Horden railway station

Horden
Site of Horden station in July 2017.
Location
Place	Horden
Area	County Durham
Coordinates	54°45′39″N 1°18′13″W / 54.7608°N 1.3035°W / 54.7608; -1.3035Coordinates: 54°45′39″N 1°18′13″W / 54.7608°N 1.3035°W / 54.7608; -1.3035
Operations
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER British Rail (North Eastern)
Platforms	2
History
1 April 1905	Opened as Horden
4 May 1964	Closed
March 2020	To reopen as Horden Peterlee
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Horden railway station is a former railway station, scheduled for reopening, located in Horden in County Durham, north east England. The original station was located on the Durham Coast Line and was situated between the stations at Blackhall Colliery and Easington. The planned Horden Peterlee railway station is located to the north of the old station site,^[1] and has been awarded Department for Transport funding for a proposed opening in March 2020, and served by a usual one train per hour.^[2]

History

The original station was opened by the North Eastern Railway as a stop on its new coastal line between the former Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway at Seaham and the former Hartlepool Dock and Railway at Hart when that line was opened to passenger traffic on 1 April 1905.^[3] This line was primarily built to avoid the steep gradients of the inland route at Ryhope Bank and Hesleden^[4] but also provided access to the newly developed collieries along the Durham Coast.^[5] A 6-inch Ordnance Survey map from 1922 shows the station, along with a station hotel, located at what was then the southern end of the new settlement built to house workers from Horden Colliery.^[6]

The new town of Peterlee was established in 1948,^[7] and is located a short distance to the west of Horden. Horden was therefore the closest station to the town for the first few years of its existence. However, the distance between the centre of Peterlee and the station meant that traffic was primarily from the village itself, and thus the station, along with others on the Durham Coast Line, was recommended for closure as part of the Beeching Axe. This occurred on 4 May 1964^[8] when all stopping services on the line between Sunderland and Hartlepool were withdrawn. Passenger services continue to pass through the site of the station, but run non-stop between Seaham and Hartlepool.^[9]

Reopening

It has been a long-held ambition of Durham County Council to reopen a station on the Durham Coast Line between Seaham and Hartlepool, to serve the communities of the south-east of the county. The council investigated seven potential sites in the area but it was initially decided that a site adjacent to the Sea View Industrial Estate in Horden was the most suitable location for the new station.^[10] The site was 0.75 miles (1.21 km) to the north of the original station. It was identified that one of the key benefits of reopening Horden station rather than any of the other closed stations on the line was its close proximity to Peterlee, which has grown significantly since 1964; thus, if constructed, a new station in Horden could allow 61,000 residents to benefit from improved access to employment opportunities across the region.^[11] The County Council had applied for funding from the first round of the Department for Transport New Stations Fund in 2013, but were unsuccessful at that stage.^[12][11]

In September 2016, Durham County Council announced that a new preferred site had been identified at South East View, a site closer to that of the original station than the previous suggestion, and a public consultation was launched^[13] to gauge potential usage of a reopened station. ^[1] In July 2017, it was announced that the station would be built with a contribution of £4.4 million in funding from the second round of the New Stations Fund,^[14] with the remainder of the scheme's £10.5 million cost being covered by funding which has already been provided by Durham County Council and the North East Combined Authority.^[15] The station is expected to be open by March 2020,^[14] at which time it will be served by more than 20 trains per day.^[15] The station is to have two platforms, with waiting shelters, benches, lighting, help points and CCTV. The platforms are to be linked by a covered footbridge, and the station is to have a car park with space for up to 100 cars as well as facilities for drop-off, taxis and bus services.^[16]

References

External links