Durham railway station

Durham National Rail
Location
Place Durham
Local authority County of Durham
Coordinates 54°46′47″N 1°34′53″W / 54.7798°N 1.5815°W / 54.7798; -1.5815Coordinates: 54°46′47″N 1°34′53″W / 54.7798°N 1.5815°W / 54.7798; -1.5815
Grid reference NZ269428
Operations
Station code DHM
Managed by London North Eastern Railway
Owned by Network Rail
Number of platforms 2
DfT category C1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Decrease 2.274 million
– Interchange  Decrease 3,475
2013/14 Increase 2.415 million
– Interchange  Increase 4,664
2014/15 Increase 2.522 million
– Interchange  Increase 9,060
2015/16 Increase 2.595 million
– Interchange  Decrease 8,691
2016/17 Increase 2.624 million
– Interchange  Decrease 8,368
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Durham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Durham railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the city of Durham in the North East of England. It is 254 miles 53 chains (409.8 km) north of London King's Cross and is situated between Darlington to the south and Chester-le-Street to the north. Its three-letter station code is DHM.

It is managed by London North Eastern Railway. Despite its small physical profile, the station is a major stop on the East Coast Main Line and is served frequently by London North Eastern Railway, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and Northern trains to a variety of destinations across the country.

Durham is a through station with two platforms and is located on a hill to the north of the city centre. To the south of the station, the railway line is elevated on a viaduct. After a renovation in 2006–2008, the ticket hall is now located in the original stone station building.

History

The city of Durham has been served by four stations, only one of which survives today:

  • Shincliffe (called Shincliffe Town from 1861): located in nearby Shincliffe, this station was built in 1839 and was served by the Durham and Sunderland Railway, using rope haulage until 1856. It closed when Elvet station opened in the city centre. A second station, Shincliffe, on the Leamside to Ferryhill line, was opened in 1844. That closed to passengers in 1941.
  • Durham (Gilesgate): opened in 1844, and within the city boundaries, it was served by a branch from Belmont on the Leamside Line, then the main line from London to Newcastle. Passenger services finished in 1857 with the opening of the current station on the branch from Leamside to Bishop Auckland but it continued in use as a goods shed until final closure in 1966. Today it has been redeveloped as a Travelodge hotel, while the serving track was used in the realignment of the A690 Gilesgate bypass road.
  • Durham: In 1857, a station on the current location and viaducts over North Road and the River Browney immediately to the south were built by the North Eastern Railway, on their Leamside to Bishop Auckland line to Bishop Auckland. The station was redeveloped in 1871, when the North Eastern Railway developed a new line from Tursdale through Relly Mill Junction to Durham, and onwards from Newton Hall Junction through Chester-le-Street to Newcastle Central via the Team Valley.[1] This became the main line, the current East Coast Main Line on the 15th January 1872.[2]
  • Durham (Elvet): in 1893, the Durham-Sunderland branch was diverted from Shincliffe Town to a new station at Elvet, within the city boundary. It closed to regular passenger services in 1931 and fully closed in 1953.

On grouping in 1923, the stations came under the control of the London and North Eastern Railway. Passenger services to Bishop Auckland and Sunderland via Penshaw were withdrawn by British Railways under the Beeching cuts, on 4 May 1964.

The East Coast Main Line through Durham was electrified in 1991.

Station Masters

  • William Bowes ca. 1853
  • William Bell ca. 1866
  • Edmund Page ca. 1873 - 1882[3]
  • George O. Turnbull 1882 - 1900
  • Joseph Pattison 1900 - 1907[4]
  • William Curley 1907 - 1917 (afterwards station master at Sunderland)
  • William Parker 1917 - 1922 (afterwards station master at Harrogate)
  • J.C. Pigg 1922 - 1924 (formerly station master at Bishop Auckland)
  • Edmund Maleham 1925[5] - 1926 (removed because of support for the General Strike)[6]
  • J.A. Simpson 1926 - 1946[7]
  • Cecil P.A. Beadnell 1946 - 1950
  • R.E. Hardy 1951 (afterwards station master at Leeds)
  • R.A. Slater 1951 - 1952 (formerly station master at Richmond, afterwards station master at Consett)
  • L.D. Johnson 1953
  • S.J. Boddy 1954 - 1958 (afterwards station master at Alloa)
  • V.D. Trinder 1958 - ????
  • Vince Sheard 1959 - 1962
  • P.W. Gray 1962 - ????
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Current facilities

