Public transport users in County Durham to benefit from new joint rail and bus ticket

The ticket, which was launched last week, gives passengers unlimited all day travel on Northern rail services and Arriva buses between the two towns.

Nick Knox, Area Managing Director at Arriva Bus, said: “Our new Bishop Train and Bus Day Ranger gives customers greater flexibility in their travel, as will the extension to our services which, from 4 June, will see buses run from Bishop Auckland to Darlington until 11.27pm. Our customers will also benefit from improved vehicles as the ‘Sapphire’ standard buses have more comfortable seats, on-board Wi-Fi and charging points.”

Mike Paterson, Regional Director at Northern, added: “In the past six months we have increased our services to Bishop Auckland and, with the introduction of a new timetable this week, we have managed to coincide our trains with the shift patterns at the local Hitachi plant, making travel more convenient for workers.

“The new ticket reflects how Northern and Arriva Bus are working together to make public transport even more flexible and accessible for customers. This work will continue into the future as we gradually remove Pacers from the Bishop Auckland line and, by 2020, will have replaced them all with fully refurbished 156 units featuring free Wi-Fi and at-seat charging points.”

The new ticket comes at the perfect time for summer tourists with thousands expected to travel to the region to visit The Auckland Project and the annual Kynren festival – two of the biggest attractions in the north east. Visitors will now be able to travel to Bishop Auckland by train and return to hotels in Darlington on later Arriva buses.

Anne-Isabelle Daulon, CEO of Eleven Arches which organises Kynren, said: “All at Kynren welcome this new rail and bus link which is a fantastic addition to the vital transport infrastructure needed to support our ambition of bringing over half a million people to Bishop Auckland by 2020.

“It further creates the opportunity for more and more visitors to experience our epic tale of England and to celebrate 2,000 years of British history.”

David Maddan, CEO of The Auckland Project, said: “It’s fantastic to see Arriva and Northern recognise the growing popularity of Bishop Auckland and take steps to make it as easy as possible for visitors to enjoy everything that the town has to offer now and in the future.”

The improved links have also been praised by local MP Helen Goodman who attended the official launch. Helen said: “I have fought hard for better integration between our rail and bus networks to give people better access to Bishop Auckland. Now, with our public transport systems working better together, we’re going to see more people using our trains and buses to visit Bishop Auckland town centre and all it has to offer.”