The station is managed by TransPennine Express and also served by Grand Central and London North Eastern Railway trains.

London North Eastern Railway, Lumo and CrossCountry express services pass through the station at speeds of up to 125 mph (200 km/h).

It joined the main line immediately north of the station and its trains used a bay at the northern end of the northbound island platform.

The old down passenger loop platform and Hawes bay were removed in the early 1970s and there is no direct route to the branch from the station as its junction faces north; trains must access it by means of a reversing siding off the northbound main line.

In plans published in 2020, Network Rail unveiled a proposal to provide two fast lines through the station and to move both platforms outwards with new loops.

Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, timetable posters, customer help points and automated announcements.

[8][9] The station is operated by TransPennine Express (TPE): on weekdays the company serves Northallerton with one train an hour each way during the daytime, with additional services in the morning and evening.

[16] The train completely left the tracks, but stayed upright and came to a halt 1,800 feet (550 m) north of where it hit the trailing points that caused the derailment.

The leading power car of the High Speed Train (E43110) had a seized front axle because of a gearbox failure and confusion over maintenance schedules and it caused an out of gauge wheelset that derailed on the points.