(22 Feb 2023, 9:50 pm)Jimmi wrote It depends what your use for the train service is really, if you want to travel between Bishop and Darlington Town Centre's then you're better off with the X1 when you factor in the times for walking to/from the stations, but if you're connecting with a Mainline service at Darlington, then you're better off with the train, it's also much quicker and more convenient to get to other areas along the line, for example on the first Saltburn bound train from Bishop Auckland on weekday mornings, you often get people who work on Aycliffe Industrial Estate and the UTC students alighting at Heighington Station.

Yeah totally agreed. It's also something that's been discussed on another forum lately but if you connected the ECML / Bishop Auckland lines together at Newton Aycliffe you could give a direct service upto Newcastle in around 40 minutes aswell from both places which would be a massive benefit.

It's a piss easy one to do aswell in comparison to other bonker ideas lately (Consett Line). It's the sort of connectivity the region needs, not to mention linking the work places at Aycliffe. It's bonkers the ECML just passes Newton Aycliffe the size of the place.

See:


It's a really underutilised line imo, could even open an extra station right in the heart of the town.