91-558: The Durham Coast Line is an approximately 39.5-mile (63.6 km) railway line running between Newcastle and Middlesbrough in North East England . Heavy rail passenger services, predominantly operated Northern Trains , and some freight services operate over the whole length of the line; it provides an important diversionary route at times when the East Coast Main Line is closed. Light rail services of
182-698: A 21-year lease on it in 1844 which became permanent in 1851. The two companies were then formally amalgamated together and with the West Hartlepool Harbour & Dock Company on 17 May 1853, to form the West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway . Meanwhile, as part of its expansion, Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway had taken over the BJR on 1 September 1844, and then purchased the D&;SR in 1846. Following its amalgamation with
273-625: A further £34 million of UK Government funding for the project in January 2021 enables the necessary land to be purchased, detailed designs to be prepared and some early preparatory and site works to begin. In January 2021, it was anticipated that the UK Government would fund the remainder of the project cost, estimated at £166 million as of January 2021, once the final phase of design works were completed. However, in April 2021, it
364-530: A half-hourly service to Edinburgh. One service is also provided each evening Monday - Friday from Newcastle to Sunderland . Rolling stock used: Class 800 , Class 801 Early-morning service, the Flying Scotsman is operated by LNER, it originates at Edinburgh Waverley, and terminates at London King's Cross. It calls at Newcastle only between these two stations, and arrives at London King's Cross at 09.40. As of 2024, no corresponding northbound service
455-656: A major redevelopment, including an £8.6 million project to regenerate the inside of the station, and a further £11.4 million to develop the area surrounding the station. The portico redevelopment was completed in April 2014. The redevelopment plans contained a number of changes, including: Billingham-on-Tees railway station Billingham is a railway station on the Durham Coast Line , which runs between Newcastle and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool . The station, situated 10 miles 8 chains (16.3 km) north-west of Middlesbrough, serves
546-662: A new station at Horden , approximately 200 yards (180 m) north of the site earlier (1905–1964) station. This included £4.4 million from the second round of the Department for Transport's New Stations Fund and additional contributions from Durham County Council and the North East Combined Authority . After some delay, the new Horden station opened on 29 June 2020. As of the December 2019 change, Northern Trains run an hourly service along
637-469: A number of commuter and regional services : Rolling stock used: Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units Open-access operator Lumo provides services northbound to Morpeth and Edinburgh Waverley, and southbound to Stevenage and London Kings Cross. Rolling stock used: Class 803 Proposals to reintroduce passenger rail services between Newcastle Central Station and the communities of south east Northumberland have been discussed since
728-526: Is a railway station in Newcastle , Tyne and Wear , England , United Kingdom . It is located on the East Coast Main Line , around 268 miles (432 km) north of London King's Cross . It is the primary national rail station serving Newcastle upon Tyne and is an interchange for local services provided by the Tyne and Wear Metro network whose Central Station is situated beneath the national rail station. It
819-623: Is also on the Durham Coast Line which provides commuter connections to Gateshead , Sunderland , Hartlepool , Stockton , and Middlesbrough . Additionally, the station is served by the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham and Carlisle . Direct destinations from the station include London , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Glasgow , Manchester , Liverpool , Leeds , Durham , York , Darlington , Bristol , Reading , Birmingham , Derby and Plymouth . The station opened in August 1850, as part of
910-491: Is anticipated that the main construction phase might begin as early as June 2022, enabling an opening date in 2024. The station currently has 11 operational platforms. The former Platform 12 was mainly used by CrossCountry services terminating at Newcastle. It was closed in May 2023 to allow track and signalling modifications which enabled longer trains to occupy the adjacent platform 11. Plans were revealed on 30 April 2013 for
1001-628: Is provided. Rolling stock used: Class 800, Class 801 CrossCountry operates services north into Scotland, supplementing London North Eastern Railway services, and southbound there are two trains per hour to the CrossCountry hub at Birmingham New Street , from where they extend towards the South West and South Coast. Rolling stock used: Class 220 , Class 221 Newcastle is a terminus for TransPennine Express services to and from Manchester and also sees services from Liverpool call at
