Mainline Services
The current regional operator Northern Rail provides an off-peak service of one train per hour, cut from a half-hourly service on 12 December 2005, between Sunderland and Newcastle in both directions, with many trains also running to the MetroCentre shopping centre, Hexham, Carlisle and Middlesbrough.
The service to Newcastle railway station is now considered an express service, calling only at Heworth, which is also served by the Metro, but the lines are segregated at this point. The former stopping service (which called at Seaburn, East Boldon and Brockley Whins) is now provided only by the Metro.
There was a Transpennine Express service to Liverpool Lime Street linking Sunderland to Manchester, Leeds, York, Darlington and Durham. This service was operated by Northern Spirit and subsequently Arriva Trains Northern from 1998, but the change of franchise holder to the First Keolis Group in December 2004 has resulted in the end of these services as Newcastle is now the full-time terminus for the route.
In January 2006, open-access operator Grand Central was granted permission to run three trains per day from Sunderland to London Kings Cross via Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe (for Middlesbrough), Northallerton, Thirsk and York. Grand Central began running services on 18 December 2007 and in 2009, Grand Central began running a fourth daily service to London.
Read more about this topic: Sunderland Station
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