³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

TransPennine Express has admitted further disruption to rail services is "not acceptable".

Cancellations on routes in the north-east of England will continue until the end of January, the firm has said.

A number of trains between Leeds and Edinburgh, stopping at Chester-le-Street, Durham, Darlington, Morpeth, and Newcastle have been cut.

Managing director Leo Goodwin said he was "truly sorry for the continued disruption to journeys".

"Our current performance is not acceptable and we are working hard to fix this," he said.

The timetable changes had been made to allow the introduction of new trains and for staff training but these have been delayed due to maintenance and infrastructure issues, the operator said.

Durham County councillor and board member Carl Marshall said passengers in the region had been "let down repeatedly".

"This feels like a further kick in the teeth," he said.

"TransPennine Express were supposed to be introducing new rolling stock by now, but instead they are cancelling a large number of services.

"They have had months to prepare for this and they gave us assurance after assurance that it would be seamless."

The cancellations follow similar disruption in December and are expected to continue until 24 January.

A £500m fleet of 44 new trains is promised to increase capacity by 80% on routes between Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh.