Arriva Trains Northern has handed a much needed boost to weary passengers as it prepares to get its timetable back on track.

The under-pressure train operator is set to restore the vast majority of its services by the end of the month in a move welcomed by passenger groups.

It will run 97 per cent of timetabled services by Monday February 25.

ATN was forced by the Strategic Rail Authority to agree to a stripped down winter timetable last October because of a chronic driver shortage.

This led to hundreds of trains being cancelled and replaced by buses on routes such as Newcastle-Darlington-Middlesbrough-Saltburn and Thirsk-Northallerton.

The short-term measure allowed the company to address the shortages through a huge driver recruitment and training programme aimed at plugging the gaps in its network.

By the end of this year 290 drivers will be in place to help run Arriva's 1,600 daily services.

Ray Price, managing director of ATN, said: "With more and more drivers completing their training programme we have been able to meet our target date and keep our promise to restore the vast majority of services by the end of February."

He wished to thank passengers for their patience and reassure them that ATN was "committed to delivering robust train services."

All local services in the North-East will be restored, although a handful on the Trans-Pennine Express will remain suspended until June 2.

Arriva has had to meet stringent driver targets imposed on the company by the SRA or face financial penalty.

It still has the threat of a £2m fine from the authority hanging over its head as a result of not being able to run a full timetable.

The SRA said that consultations with passenger groups and stakeholders over whether to imposed the fine had taken longer than it expected and it hoped to make an announcement soon.

Spokesman Gavin Bostock said: "We've had some quite complicated responses and are still examining these.

"We do though welcome ATN restoring the bulk of the timetable by the end of February."