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#17327727168501092-478: Is still on display. The early history of the locomotive is uncertain; it is probably a George Stephenson locomotive, and was probably built at Killingworth Colliery workshops around 1815–1820. In 1900 the North Eastern Railway started replacing the gas lighting in the station with electric arc equipment. Further use of electricity came from 1904 when several suburban lines were electrified using
1183-516: Is the busiest station in Tyne & Wear, as well as the busiest in North East England . The main line serving the station is the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh via Berwick and Newcastle . TransPennine Express maintains a frequent service to Liverpool and Manchester , and CrossCountry provides services to the West Midlands and South West of England. The station
1274-604: Is well-nigh veiled in the mists of antiquity, and it was only by diligent enquiry that Mr Holliday, the Station Master, was able to learn a little of her antecedents. That "she" was constructed as far back as 1824 – 1826 is however certain, and on that score alone she is entitled to an introduction to such of the readers of the Railway Magazine as have until now been unaware of her existence. For about fifty-five years (until 1879) she performed good service, first at
1365-811: The Beeching Report only recommended the closure of the remaining three intermediate stations between West Hartlepool and Seaham . This occurred on 4 May 1964, when stopping passenger services along this section of the line were withdrawn. Elsewhere, the Newcastle—Pelaw—South Shields route was de-electrified in January 1963 and, later, stopping passenger services on this route, and the wider DCL north of Sunderland, were downgraded to Paytrain services, resulting in most intermediate stations becoming unmanned from 5 October 1969. Despite this apparent degradation of passenger services, British Rail did implement some improvements during this period, including
1456-592: The City of Durham . However competition from other railways meant that the H&;DR main line only reached as far as Haswell and most of its branches were either cut short or left unbuilt; the curtailed line opened for mineral traffic on 23 November 1835 and passengers four years later. The Durham & Sunderland Railway opened to both passenger and mineral traffic between Sunderland Town Moor , and collieries at Hetton-le-Hole and Haswell in 1836, competing directly with
1547-726: The Durham Coalfield to the River Tees at North Shore (in Stockton ), and Port Clarence . Despite major financial difficulties, this line was opened to mineral traffic in 1833, but did not carry passengers until July 1835, when a service was introduced between Coxhoe and Stockton (Clarence). The opening of the Clarence was closely followed by the Hartlepool Dock & Railway , a similar concern, intended to link
1638-639: The Far North of Scotland for the North Sea gas and oil industry . Spent nuclear rods are also railed out for re-processing at Sellafield from Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station . Cement is delivered to Seaham Docks, and scrap metal is forwarded from Stockton on Tees to Celsa EAF works in Cardiff . Tyne Dock has a trailing connection to the Durham Coast Line in both directions, near to
1729-766: The Great North of England Railway , the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway became the York & Newcastle Railway , and took out a lease on the HD&;R before both became part of the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway under an Act of 22 July 1848. Finally, in 1854, the YN&;BR, LNR, and York & North Midland Railway were amalgamated to form the North Eastern Railway which eventually absorbed
1820-677: The High Level Bridge over the River Tyne on 27 September 1849 subsequently extended this route through to Newcastle . On its opening on 15 May 1852, the Leeds Northern Railway linked directly to the Clarence and, in doing so, provided the route with a link to the south. One year after the LNR reached Stockton, the newly created West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway (now owners of the Clarence lines) began to share
1911-584: The Metro station at Brockley Whins . The docks at Sunderland were recently reconnected by Network Rail , in the anticipation of a return to rail traffic. A fortnightly service has operated since March 2021 transporting scrap metal to Cardiff Tidal Complex. Despite the wide range of large industrial complexes at Seal Sands , very few of these organisations use rail as a method of transport. Newcastle railway station Newcastle station (also known as Newcastle Central and locally as Central Station )
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#17327727168502002-582: The North Eastern Railway , and now it was desired to amalgamate with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway too. The Corporation of Newcastle used the opportunity of the necessary Parliamentary Bill for the amalgamation to insist on construction of the abandoned porte-cochère, and this was designed by Thomas Prosser and completed in 1863. In the 1860s, the passenger train service was increasing considerably, especially as branch lines opened, six platforms were increased to nine in 1871 and to twelve in 1877, and then to fifteen in 1894: an additional through island platform
2093-676: The Tees Valley Rail Strategy , the DCL saw service provision become hourly between Newcastle and Hartlepool from 2000. The ultimate goal of a half-hourly service and new stations (Phase 2) was put on hold when the Strategic Rail Authority came into being and funding disappeared. After many years of development work undertaken by Durham County Council , £10.5 million of funding was agreed in July 2017 to open
2184-473: The Tyne and Wear Metro's Green Line also operate over the same tracks between a junction just south of Sunderland station and Pelaw Junction (just east of Pelaw Metro station ). The line developed from several small competing independent railway companies during the first half of the 19th century which ultimately came under the control of the North Eastern Railway . It was under their direction that these lines were gradually linked together to eventually create
2275-545: The third rail system, to form the Tyneside Electrics system, electric trains were introduced, using Central Station from 1 July 1904. The tracks on platforms 1 to 6 were equipped with electrified third rails, and platform 7 was later electrified to handle electric trains to South Shields . Another major development came on 1 October 1906 when the King Edward VII Bridge was opened, crossing
2366-446: The "Tynemouth Square". There was a separate booking hall for those local services. At this stage the roof covered seven and a half acres in area; there were fifteen platforms with a length of 3,000 yards (2,700 m). In 1901 an early steam locomotive was on display at the station: [The station] is further graced by a pedestal on which stands a curious old locomotive rejoicing in the name of "Billy". The true early history of "Billy"
2457-480: The 1960s. A new island platform was provided, built around the southern wall of the station. The two platform faces are divided so as to provide four numbered platforms, 5 to 8, generally used for local trains. Newcastle is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line . The station is operated by London North Eastern Railway . London North Eastern Railway provides high-speed inter-city services southbound every half-hour to London (one fast, one semi-fast) as well as
2548-460: The 1990s. In the early 2010s, Northumberland County Council became interested in the proposals, commissioning Network Rail to complete the first study into the feasibility of the scheme in June 2013. This was followed by a more detailed study, commissioned in June 2015, which confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day-a-week passenger service between Newcastle Central and Ashington
2639-567: The 600 V DC third rail system, as part of an extension of the Tyneside Electrics system to South Shields , inaugurated on 14 March 1938. The other notable improvement during this period was the opening of additional stations at Blackhall Colliery on the NER-built Seaham to Hart line in 1936, and at Seaburn on the former Brandling Junction Railway in 1937. On 1 January 1948, the London & North Eastern Railway became part of
2730-524: The Doric order". Two through platform lines were shown, with three west end bays and two at the east end. There were to be three train shed roofs with spans of 60 feet (18 m). Extensive offices as well as refreshment facilities were shown, and there was to be a covered carriage drive on the Neville Street side extending from the porte-cochère at each end. On 7 August 1847 a contract was let for
2821-449: The Durham Coast Line at Fellgate , Stadium of Light and St Peter's , the latter of which was constructed close to the site of the long-closed Monkwearmouth station. Existing rail stations at Brockley Whins , East Boldon and Seaburn were converted for Metro services. The project also involved the electrification of the Durham Coast Line between Pelaw Junction and Sunderland South Junction, and an upgrade to signalling on that section of
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2912-399: The Durham Coast Line at Felling and Pelaw were closed on 5 November 1979, in order to enable their conversion for use by the Tyne and Wear Metro. They were replaced by a new station at Heworth , opened on the same day. To give Metro trains dedicated infrastructure British Rail passenger trains services were subsequently diverted onto the previously freight-only relief lines which paralleled
3003-719: The Durham Coast Line between Newcastle and Middlesbrough . Most trains run through from Hexham (with some from Carlisle ), and continue through to Nunthorpe (some run as far as Whitby ). Predominantly, rolling stock on the Durham Coast Line consists of Northern Trains' Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units . These fleets were both introduced in the late 1980s but are currently being fitted with free Wi-Fi, power sockets, on-board passenger information displays, and an interior refresh as part of Northern's ongoing refurbishment programme. Prior to their withdrawal in late 2019, Northern Class 142 Pacer DMUs had also operated on this route. Between Pelaw Junction and Sunderland ,
