The mayor of York and North Yorkshire has been urged to help improve rail services in the county amid claims smaller stations are losing out as train companies prioritise connections to larger cities.
Passengers have reacted with fury to a decision by TransPennine Express to cut direct services from Northallerton to Liverpool and Newcastle.
A temporary service is being run between York and Newcastle, calling at Northallerton, at two-hour intervals by London North East Railways (LNER).
However, LNER has also announced plans to reduce the number of services calling at Northallerton from December 2025.
The proposal could see fewer direct trains to Peterborough, Newark and Doncaster from Northallerton and almost no direct trains to Edinburgh.
North Yorkshire Council executive member for highways and transportation Keane Duncan claimed Northallerton was being punished to allow for improvements to services in the North-East.
Calling on the mayor to lobby for services to be maintained in North Yorkshire, Cllr Duncan said: “This is grossly unfair and it’s no surprise that local people are outraged.
“Representations have been made to the Minister for Rail and Mayor Skaith has been urged to act, yet these pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
“I would once again call on the mayor to seek a reversal of these cuts. Northallerton deserves better than to be treated as an afterthought.”
Nina Smith, chair of the campaign group Railfuture’s Yorkshire branch, said the group would like to see two new hourly TransPennine services connecting the North-West and Newcastle, with one passing through towns including Northallerton and Thirsk.
Describing the rail services in the two towns as “absolutely dreadful” and worse than the 1930s, she said: “We have an over-crowded railway and that creates congestion.
“The longer routes are being prioritised, making it very difficult for people from smaller towns such as Thirsk and Northallerton who want to use the trains to commute.”
The service cuts come as the Government announces plans to hand mayors the ability to determine when trains run and what routes they take, as well as have control of local railway stations.
The new powers were announced in December by the government in its English Devolution White Paper, although have not yet been approved by Parliament.
York and North Yorkshire deputy mayor, Cllr Pete Kilbane said the county needed an “affordable, reliable, and sustainable transport system that puts passengers first, reduces dependencies on the car and connects people to opportunity”.
He added: “In the long term, the best way to manage services stopping at and passing through Northallerton is to invest in the East Coast Mainline, in and around the town. The Combined Authority will continue to push for that investment.”
“The mayor is working closely with Transport for the North and leaders of North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council to protect and support train services in Northallerton and across our region.”
Local councillors, passengers and the town council have criticised the reduction in rail services at Northallerton, which TransPennine said were caused by the “complex nature of the timetabling process” and the changes to timetables of several different train companies.
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