t get a seat.”

Local Labour MP Kevan Jones argued passengers who use the station are being ignored. 

He added: “Commuters from Chester-le-Street have put up with this poor service for too long. Transpennine needs to explain why it is that they are withdrawing these services at short notice, causing chaos for those who rely on it. 

“I have written to TransPennine to ask for a public meeting so theory can understand the anger there is among the public.” 

The Northern Echo: Services to Newcastle from Chester-le-Street on Thursday were hit by repeated cancellationsServices to Newcastle from Chester-le-Street on Thursday were hit by repeated cancellations (Image: The Northern Echo)

The Northern Echo:

Responding to the criticism, Chris Jackson, interim managing director for TransPennine Express, said: “We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience and frustration that our customers are currently facing. We understand that the current service levels are not good enough, and we are committed to providing a stabilisation plan that will deliver the service that TPE customers expect and deserve.

“To achieve this, we are conducting a detailed review of TPE’s operations to identify any issues that we may have inherited. Our primary goals and my immediate priority are to restore performance as quickly as possible.

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"Some of the core challenges we face is that we have at least 5,000 outstanding training days for drivers which is a consequence of our operation being made very complicated over the years. In addition, only 50 per cent of TPE drivers are currently equipped to drive the trains and routes in their roster.

"Although these challenges cannot be resolved instantly, a rest-day working agreement would have the most significant and immediate impact on customers in the short term. However, we do not intend to rely on this solution in the long term."

“Again, I’d like to apologise to our customers and strongly urge them to check their journey before they travel.”