3094-586: The Durham Coast Line in 1905. The current route of the Durham Coast Line has its origins in some of the earliest locomotive-operated railways in North East England. The oldest section of the line in use today is that between North Shore Junction and Norton South Junction, constructed by the Clarence Railway . As with many of the early railways, this line was constructed primarily for the transportation of coal from western and central areas of
3185-411: The HD&R for coal traffic from the latter. However, it was the D&SR which constructed the first significant north–south section of the Durham Coast Line, that between Ryhope Grange Junction and Ryhope . In conjunction with the HD&R, the D&SR thus enabled passengers to travel between Sunderland and Hartlepool for the first time by rail, although passengers had to change stations at Haswell at
3276-465: The LNR station at North Stockton . The last of the independent railways that became part of the modern DCL was the Londonderry, Seaham & Sunderland Railway of 1854, constructed, primarily, to enable coal traffic from the extensive Londonderry Railway colliery railway network to be diverted from Seaham Harbour (which had become unable to handle the large volumes of coal passing through it) to
3367-411: The Newcastle and North Shields Railway's station at Carliol Square. Building a crossing of the Tyne was obviously going to be a lengthy process, so that he gave the construction of the general station a low priority. The Tyne crossing became the High Level Bridge . In February 1846, the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway exerted pressure for the general station to be built, and the architect John Dobson
3458-716: The Springwell, and latterly at the Killingworth colliery, from which place she actually steamed into Newcastle in 1881 to celebrate George Stephenson's Centenary. An image of the locomotive in Bywell's article is captioned "Puffing billy" but it is not Puffing Billy of 1814, which is currently on display at the Science Museum in London. The locomotive in Bywell's article is known simply as Billy (Built in 1826). It
3549-533: The Tyne and Wear Metro), Newsham , Bedlington and Ashington and several other infrastructure upgrades undertaken to allow an hourly passenger train to be provided between them and Newcastle. Two further stations, at Seaton Delaval and Blyth Bebside were to be added in Phase 2 and other infrastructure upgrades would follow in Phases 3 and 4 to enable the frequency to be doubled to half-hourly. In August 2020, it
3640-510: The Tyne to the south-west of the station: Since 1850 East Coast Main Line trains had entered Newcastle from the south via the High Level Bridge to the south-east, this meant however that they had to reverse in order to continue their journey, which lengthened journey times and led to congestion at the busy junction east of the station. The four-track King Edward Bridge remedied this by allowing north–south trains to leave or enter from either side of
3731-484: The Tyneside suburban routes that had declined under British Railways management. The underground Central Station for Metro trains was constructed during the late 1970s underneath the main line station, and opened in 1981. Part of the porte-cochère was temporarily dismantled while excavation work took place. The Metro system was a considerable success; Many conventional rail services were transferred there, and several of
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3822-521: The WHH&;R in 1865. Thus, from 1865, one company was in control of the whole through route between Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle, although the lines remained largely unconnected. Thus a series of improvements were initiated by the NER to better integrate is fragmented network. For the DCL, one of the first of these saw the construction of a new curve to link the ex-LNR Stockton branch to
3913-536: The aforementioned incline at Hesleden Bank. To alleviate this, the NER developed plans to construct a new, more direct, line along the coast. Construction of this new line between Seaham Colliery on the LS&;SR, and Hart Junction on the ex-HD&R route was sanctioned in 1894–95. However its construction was contingent on the NER purchasing the Londonderry Railway's Seaham to Sunderland route and this
4004-531: The collieries surrounding the City of Durham , to the coast at Hartlepool (rather than the River Tees). The HD&R was first authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained on 1 June 1832 to construct a 14-mile railway from Moorsley (near Houghton-le-Spring ) to Hartlepool with several short branches to serve collieries surrounding the line. The company obtained a further Act of 16 June 1834 which permitted construction of an additional branch to Gilesgate in
