Northern has announced the running of a service along the Darlington line to raise money for charity on Sunday 22 February.
The occasion marks the first time the operator has run a service along a heritage rail line, with tickets on sale for the service, which will set off from Darlington station and complete a return trip along the Weardale Railway before heading back to Darlington, available now.
The event marks the first time Northern has run a service along a heritage line
© Northern
The railway first opened in 1847 and is now a popular tourist attraction, allowing visitors to travel on heritage trains along a 16-mile route between Bishop Auckland West and Stanhope in County Durham.
It was saved from administration in 2020 by The Auckland Project, which has since made a number of investments to fund essential repairs and infrastructure improvements.
Now, Northern plans to run a Class 158 train along the line, with the service stopping at a number of stations including Newton Aycliffe, Shildon, Bishop Auckland West and Stanhope.
The one-of-a-kind service, which is being run as a part of Railway 200, will see all proceeds donated to a pair of local charities; The Angel Trust, based in Bishop Auckland, and 123help4familys, based in Stanhope.
This weekend, the service will follow part of the route taken by the world’s first passenger train in 1825.
Jason Wade, a service delivery director at Northern, said:
This is a very rare opportunity for people to travel on a Northern train along the Weardale Railway and enjoy some stunning scenery.
There are a limited number of tickets, so if you’d like to join us on board please book now to avoid missing out.
It has taken a lot of hard work and planning to get to this point and I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered to help make this happen.
We’re really excited about this service, as it will be the first time Northern Trains has operated a passenger train on a heritage railway line and we have a chance to raise money for two fantastic local charities.
The service will depart from Darlington station at 09:46, calling at Newton Aycliffe (09:57), Shildon (10:01) and Bishop Auckland West (10:42), before travelling along the Weardale Railway and stopping at Stanhope (12:00). It will complete a trip along the full length of the heritage railway line, departing from Stanhope at 13:00 and calling at Bishop Auckland West (14:00) before returning to Stanhope. Finally, the service will depart from Stanhope at 15:50 and call at Bishop Auckland West (17:00) Shildon (17:22), Newton Aycliffe (17:31) and Darlington (17:44).
Tickets are available for 25 GBP from the Weardale Railway website.