Grand Central saves Eaglescliffe ticket office

It’s not the end of the line for Eaglescliffe ticket office, thanks to innovative collaboration between Grand Central and Northern.

Last month, long-standing independent ticket retailer Chester-le-Track announced it would cease trading from Eaglescliffe station on March 31 because of a fall in revenue and the rise in online ticket sales.

Today (Tuesday 3rd April) Grand Central announced the ticket office at Eaglescliffe would remain open to provide valued services for customers wishing to plan rail journeys and buy tickets in person.

Grand Central has worked with Eaglescliffe station operator Northern to secure the ticket office stays open and are now working to develop long term plans at Eaglescliffe.

The ticket office will be staffed by Grand Central from Tuesday 3rd April, operating between the hours of 06.55-18.20 Mondays, 07.05-18.20 Tuesday-Friday, 07.05-13.05 Saturdays and 09.30-19.10 on Sundays.

A former Chester-le-Track employee has now joined the Grand Central team, ensuring that local knowledge and ticket expertise is maintained. Grand Central existing volunteer station ambassadors will also provide customer information and advice at Eaglescliffe station on Sundays.

Eaglescliffe station serves 200,000 train passengers every year, and Grand Central runs five direct trains to London every day.

Grand Central Managing Director Richard McClean said: “This ticket office has been highly valued by its customers for many years and we’d like to thank Chester-le-Track’s staff for delivering such great support to passengers over the years.

“Following consultation with customers and local companies who prefer to plan train and journeys and buy tickets in person, we’re delighted to announce that the ticket office at Eaglescliffe will remain open.

“Our customers appreciate that personal service and people come from all over Teesside to catch Grand Central services from Eaglescliffe.

“We are committed to ensuring that our customers continue to receive a good experience when travelling from Eaglescliffe station and that includes full access to station facilities.

“We’ve collaborated closely with the station operator Northern and we are pleased that we have been able to work together to keep the ticket office open for the benefit of all passengers and the community.”

To find out more about Grand Central, please visit www.grandcentralrail.com, or follow the railway company on Twitter @GC_Rail, Facebook or LinkedIn.

---

Notes to editors:

Eaglescliffe station is served by five direct Grand Central service to London a day, and serves 200,000 passengers in total every year.

Grand Central Railway Company Limited is an established train operator which provides direct rail connections from towns and cities in Yorkshire and the North East England with London.

Established in 2007, Grand Central celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2017. Customer satisfaction levels are consistently high and the rail company has just been named Britain’s best value rail operator for the 5th year in a row.

Grand Central operates West Riding Services between Bradford Interchange, Low Moor, Halifax, Brighouse, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract Monkhill, Doncaster and London King’s Cross. The rail operator also operates North East services between Sunderland, Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk, York and London Kings Cross.

Grand Central is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe. Arriva employs more than 60,000 people and delivers over 2 billion passenger journeys across 14 European countries each year.

For further information, please contact:
Sarah Banks/Anna Hodgson
PR Account Director
0191 261 4250
GrandCentral@gardiner-richardson.com
sarahb@gardiner-richardson.com