RAIL chiefs last night offered an olive branch to passengers after they vented their anger over plans to cut North-East train services.

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) conceded it had not consulted fully ahead of cuts to the Tees-Tyne direct rail link and said it was ready to talk to passenger groups opposing the move.

From May 23, the number of daily through trains linking Saltburn, Middlesbrough, Darlington and Newcastle will be reduced from 19 to four, forcing many regular users to change at Darlington.

The SRA aims to free up space for high-speed services operated by companies including GNER and Virgin Cross Country, which have hit bottlenecks on the congested East Coast Main Line.

Yesterday, hundreds of passengers at Darlington railway station protested by signing formal objections prepared by rail watchdog the North-East Rail Passengers Committee (RPC).

Clive Gossop, regional director of the group, said some passengers using the link could face waits of up to two hours if they missed their connection at Darlington.

He said: "Timetabling is done months in advance and it was only after the latest timetable was committed that the SRA went out to consultation.

"They may believe that this decision is for the greater good but if you take that view there will be no rural services left."

One passenger said: "I am disgusted at the way the Strategic Rail Authority treats passengers without any thought at a time when they should be encouraging people to use the trains."

Last night Pete Barnao, a spokesman for the SRA, said it would consider alternative proposals to the cuts and planned to talk further to the RPC and the five Tees Valley local councils.

He said: "We recognise that the level of consultation was not desirable and it is not something that we intend to be the norm, but we need to be able to act quickly when serious performance problems arise across the network."

He said the changes were proposed to offer the most reliable service to the maximum number of passengers.

"Trains running between Saltburn, Middlesbrough and Darlington are local through trains and as such are slower than GNER, Virgin and Transpennine Express services, but both use the same congested piece of track between Darlington and Newcastle," said Mr Barnao.

"Taking them off the high-speed route will mean several thousand passengers a day using the East Coast Main Line benefiting from quicker running times and more reliable timetables."

* Readers of The Northern Echo can complete the adjoining coupon and make their objection to the SRA.