Service Updates
On this page you can find information about the latest bus and rail services being introduced in the region, as well as disruptions to services and contact information about service providers.
On this page you can find information about the latest bus and rail services being introduced in the region, as well as disruptions to services and contact information about service providers.
Single bus fares are currently capped at no more than £3.
The cap means no single bus fare on routes included in the scheme will exceed £3. Routes where fares are less than £3 will only be allowed to increase by inflation in the normal way meaning that some fares will remain below the cap.
A list of bus companies and bus routes in Tees Valley which are included in the scheme can be found here – £3 national bus fare cap – GOV.UK
TVCA currently support various services across the network through our Local Authority Bus Grant allocation. To make sure this funding is spent in the most effective way, in collaboration with local bus operators, local authority officers, Transport Committee and Cabinet members, we recently reviewed our supported bus network. This review included assessing the current network, alongside various proposed additional enhancements where areas would benefit from improved connectivity.
Following approval by Cabinet in March 2026, we can confirm that the following contracts/ services will be in place until at least March 2028. Please note that TVCA will work with the relevant operators to share the updated route and timetable information, with updates provided to this page as soon as available:
In addition to agreeing to continue the above supported service contracts, TVCA have secured additional new services across the region that will be introduced from September 2026. These services are identified as below:
In addition to the above services, extensions have also been put in place for the below routes to secure provision until at least March 2027:
In STOCKTON TOWN CENTRE, MOST BUS SERVICES will be diverted and use different stops from 1800 on Thursday 30 July until 1800 on Monday 3 August 2026. This is due to the closure of much of the High Street to facilitate the Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) 2026. Separate arrangements will apply between 1315 and 1515 on Sunday 2 August, when more extensive closures will be in place for the Community Carnival. Please ensure that you check the correct column in the information below.
From Sunday 14th December 2025, new timetables will be implemented for all the train operators that serve the Tees Valley and some of these will involve changes to existing service patterns and timings. Detailed information about these changes, including all the new timetables and summaries of the impacts at some key stations, can be found on the dedicated website as follows: https://ecmltimetable.info/
Due to urgent repairs to the footbridge, until further notice no Northern services in the Eastbound direction (towards Redcar/Saltburn) are able to call at South Bank station. To assist customers to complete their journey, a shuttle bus has been provided between Middlesbrough, South Bank & Redcar Central. Customers at South Bank travelling towards Saltburn should board the shuttle service and then connect at Redcar Central for Northern services towards Saltburn. Services in the Westbound direction (towards Middlesbrough) will continue to operate as normal at South Bank.
From Sunday 17th May 2026, there will be some minor changes to timetables in the Tees Valley. Following stakeholder feedback, Sunday connectivity between Whitby, Middlesbrough and the Durham Coast is being improved with the 15:42 and 18:41 services from Whitby now both running through to Newcastle via the Durham Coast. The other change relates to the 06:17 Darlington to Bishop Auckland service (Monday to Saturday) which will now depart at 06:19, with arrival times at stations along the route now two minutes later.
On Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th and Saturday 24th/Sunday 25th October due to engineering improvement work, there will be no Northern services between Middlesbrough and Saltburn. Trains will run as normal between Darlington/Bishop Auckland and Middlesbrough and replacement buses will be provided between Middlesbrough and Saltburn.
Please check the Northern website regularly for the very latest information: https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/check-before-you-travel
Due to the on-going Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), which is delivering major improvements to the rail network, primarily between York and Manchester, there may periodically be diversions or alterations to service provision and timings on the TPE routes to Teesside and through Darlington. For more information on the project and any associated TPE service implications, please regularly review the TRU website - https://thetrupgrade.co.uk/aboutus, as well as the TPE website below.
On Weekends between Saturday 4th July and Sunday 2nd August, due to engineering works all TPE services will be diverted via Todmorden and will not call at Huddersfield but will additionally call at Brighouse. On Saturdays the Teesside service will run between Redcar Central and Manchester Victoria only while on Sundays it will still run between Redcar Central and Manchester Airport. The TPE service via Darlington will still run between Newcastle and Liverpool Lime Street. Replacement buses will run between Huddersfield and Brighouse.
On Weekends between Saturday 8th and Sunday 23rd August, due to engineering works there will be no TPE trains between Leeds/Dewsbury and Huddersfield. Trains on the TPE Teesside route will run between Redcar Central and Dewsbury and TPE trains via Darlington will run between Newcastle and Leeds. TPE trains will run to the usual destinations west from Huddersfield. Buses will replace trains between Leeds and Huddersfield and between Dewsbury and Huddersfield.
From Monday 10th to Friday 14th August, due to engineering works there will be no route in/out of Manchester Victoria from the east. TPE services to/from Teesside and Darlington will start and terminate at Manchester Piccadilly during this period, and an amended timetable will be in operation.