4095-405: The earlier east–west lines from which the DCL had developed began to lose passenger services. These closures included the inland West Hartlepool to Sunderland route through Haswell (the main line between the two towns until 1905), which lost its passenger service on 9 June 1952. However the DCL itself was not seriously affected by the closures, until it began to lose stations from 1960 onwards. Even
4186-435: The earlier termini and focussed in one location for the first time. Following the completion of the improvements of the 1870s, the Durham Coast Line could be operated as a through route but, having not been constructed for such a purpose, doing so it remained challenging. One major issue was that any services running between Hartlepool and Sunderland still had to ascend or descend both the 1:44 incline at Seaton Bank, and
4277-576: The east end bays were closed and converted to car parking and other usage. The Carlisle line was diverted in 1982 to enter Newcastle over the King Edward Bridge of 1906, and a large out-of-town shopping development, the Metro Centre , was opened with a station on that line in 1987. The changing pattern of railway services meant that terminating trains were significantly fewer and through trains had increased. The emphasis on bay platforms at
4368-493: The east; through trains from London to Scotland would reverse in the new station. Newcastle and Carlisle Railway trains would of course enter from the west. Dobson produced general plans for the station, now being referred to as the Central station , on a broad curve to front Neville Street so as to accommodate the alignment of the approaching railways at east and west. It was to a "Romano-Italien design with ornamental work of
4459-419: The ex-HD&R and former Stockton & Hartlepool Railway lines which skirts around the western edge of the docks and replaced a more circuitous link through them. Both the ex-Stockton & Hartlepool Railway and ex-HD&R termini were replaced by new stations at West Hartlepool (in 1880) and Hartlepool (in 1878), respectively. However, of these links constructed by the NER, arguably the most significant
4550-490: The former network of Stockton & Darlington Railway (absorbed by the NER in 1863), which linking Middlesbrough to lines towards Stockton and Hartlepool. Combined with the 1873 realignment of the south to east curve at Norton Junction, which eased the severity of its curvature, this massively improved the connections between Hartlepool and the rest of the Teesside region. The rope-worked 1 in 34 incline at Hesleden Bank
4641-415: The future which may affect Billingham. The station is unstaffed but has a ticket machine. A lit, unenclosed waiting shelter, digital information screens and CCTV cameras were installed in 2023, along with improvements to the long-line public address (PA) system for service announcements. Train running information can also be obtained by telephone, a customer help point and timetable poster boards. Access to
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#17327727168504732-501: The late 1980s and early 1990s. Nonetheless, the decline of the British coal industry meant that this traffic, too, was steadily lost, commencing with the cessation of mining operations at Blackhall Colliery , on 16 April 1981 and culminating with that at Wearmouth Colliery , on 24 November 1993. In the early 1980s Greatham station saw its services reduced before full closure on 24 November 1991. The former British Rail stations on
4823-402: The line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services. More detailed plans were announced in July 2019 which would have split the project into four phases to reduce the initial cost of the scheme. The initial phase, at an estimated £90 million, would have seen the creation of new or reopened National Rail stations at Northumberland Park (for interchange with
4914-719: The line is shared with the Tyne and Wear Metro , with Class 599 Metrocars providing up to five local trains per hour, on the South Hylton to Airport Green Line. Other rolling stock includes Grand Central 's Class 180 diesel multiple units , which provide five daily services between Sunderland and London King's Cross , and LNER 's Class 800 Azuma used on the once-daily service to and from Sunderland and London King's Cross , previously introduced by Virgin Trains East Coast in December 2015. Until 2004, First TransPennine Express operated services along
5005-401: The line. The non-standard electrification system used by the Metro makes this section of the DCL the only Network Rail line to still use the 1,500V DC overhead line system. Metro services were extended to South Hylton from 31 March 2002 before the extension was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 May, as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. Under the supervision of Phase 1
