(19 May 2014, 7:02 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote There is no doubt it is a success, but not sure the service is reaching its full potential.
Hopefully the allocation will help improve the service and lead it onto greater success.

I imagine the majority of passengers are from the Teesside area and possibly the southern fringes of Co Durham and maybe Darlington too.
If the likes of Marcus, AdamY or myself were to use it, there is the need for at least two more connections from Middlesbrough to get home (using different operators in a fragmented system).
That faff and the issues I mentioned previously are the things putting me off - particularly with a family in tow.

The Day Ranger I mentioned earlier coupled with a Family and Friends Railcard make the train (particularly the direct ones from Tyneside/Wearside) even more attractive.

The bus isn't ruled out, it just isn't as attractive as it could be

Yeah, if I were to use it I'd probably have to get up pretty early, then get on a 71 into Chester, perhaps an X21 to Newcastle to speed things up, then an X9/X10 all the way to Middlesbrough, then the X93 to Scarborough and back to Middlesbrough. I suppose instead of trailing all the way to Newcastle in order to get back (by this time I think it would be well into the afternoon) I would get an Arriva service to Durham then back to Chester on a 21. It would certainly be a long journey...

There are of course other ways