Darlington railway station
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Darlington railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line, serving the town of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is Template:Convert north of Template:Rws. It is situated between Template:Rws to the south and Template:Rws to the north. Its three-letter station code is DAR.
The station is well served, since it is an important stop for main line services, with trains operated by London North Eastern Railway, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express; it is also the interchange for Northern Trains services to Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws. Darlington is the location of the first commercial steam railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The station building is a Grade II* listed[1] Victorian structure and winner of the Large Station of the Year award in 2005.[2]
History
The first railway to pass through the area now occupied by the station was built by the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which opened their mineral branch from Albert Hill Junction on their main line to Croft-on-Tees on 27 October 1829. This branch line was subsequently purchased by the Great North of England Railway a decade later to incorporate into their new main line from York, which reached the town on 30 March 1841.
A separate company, the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway continued the new main line northwards towards Ferryhill and Newcastle, opening its route three years later on 19 June 1844.[3] This crossed the S&D at Parkgate Junction by means of a flat crossing which would in future years become something of an operational headache for the North Eastern Railway (NER) and London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).
The original Bank Top station, where the two routes met, was a modest affair; it was rebuilt in 1860 to accommodate the expanding levels of traffic on the main line. By the mid-1880s, even this replacement structure was deemed inadequate and so the NER embarked on a major upgrade to facilities in the area. This included an ornate new station with an impressive three-span overall roof on the Bank Top site, new sidings and goods lines alongside it and a new connecting line from the south end of the station (Polam Junction) to meet the original S&D line towards Middlesbrough at Oak Tree Junction near Template:Stnlnk. These improvements were completed on 1 July 1887, when the old route west of Oak Tree closed to passengers; it remained in use for freight until 1967.
The new station, with its broad island platform, was designed by T. E. Harrison, chief engineer, and William Bell, the architect of the NER.[4] It cost £81,000 (Template:Inflation)Template:Inflation-fn to construct.[5] It soon became a busy interchange on the main East Coast route, thanks to its rail links to Richmond (opened in 1846), Template:Stnlnk and Template:Stnlnk (1862/5) and the Tees Valley Line to Template:Stnlnk (1842) and Template:Stnlnk (1861).
The lines to Penrith (closed in 1962), Barnard Castle (1964)[6] and Richmond (1969) have now gone, along with the bays at the northern end of the station which are now used for car parking. The main line, which was electrified in 1991, and the Tees Valley route remain busy. It is also still possible to travel to Catterick Garrison and Richmond from here, by means of the Arriva North East-operated X26 and X27 buses, which have through National Rail ticketing arrangements. The same company also operated the Sky Express bus service to Durham Tees Valley Airport from the station, but this was withdrawn in January 2009 due to declining demand.[7]
HS2 trains were originally planned to stop at Darlington as part of the eastern leg, but phase 2b was cancelled as part of the Integrated Rail Plan; the entirety of the second phase of HS2 was cancelled in 2023.[8]
Tees Valley Metro
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Starting in 2006, Darlington 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,[9][10][11] and there was suggestions to have the metro extend west to Bishop Auckland from Darlington.[12]
Darlington was a major part of the scheme and so had some of the largest proposed improvements. To reduce the need for local services to cross the East Coast Main Line, two new eastern platforms would have been created.[13] The new platforms would be connected to the main building by a new footbridge and lifts, and the existing car parking places that would have been lost with the new platforms would be replaced at a similar distance from the station. A new entrance, including pick-up/drop-off facilities, was considered on the eastern side.[9] Furthermore, release of track capacity on the ECML to allow more trains to run from Darlington to York and Newcastle and improved service to Saltburn (1–2 to 4 trains per hour) and new rollingstock were proposed.[9] While unclear and never having concrete plans, street-running trams to Darlington town centre were also proposed in a future phase of the Metro.[12]
However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis, the project was ultimately shelved.[14] Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in the future which may affect Darlington.[15]
Station upgrade
As part of a £140Template:Nbspmillion investment, the station is being redeveloped to increase the reliability, connectivity, and accessibility of the station;[16] the plan resurrects many features of the abandoned Tees Valley Metro. The project includes the construction of a new concourse, multi-storey car park and two new platforms on the current freight avoiding lines.[17][18] The Tees Valley Combined Authority contributed £43Template:Nbspmillion towards the upgrade, with the other £96Template:Nbspmillion being supplied by Network Rail and the Department for Transport. Other key stakeholders in the project include LNER, who manage the station, and Darlington Borough Council.[19][20]
The upgrade includes the construction of a new Eastern concourse at the station, two new platforms at the station, and the remodelling of the track layout, and a new bridge over the railway on Smithfield Road.[16] The upgrade also includes work to the overhead line equipment and installation of new points and cabling.[21] The project is scheduled to finish in 2025 as part of the Railway 200 celebrations, which mark the anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which began serving Darlington station in 1825.[19]
The East Coast Main Line was closed over six weekends in early 2025 in order to facilitate this work; as part of the closure, work was also carried out on the track at Chester-Le-Street railway station, the demolition of the Allerdene bridge over the railway near Newcastle, and many other smaller projects that made use of the closure.[21] A 50-tonne footbridge was installed during these closures in February 2025, which will connect the existing building with the two new platforms.[22]
Accidents and incidents
- On 16 November 1910, an express freight train overran signals and was involved in a rear-end collision with another freight train.[23]
- On 27 June 1928, a parcels train and an excursion train were involved in a head-on collision. 25 people were killed and 45 were injured.[24]
- On 11 December 1968, a Newcastle to Kings Cross express train was derailed at the south end of the station after passing a signal at danger. No-one was hurt.[25]
- On 16 February 1977, an express passenger train hauled by Class 55 locomotive 55008 collided with an empty stock train after failing to stop at Darlington. The guard of the express was slightly injured. The cause of the accident was that the brakes on the carriages had become isolated whilst the train was moving in a freak event. The train had struck an object on the track, which had caused a traction motor cover to come lose. This struck the handle of the brake isolating cock, closing it and thus separating the brakes between the locomotive and train. Following the collision, the train was diverted onto the Tees Valley line, where it was brought to a halt by the operation of the communication cord in one of the carriages.[26]
- On 3 October 2009, a Template:BRC unit, operated by Northern Rail, hit the rear end of a departing National Express East Coast service. Three passengers from the Northern Rail train were taken to hospital with minor injuries.[27]
Facilities
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The station is fully staffed; the ticket office is open throughout the week (06:00–20:00/21:00 weekdays, 06:30–19:45 Saturdays, 07:45–20:00 Sundays). There is a waiting room and a first class lounge on the platform, with the lounge open between 06:00 and 20:00 each day; on Sundays, it opens at 08:00.
