This weekend from tomorrow, Thursday, 6th until Sunday, 9th July, Northern is running extra services in connection with the Tall Ships Races being held at Hartlepool.

The Tall Ships Races were last held at Hartlepool in 2010. This weekend, as well as the ships, Hartlepool’s waterfront will host a spectacular display of music, art, dance, and song.

To cope with the thousands of expected, train operator Northern will operate 12 extra shuttle services each day between Darlington and Hartlepool, and add more carriages to the normal services.

The shuttle services will operate in the mornings from 9 am to 12 pm and then in the evenings from 5 pm until the end of service.

Northern is running 12 more shuttle services a day between Darlington and Hartlepool over the weekend and adding more carriages to existing services.

The highlight of the weekend will be on Sunday, 9th July when the ships will leave Hartlepool port and sail move out into the sea off the coast at Seaton Carew. The ships will be visible from many coastal locations as they travel north between 1 pm and 3 pm, with the official start time for the race at 4 pm.

Times of trains can be found on Northern’s timetable page at northernrailway.co.uk/travel/timetables

Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer these extra services and to be able support Tall Ships Races 2023.

“Services may be busy but and we are asking our customers to plan their journey ahead of time.”