5096-515: The main part of the work to Mackay and Blackstock, for £92,000 (equivalent to £10,620,000 in 2023). A considerable amount of groundworks was necessary on the large site prior to the actual building work. The work did not progress speedily, and in 1849 Hudson's collection of railway companies suffered a financial shock. At a time of more difficult trading and a tighter money market, Hudson's personal dealings were exposed as shady. The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had been formed by merger of
5187-519: The nationalised British Railways , and, along with other lines in the North East, the Durham Coast Line originally became part of its North Eastern Region . The North Eastern Region would, itself, later be merged into the BR's Eastern Region on 2 January 1967. By the 1950s, passenger and goods traffic across the country was in decline due to completion from road transport, and as a consequence, most of
5278-511: The north bank. They opened this line and a temporary station at Forth, and passenger trains started using that on 1 March 1847. Hudson, known as the "Railway King" was concentrating on connecting his portfolio of railways so as to join Edinburgh with the English network. His Newcastle and Berwick Railway obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1845, but for the time being it was to use
5369-540: The northern section of the Durham Coast Line, using Class 158 diesel multiple units , as part of their service from Sunderland to Liverpool Lime Street . Despite the decline in the heavy industry in the North East of England , the Durham Coast Line still retains a regular freight service over the line. Steel coil is railed into the Tata Steel plant at Hartlepool , and pipes are then taken out to Leith , and
5460-427: The novel technique was created by Thomas Charlton of Hawks Crawshay, and was estimated to have saved 14% on the cost of the roof ironwork, compared with cutting rectilinear plates to the curve. The station was lit by gas; a demonstration of electric arc-lighting was made, but was not at that date a practical possibility for the large station space. The platforms were positioned 15 inches above rail level. The station
5551-410: The opening of a special brickfield and, in the case of Horden Viaduct, the creation of a temporary 800 feet (240 m) cableway spanning valley. The line opened on 1 April 1905, with new stations constructed at Blackhall Rocks , Horden and Easington , to serve the new villages that had been created to house workers from the new coastal collieries which came into existence thanks to the provision of
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#17327727168505642-611: The passenger lines between Gateshead and Pelaw Junction. The Metro line between Haymarket and Heworth opened in November 1981, and as a result, the British Rail station at Gateshead was closed just one week later. In 1996, HM Rail Inspectorate approved plans to extend the Metro between Pelaw , Sunderland and South Hylton , along tracks shared with heavy rail DCL services, subject to funding being raised. A grant of £15 million
5733-522: The previous smaller companies, and the YN&BR wished to reduce the financial commitment to the Central Station substantially; hotel accommodation and the covered carriage drive were eliminated. One of the through platforms was also removed from the plan. As built the site covered three acres and the length of the platform faces was 830 yards (760 m). The train shed proved faster to construct and on 29 August 1850, Queen Victoria visited
5824-454: The railway. The NER became part of the London and North Eastern Railway , as part of the 1923 grouping . Despite them having already begun to experience a decline in traffic due to competition from road transport, the LNER did provide some improvements to the line. One notable improvement implemented by the LNER was the electrification of today's DCL between Newcastle and Pelaw Junction, using
5915-434: The recently constructed South Dock at Sunderland and thus followed route which parallel the D&SR north of Ryhope . Like the rest of the railways discussed here, the LS&SR later introduced a passenger service on 2 July 1855 between Seaham and Hendon Burn . The Clarence had struggled financially, almost continuously since its construction began, and so the more successful Stockton & Hartlepool Railway took out
6006-449: The replacement of the original station at Billingham with a newer one, closer to the modern town centre on 7 November 1966. Freight traffic on the line continued to thrive, whilst the collieries along the line (and a few short sections of the older east–west lines which had been retained as branches for mineral traffic) were still in operation. Owing to the relatively recent development of the coastal collieries, many of them survived until
6097-494: The scheme, Billingham station would have received improved service to Nunthorpe and Hartlepool , possibly a street-running link to Guisborough and the Headland , as well as new rollingstock. However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis , the project was ultimately shelved. Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in
