LNER to scrap Sunderland to London service

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has announced that it is to scrap its Sunderland to London service from December 2024.

The operator blamed the lack of passengers since the beginning of the service in 2015 for its removal from the timetable. This will mean that the 05.39 service to London will end as well as the 23.22 return service from London. LNER did confirm that the service will still operate between Newcastle and London.

It has based its decision on a report and consultation which it conducted in 2021. In the report, critics said that the removal of the service would have a detrimental effect on the local economy. They also criticised the timetabling of the service, commenting that it was unpopular with passengers.

The original service was introduced by the now defunct Virgin Trains East in 2015 and struggled to attract the passenger services to keep the service viable with competition from the local Metro services and other operators including a direct service operated by Great Central. They increased its Sunderland to London service frequency in 2022.

In its report, LNER said that limited track capacity on the East Coast Main Line and a lack of rolling stock available meant that it could not amend the timetable or increase the number of services.

A spokesperson for the operator said that fluctuating travel patterns had also played a part in the service’s cancellation, commenting, “The once daily services in each direction, outside of peak hours, typically see substantially fewer customers onboard as travel patterns have shifted in recent years from business to leisure.”

Sunderland’s train station recently underwent a £27 million pound refurbishment, including a new roof, refurbished southern entrance and platform-level upgrades. Sunderland City Council has further plans to increase capacity at the station by adding four tracks and four platforms to separate mainline and metro services and revamp the northern entrance.

LNER insisted that Sunderland would still be well served, adding: “LNER recognises the importance of rail services for passengers, and that the planned reduction from December 2024 may raise concerns for people affected.

“Sunderland will continue to have good connectivity with LNER services via Northern Trains and the Tyne and Wear Metro, as well as direct London services operated by Grand Central – in 2022 Grand Central increased its Sunderland-London services by one more service per day from five to six.”

@rwilcockrail