Thirsk to Newcastle valid routes

[mikeg]

Hi, As much as I've tried I can't get my head round the routeing guide. A question from someone waiting at Northallerton station about the timetable has made me wonder if Thirsk to Newcastle via Sunderland is valid. The passenger had boarded the 1030 GC service to Sunderland and was told to change at Northallerton.
This advice I know is correct for the fastest train as she could have caught the 1046 Middlesrough departure and changed at Northallerton and then she would have had a shorter wait. For some reason she seemed insistant that it was unfair that she had to wait so long. I told her that waiting for the service to Newcastle from Northallerton was in any case the fastest option, and that I wasn't sure that Sunderland was a valid route. But she wanted to know if she could have stayed on until Sunderland and changed there instead.

So my question: Is Thirsk to Newcastle via Sunderland a valid route and what are the valid routes for Thirsk to Newcastle?

Unfortunately the lady in question will likely never know unless she asked a member of railway staff further along the journey.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Absolutely valid. You can search for Thirsk to Newcastle on any search engine and add a "via Sunderland" and it will provide options.

TPE to Thornaby to connect with a Northern service is valid, as is GC to Sunderland and Metro or Northern to Newcastle.

However it will rarely be quicker to do so than the ECML, usually better to change at Northallerton and EC/TPE from there (if there isn't a direct TPE)

 

[mikeg]

Thanks for that!