On Weekends between Saturday 5th and Sunday 13th September, due to engineering works there will be no TPE trains between Leeds/Dewsbury and Huddersfield. Trains on the TPE Teesside route will run between Redcar Central and Dewsbury and TPE trains via Darlington will run between Newcastle and Leeds. TPE trains will run to the usual destinations west from Huddersfield. Buses will replace trains between Leeds and Huddersfield and between Dewsbury and Huddersfield.
From Saturday 19th September to Sunday 4th October, due to engineering works there will be no TPE calls at Huddersfield. TPE trains on the Newcastle<->Liverpool route, serving Darlington, will be diverted via Hebden Bridge. TPE trains on the Teesside route will also be diverted via Hebden Bridge, operating between Redcar Central and Manchester Victoria on all days except the Sunday when services will run between Redcar Central and Manchester Airport.
On Saturday 10th/Sunday 11th October, due to engineering works TPE trains on the Teesside route will operate York<->Redcar Central only and on the route serving Darlington will operate York<->Newcastle only. Trains will operate between Leeds and Manchester Victoria and replacement buses will run between York and Leeds.
On Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th October, due to engineering works TPE trains on the Teesside route will operate York<->Middlesbrough only. On the TPE route serving Darlington on the Saturday trains will run Newcastle<->Liverpool via Castleford and on the Sunday will run Newcastle<->Manchester Piccadilly.
On Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th and Saturday 24th/Sunday 25th October due to engineering improvement work, there will be no TPE services between Middlesbrough and Redcar Central/Saltburn. Services will start and terminate at Middlesbrough. Customers travelling between Middlesbrough and Redcar Central/Saltburn should use Northern replacement buses.
Please check the TPE website regularly for the very latest information: https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/planned-engineering-work
Due to on-going engineering works on the East Coast Main Line, there may occasionally be minor changes to service times at Darlington. Please regularly check the LNER website below for the latest information.
On Saturday 29th August, in readiness for major works on the East Coast Mainline the following day, a small number of LNER services at Darlington will start/terminate at different stations than normal.
On Sunday 30th August, as part of the East Coast Digital Investment Programme, there will be no LNER services between London King’s Cross and Peterborough. There will be a reduced LNER service, operating in both directions, between Scotland and Peterborough, serving Darlington. Customers travelling to or from Central London can take a rail replacement coach service between Peterborough and Bedford to connect with other operators' services to/from London St Pancras. Impacted journeys will be significantly longer than usual.
On Monday 31st August, as a result of the major works the previous day, a number of early morning LNER services at Darlington will be amended or cancelled. The 07.35 from Middlesbrough to London King’s Cross will also not run that morning.
On Sunday 13th September, LNER will be operating some additional services from Darlington for customers wishing to travel to the Great North Run in Newcastle.
On Saturday 19th/Sunday 20th, Saturday 26th/Sunday 27th September and Saturday 3rd/Sunday 4th October, due to major engineering works LNER trains to/from Scotland beyond Newcastle will be diverted via Carlisle. An approximate hourly LNER service will operate on this route via Carlisle and journey times will be extended by up to 2 hours. Other services between the North and London will start/terminate at Newcastle. Replacement buses will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh, calling at Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston and Dunbar.
Please check the LNER website regularly for the very latest information: https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/changes-to-train-times/
On Sunday 30th August, due to major works on the East Coast Mainline, no GC services will operate on the Sunderland <-> London King's Cross route in either direction, meaning that there will be no GC trains at either Hartlepool or Eaglescliffe that day.
Please check the Grand Central website regularly for the very latest information: https://www.grandcentralrail.com/travelling-with-gc/disruptions
Due to on-going staffing issues, there may be short-notice changes to CrossCountry trains serving Darlington, particularly at weekends. Please regularly check the CrossCountry website for the very latest information (https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/).
On Weekends between Saturday 8th August and Sunday 23rd August, due to engineering works there will be no XC trains running between Leeds and York. XC services between Plymouth and Edinburgh (serving Darlington) will now not call at Wakefield Westgate and Leeds but will call additionally at Doncaster. XC trains between Reading and Newcastle services will now only operate between Reading and Leeds via Wakefield Westgate and will not call at Doncaster. Connecting rail services will run between Leeds and York.
On Saturday 19th/Sunday 20th, Saturday 26th/Sunday 27th September and Saturday 3rd/Sunday 4th October, due to major engineering works no XC trains will run north of Newcastle. Replacement buses will operate between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed / Edinburgh.
For information relating to the impact of engineering works on CrossCountry services please check: https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-information/disruption/planned-engineering-work
For the very latest information please visit the following operator websites:
Northern - https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/service-updates
TransPennine Express - https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates
LNER - https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/travel-updates/
CrossCountry - https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-information/service-updates
Grand Central - https://www.grandcentralrail.com/travelling-with-gc/live-arrivals-and-departures
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