Today, the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by London North Eastern Railway. It was refurbished between 2006 and 2008 by the operator Great North Eastern Railway and later National Express East Coast, which included a new passenger lounge, toilets, travel centre, glazed waiting area, lifts and shops. The entrance and ticket hall were moved from the "temporary" 1960s building into the original stone building following renovation and repairs. The works were completed in early 2008 and the newly renovated station won "Best Medium Station" and "Overall Station of the Year" at the 2008 National Rail Awards.[8] Ticket barriers were installed in 2009.

After winning the intercity east coast rail franchise, former operator Virgin Trains East Coast opened an information office on platform 2, added new bench and perch seating and installed Wi-Fi. In 2017, all ticket barriers were removed as part of Virgin Trains East Coast's franchise commitment.

A Brompton Bicycle hire scheme is planned to open in 2018 - however since the demise of Virgin Trains East Coast the management of the station has since passed on to London North Eastern Railway.

Durham County Council, working with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, have completed a project to improve cycle routes and pedestrian access to the station from the north of the city. This involved the construction of a new cycle path as well as upgrades to road crossings on Framwellgate peth.

In order to accommodate the new London North Eastern Railway Class 800 and 801 Azuma trains due to enter service in late 2018/early 2019, platform 1 has been extended north to a total length of 264 metres.

Services

General off-peak services[9]

Direction LNER CrossCountry TransPennine Express Northern
Northbound 1tph to Newcastle Central, with some continuing to Edinburgh Waverley at peak times. 1tpd extends from Newcastle to Sunderland and 1tpd extends from Edinburgh to Glasgow 1tph to Newcastle Central
1tph to Edinburgh Waverley		 1tph to Newcastle Central 3tpd to Newcastle Central in the early morning (2tpd on Saturday)
Southbound 1tph to London King's Cross via York 1tph to Reading via Doncaster and Birmingham
1tph to Plymouth via Leeds and Birmingham		 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street via Leeds and Manchester Victoria 1tpd to Darlington in the late evening (except Saturdays)
1tpd to Saltburn on Sundays

tph = trains per hour, tpd = trains per day

References

  1. ↑ Cobb, Michael H. The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas
  2. ↑ Tomlinson, W.W. (1967, reprint of 1914 edition). North Eastern Railway, Its Rise and Development. Newton Abbot: David and Charles.
  3. ↑ "Local News". Durham County Advertiser. England. 16 June 1882. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ "Honouring Durham's Late Stationmaster". Durham County Advertiser. England. 22 March 1907. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "New Stationmasters". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. England. 30 April 1925. Retrieved 7 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ "New has just reached us...". Transport Salaried Staff Journal. 60-61: 179. 1963.
  7. ↑ "New Stationmaster". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. England. 26 August 1936. Retrieved 7 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "Durham named Britain's best railway station". The Northern Echo. 19 September 2008.
  9. ↑ Table 26, 39, 44 & 51 National Rail timetable, May 2016
Preceding station National Rail Following station
CrossCountry
TransPennine Express
North TransPennine
Northern
Tees Valley Line
Darlington   London North Eastern Railway
London-Newcastle/Edinburgh		   Newcastle Central
  Historical railways  
Croxdale
Line open, station closed		   London and North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line		   Plawsworth
Line open, station closed
Croxdale
Line open, station closed		   London and North Eastern Railway
Leamside Line		   Leamside
Line and station closed
Brandon Colliery
Line and station closed		   London and North Eastern Railway
Durham to Bishop Auckland Line		   Terminus
Ushaw Moor
Line and station closed		   London and North Eastern Railway
Deerness Valley Railway		   Terminus
Aldin Grange for Bearpark
Line and station closed		   London and North Eastern Railway
Lanchester Valley Railway		   Terminus
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