Town's train station has the highest rate of delays, as reported by TVCA

Nearly 40% of trains were reported late at the Tees Valley's station with the poorest punctuality. Yarm recorded the highest share of delayed services in the region, according to documents shared with the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) transport committee on Tuesday.

Data revealed that in January only 58% of trains stopping at Yarm arrived within three minutes of the timetable. Throughout the rest of 2025, punctuality rates ranged from 61% to 69%.

The committee noted that Transpennine Express services, which run long-distance routes via Leeds and Manchester, serve the station, presenting a significant performance risk. Despite delays, Yarm consistently had one of the lowest service cancellation rates, between 0.1% and 5.2% over the months of 2025.

Grand Central, operating trains to Hartlepool and Eaglescliffe, achieved just 61.1% of services on time or within three minutes. The route from Middlesbrough to Saltburn was highlighted as the best-performing in the area.

Alan Weston, TVCAs head of transport, explained that planned December timetable changes would increase train frequency but emphasized that reliability must improve. He described the three-minute punctuality target as challenging and noted that most delays likely fell within the four to ten-minute range, rather than being extreme.

The committee also received updates on the Teesflex on-demand bus service, operated by Stagecoach and subsidized by TVCA. Passenger numbers have been declining, from a peak of roughly 8,000 trips in early 2023 to fewer than 4,500 by summer 2025. Councillor Carl Quartermain asked about the causes of the decrease. Mr. Weston responded that the reasons were difficult to attribute and recommended comparing requested trips with completed journeys. Teesflex is scheduled to end in March, with discussions about its future planned shortly.

Author: Noah Whitman