AXE FALLS ON LONDON RAIL LINK

LNER has scrapped its Sunderland to London route because of , low passenger numbers and a lack of trains.

The train company has confirmed that the daily service from Sunderland to King’s Cross will stop in December this year.

The “difficult” decision was made following a consultation in 2021, which said the service had low passenger numbers since it was introduced by Virgin Trains East Coast in 2015.

Trains will still be available from Sunderland to London King’s Cross via Grand Central. Currently, the LNER service between the two cities departs from Sunderland at 5:39am, and a return train arrives back at 11:22pm – with critics saying that the unpopular journey times are the reason behind low passenger numbers.

The plans have sparked an outcry among the city’s political figures. Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson said she has written to LNER to express her “disappointment” with the decision, and confirmed via her Facebook page that she will be meeting with the company in the coming days along with other Sunderland MPs to “urge them to reconsider this short-sighted change”.

The MP’s letter to LNER read: “This change is wrong, unbalanced and short-sighted, not least with the recent redevelopment of Sunderland station.”

Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems on Sunderland City Council Councillor Heather Fagan said: “This is a bitter blow for the city. We need more direct train services to and from London, not fewer.”

A LNER spokesperson told the BBC: “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.”