Self-service ticket machines are also provided for use outside the opening hours for the booking office and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Various retail outlets are located in the main buildings, including a coffee shop, grocers and newsagents. Vending machines, toilets, a photo booth, payphone and cash machines are also provided.
Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, announcements and timetable posters. Step-free access to all platforms is via ramps from the subway, linking the platforms with the main entrance and car park.[28]
Services
Template:LNER route Template:Northern (train operating company) route 2 Template:Northern (train operating company) route 3 Darlington is well served by trains on the East Coast Main Line; it is served by four train operating companies:
- London North Eastern Railway provides regular trains southbound to Template:Rws via Template:Rws and northbound to Template:Rws and Template:Rws. Two trains per hour run south to London and north to Edinburgh Waverley. There are also several daily services to Template:Rws and also daily direct services to Template:Rws via Stirling (one).[29][30] Darlington is also served by the 2 hourly York to Newcastle shuttle services.[31]
- CrossCountry operates services between Edinburgh, Newcastle and Template:Rws, Template:Rws and beyond to Template:Stnlnk and to Template:Rws, Template:Stnlnk, Template:Stnlnk and Template:Stnlnk. Some trains extend beyond Edinburgh to Glasgow Central, Template:Rws or Aberdeen.[32]
- TransPennine Express runs one train per hour in each direction. There is one northbound service to Newcastle and one service runs southbound to Template:Rws, via York, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws.[33]
- Northern Trains operates their Tees Valley line trains twice hourly to Template:Stnlnk, Template:Rws and Template:Rws; the service is hourly on Sundays. The Template:Stnlnk branch has a service every hour, including on Sundays. The company also operates two Sunday-only direct trains to/from Template:Rws and Template:Rws.[34]
| Preceding station | National Rail National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Stnlnk | style="background:#Template:NXEC colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line |
style="background:#Template:NXEC colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Template:Stnlnk |
| Template:Stnlnk | style="background:#Template:VTEC colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | London North Eastern Railway London-Newcastle/Edinburgh/Scotland express or Leeds-Aberdeen |
style="background:#Template:VTEC colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Newcastle
Template:S-rail-national Template:S-rail-national Template:S-note |
| York | style="background:#Template:Temporary rail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | TBA Northern Powerhouse Rail |
style="background:#Template:Temporary rail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Newcastle |
| Croft Spa Line open, station closed |
style="background:#Template:NER colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | North Eastern Railway York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway |
style="background:#Template:NER colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Template:Rws Line open, station closed PlatformsDarlington railway station has five main platforms:
ReferencesCitationsSources
External links
Template:County Durham railway stations Template:Railway stations served by CrossCountry Template:Railway stations served by London North Eastern Railway Template:Railway stations served by Northern Trains Template:Railway stations served by TransPennine Express |
- ↑ Template:NHLE
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- ↑ Body, p.58
- ↑ Template:Usurped Tees Valley Airport Media Centre; Retrieved 30 January 2009
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- ↑ Hoole (1982), pp16-17.
- ↑ Hoole (1982), p27.
- ↑ "Accident at Darlington on 11th December 1968" Railways Archive
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Trains collide at rail platform; BBC News website Retrieved 9 October 2009
- ↑ Darlington station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 15 February 2017
- ↑ GB National Rail Timetable May 2018 Edition, Table 26
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- Pages with script errors
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- Railway stations in the Borough of Darlington
- Grade II* listed buildings in County Durham
- Grade II* listed railway stations
- Former North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom) stations
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1841
- Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1887
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1887
- Railway stations served by CrossCountry
- Railway stations served by Northern
- Railway stations served by TransPennine Express
- Railway stations served by London North Eastern Railway
- William Bell railway stations
- Buildings and structures in Darlington
- DfT Category B stations