(18 May 2014, 4:46 pm)aureolin wrote You pay a premium to travel by train though. Same goes for East Coast vs GNE's Angel from Durham to Newcastle. It'd take just over 10 mins on the train, but I'd pay twice as much for the privilege.

Pretty sure the Sunderland - Newcastle by rail stems from the old PTE days, when the Pacers were painted in PTE livery.

The Newcastle - Sunderland by rail was a concession as Sunderland did not have a rail-link at the time and, as a result, Tyne & Wear had a few more rail stations within its boundaries. I believe the old Tyne & Wear Traveltickets were valid on BR services to South Shields (and probably the North Tyne Loop) before it was converted for light-rail use.

While I don't necessarily believe either Carlisle or Berwick should be included within Explorer ticketing, it will be interesting to see what happens when Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, Durham & Tees Valley Councils combine to oversee public transport in this area. If this does come fruition, there might be an argument to extend local ticketing options to include local rail travel.