I can't understand people on here banging on about a hub and spoke model with Sunderland having to use Newcastle as the hub and using the metro to connect. If the metro service went all the way to the Middlesbrough could work but it doesn't. On a match day, people are piling on the train at Hartlepool, Horden and then either rammed at Seaham or don't even stop. With the metro taking all the slots, on a match day I know lads from Seaham who have given up on the rail service as they can't rely on it as the metro service they can't use, stops additional trains.
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This is about airlines but the logic regarding point to point applies equally to rail networks and why the hub and spoke model is falling out of favour.