Here's when extra trains between Whitby and Middlesbrough will run from

For the first time in nearly 30 years, there will be an early morning commuter service from Whitby to James Cook Hospital and Middlesbrough, together with a later evening return service.

Leaving Whitby from Monday to Saturday throughout the year at 6.33am and arriving at Middlesbrough just before 8am, it will provide onward connections to Darlington, Northallerton, York, Leeds and Newcastle. And for the first time it will also be possible to get to London and back in a day.

The additional evening service will provide return connections from these places, departing from Middlesbrough at 8.43pm and returning from Whitby at 10.21pm, allowing an evening out in Whitby or to most stations along the Esk Valley.

Welcoming the new services, Esk Valley Community Rail Partnership Chairman Alan Williams said: "We have been lobbying for these services for many years and we are delighted that residents in Whitby and the Esk Valley will now enjoy an improved service."

Timetabling restrictions mean that at the moment all stations cannot be served, so the stopping pattern in the initial timetable is mainly based on current usage.

"We will be working with Northern to monitor passenger numbers during the first weeks and months of the new services to ensure that passengers gain maximum advantage," added Mr Williams.

The new services are the first stage in a plan to provide more trains in the middle of the day, but the Partnership warns that the services remain experimental, with the evening services funded for a limited period by Sirius Minerals, so it is still very much a case of "use them or lose them".