Plea for Northern trains to stop at Seaburn until new Metros enter service

Residents in a Sunderland suburb are calling for mainline train services to stop at Seaburn Metro station for the rest of the year because locals are “constantly being failed by the Metro”.

Campaigners in Sunderland are pleading with regional transport bosses and Northern Trains to reach an agreement for some mainline trains to stop at Seaburn Metro station until new Tyne and Wear Metro trains enter service.

The call from opposition Liberal Democrats in Sunderland comes after Nexus bosses admitted that they hope new Metro trains will enter service by the end of 2024.

Councillors and campaigners say the Metro from Seaburn station can no longer be relied on and that occasional stopping rail services would give people another way to get to and from Sunderland and Newcastle city centres.

Commenting, Lib Dem spokesperson for Fulwell and Seaburn Miguel Smith said:

“It is an absolute kick in the teeth for passengers to be told just days after another ticket price hike that the desperately needed new Metro units won’t be entering service until the end of the year.

“We shouldn’t have to put up with another year of the Metro barely operating to a timetable. People just cannot rely that the service will get them where they need to be on time.

“That’s why I am urging the Government, regional transport bosses and the publicly-owned Northern Rail to stop making excuses and find a way for some services on the Middlesbrough to Newcastle line to start stopping at Seaburn Metro station.

“Northern have recently started running more frequent services on this route so it can’t be beyond the realms of possibility for a few of those trains to stop at Seaburn until the end of the year so local people can have another option to get to and from Sunderland and Newcastle instead of constantly being failed by the Metro.”