Kevan Jones, Member of Parliament for North Durham has welcomed proposed changes to the East Coast Mainline timetable which will see an hourly service operate from Chester-le-Street Railway Station.

Kevan said:

“For years we have campaigned for additional services for Chester-le-Street and I welcome the additional hourly services to Newcastle, Durham, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.

“Last year I raised this issue in Parliament, calling for changes to the timetable to provide more frequent and more reliable services for Chester-le-Street Railway Station.

“The proposed changes represent a significant increase in services for Chester-le-Street and this is good news for Chester-le-Street and for the wider area. I would encourage residents of Chester-le-Street to respond to the consultation and make the case that this is exactly what Chester-le-Street needs.

“This has been a long time coming, but it’s full steam ahead as far as many of my constituents are concerned. ”

Alex Nelson, from Nationalrail.com (former Stationmaster at Chester-le-Street Station) also welcomed the proposals from TransPennine Express.

Alex said:

“These proposals are to be welcomed for Chester-le-Street as they represent a significant increase in services North and South and finally provide an hourly service in each direction.

The consultation on proposed changes from May 2022 runs until 5 August 2021. Further information is available on the TransPennine Express website at https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/about-us/our-plan/east-coast-mainline-consultation