6188-624: The station by train and formally opened it. The day was declared a public holiday in Newcastle. The following day YN&BR trains were diverted into the station. The train shed was, jointly with the Lime Street station in Liverpool, the first to be designed and built in Britain using curved wrought iron ribs to support an arched roof. The large section of the ribs was fabricated using curved web plates specially rolled using bevelled rolls;
6279-522: The station heading towards Edinburgh . With the electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool Line , from May 2014 a new timetable was introduced which is made up an hourly express service between Newcastle and Liverpool via Leeds and Manchester reducing journey times to Liverpool to three hours as part of the Northern Hub scheme. Services to Leeds/York are also supplemented by London North Eastern Railway and CrossCountry. Rolling stock used: Class 802 bi-mode multiple units Northern Trains operates
6370-402: The station was no longer appropriate. The opportunity was taken in conjunction with the East Coast Main Line electrification scheme, inaugurated in 1991 by British Rail , to extend the station southwards to provide more through platforms. This encroached on to land occupied by through tracks previously used by goods trains, which had seen little use since the withdrawal of many goods services in
6461-432: The station was reduced to unstaffed halt status towards the end of the 1960s. The station building of 1966 was demolished in 2023 to make way for the construction of a new footbridge and lifts. The Tees Valley Rail Strategy calls for the re-opening of the original station as 'Old Billingham' as a new additional station on the Durham Coast Line. However, the plans have yet to come to fruition. Starting in 2006, Billingham
6552-569: The station. The triangular junction at the Gateshead side also allowed for greater flexibility, allowing trains from Sunderland to use the new bridge if necessary. In 1909, Central station became Newcastle's only major city-centre station when the former Blyth and Tyne Railway 's terminus at Newcastle New Bridge Street was closed, and its trains diverted to Central station via a new connection to Manors station. The Tyne and Wear Metro system opened in 1980, taking over and improving many of
6643-409: The station; in addition a large expansion to the east took place, with additional bay platforms there on the north side of the former bays. The original through track was blocked to form east and west bays, so that there were still only three through platform lines. This work was completed in 1894. The new group of bay platforms at the east end had their own concourse quadrangle, known at the time as
6734-486: The then Newcastle & Carlisle Railway and York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway . Now a Grade I listed building, it is located in the city's Grainger Town area, to the west of the Castle Keep . In Simon Jenkins ' Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations , the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars. A scheme for a central station was proposed by Richard Grainger and Thomas Sopwith in 1836, but
6825-427: The time. Tyne to Tees rail passenger travel then quickly became possible (with three changes of station) following the opening of Brandling Junction Railway between Oakwellgate ( Gateshead ) and Wearmouth ( Monkwearmouth ) on 5 September 1839 and the Stockton & Hartlepool Railway between the Clarence at Billingham-on-Tees , and a new terminus near West Hartlepool docks on 10 February 1841. The opening of
6916-471: The town of Billingham , Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham , England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains . The station is a modern-style halt on the line and was opened on Monday 7 November 1966 to replace the town's original grander station located further west towards Norton ; this closed the previous day and was subsequently demolished in the early 1970s. It
7007-501: Was appointed by Hudson to design it, in association with the engineer T E Harrison , and Robert Stephenson . Gibson Kyle was clerk of works. By now the general alignment of Hudson's railways was becoming clear: a main line from the south via Gateshead would approach over the High Level Bridge and enter the general station from the east; the Newcastle and Berwick line would be extended from Carliol Square and also enter from
7098-562: Was awarded by the European Regional Development Fund , but this was subject to the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive ( Nexus ) being able to obtain £35 million of central government funding. Such funding was awarded in 1999 and, along with £8 million provided by Nexus and a further £40 million invested by Railtrack , enabled construction work to commence in June 2000. As part of this project, three new purpose-built Metro stations were constructed along
7189-414: Was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034. Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections the authority continued to develop the project, encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail , which named
7280-480: Was later publicly ruled out by Minister for Railways Chris Heaton-Harris ). Northumberland County Council submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on 26 May 2021, under which they would be conferred certain additional powers deemed necessary for the new stations to be constructed and the line upgraded to carry regular passenger services. It
7371-592: Was located to the west of the junction between the Durham Coast Line and the earlier Port Clarence Branch of the Clarence Railway , adjacent to the level crossing carrying the old route of the A19 across the railway. The signal box and footbridge were demolished between 2018 and 2023. The new Billingham station, built by the Eastern Region of British Rail , was provided with a booking hall, waiting room, parcels office and lavatories. These facilities were lost when
7462-721: Was mentioned within the Tees Valley Metro scheme. This was a plan to upgrade the Tees Valley Line and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North East of England . In the initial phases the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments with new additional infrastructure and rollingstock. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions. As part of
7553-441: Was not agreed until 1900 when the NER agreed to pay £387,000 for it. This new coastal line had to cross the denes at Hawthorn , Castle Eden and Crimdon , each requiring a substantial viaduct; one of the most imposing of these, Horden Viaduct (spanning Castle Eden Dene), is 141 feet (43 m) from ground to rail level, and consists of 10 arches, each with a span of 60 feet (18 m). The construction of these viaducts required
7644-497: Was not built. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway had agreed to relinquish their insistence on exclusively using their Redheugh terminus on the south bank of the River Tyne . They agreed with George Hudson on a general station north of the Tyne, near the Spital. Instead of crossing the Tyne by a low level bridge and climbing to the Spital by a rope-worked incline, they would build an extension crossing at Scotswood and approaching on
7735-492: Was presented to Newcastle upon Tyne Corporation for preservation in 1881. Initially it was displayed on a plinth at the north end of the High Level Bridge, but was moved to the interior of Newcastle Central Station in 1896; it remained there until 1945, when it was moved to the city's Museum of Science and Industry; it was moved again in 1981 to the Stephenson Railway Museum in nearby North Shields, where it
7826-421: Was provided in 1871, occupying space formerly in use for stabling carriages. Increase in traffic continued, as also increasing train lengths and it was clear that a major extension of the station was essential. Newcastle had been given city status in 1882 and was supportive of the work, seeing it as a civic improvement. Forth Street was displaced southwards and two new trainshed roofs covered a southward extension of
7917-403: Was realigned in 1874 to reduce the gradient to that of 1 in 52 and thus enable locomotive working over the entire Hartlepool-Sunderland route. In 1877, the NER constructed a new chord between the ex-HD&R and ex-D&SR lines at Haswell and replaced the previously separate terminus stations with a new through station. In the same year, at Hartlepool, they also constructed a direct link between
8008-466: Was reported that government officials were seeking to reduce the cost of the project as part of the Department for Transport's Project SPEED initiative. It was reported that the cost-saving measures under consideration included and cutting initial service frequencies from two to one trains per hour and dropping the proposed Blyth Bebside station from initial project scope (although the latter option
8099-497: Was reported that these four proposed phases might be merged into a single one. The Department for Transport allocated an initial grant of £1.5 million towards the project costs in January 2020 which was supplemented by an allocation of £10 million of funds from Northumberland County Council the following month. This funding enabled detailed on-site ground investigation works to begin in October 2020. The allocation of
8190-455: Was shared from the beginning by the Newcastle and North Shields Railway , which abandoned its earlier terminus at Carliol Square to the east which had operated since 1839. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway started using Central station from 1 January 1851, and also abandoned its earlier terminus at Forth. In 1861, the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had already merged with others to form
8281-643: Was the Monkwearmouth Junction Line of 1879 which linked the ex-D&SR lines at Ryhope Grange Junction to the ex-BJR lines at Monkwearmouth . This involved the construction of the Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge over the River Wear , a new station at Sunderland Central , and tunnels on either side of the station. Following the opening of Sunderland Central station, NER and LS&SR services were diverted away from
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