Middlesbrough railway station

Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough railway station in 2011
Location
Place	Middlesbrough
Local authority	Middlesbrough
Coordinates	54°34′45″N 1°14′05″W / 54.579100°N 1.234720°W / 54.579100; -1.234720Coordinates: 54°34′45″N 1°14′05″W / 54.579100°N 1.234720°W / 54.579100; -1.234720
Grid reference	NZ495207
Operations
Station code	MBR
Managed by	TransPennine Express
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	1.364 million
2013/14	1.370 million
2014/15	1.351 million
2015/16	1.331 million
2016/17	1.356 million
History
Original company	Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
26 July 1847	First station opened
16 December 1874	First station closed
December 1877	First station replaced by current station[1]
3 August 1942	Station extensively damaged in air raid
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Middlesbrough from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Middlesbrough railway station serves the large town of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England and is managed by TransPennine Express.

The main station layout consists of an entrance hall with ticket office, large concourse/waiting area and two covered platforms that are each subdivided into two sections i.e. platform 1 (1a and 1b) and platform 2 (2a and 2b). Two freight lines bypass to the north of the station.

The station is staffed and has a range of facilities including a cafe / bar, newsagent, cycle storage, toilets and lifts.^[2] Various screens throughout the station give information on train arrivals and departures.

Car parking is situated just to the east of the station and can be accessed via Exchange Square and Wood Street and by footpath directly to the station. A drop-off point is located at the front of the station close to the main entrance.

According to the Office of Rail and Road statistics, Middlesbrough railway station is the fourth busiest in the North East region, with 1,356,282 total entries and exits (2016-17 period).^[3]

History

Middlesbrough station, July 1977

The first railway was built in the area as long ago as 1830 as an extension of the Stockton and Darlington Railway to connect with the port of the then new town of Middlesbrough. A branch off this, passing just south of the new town and extending eastwards to Redcar was opened in June 1846 by the Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway Company.^[4][5]

Situated on the southern edge of the new town on the Redcar branch line, Middlesbrough's first passenger station was designed by John Middleton and opened on 26 July 1847. As the town expanded rapidly during the second half of the 19th Century however, the station was unable to cope with the traffic growth. Due to the design of the station not lending itself to enlargement it was therefore demolished in 1874 and replaced by the current station, opened in December 1877.^[6][7]

The current station was designed by the North Eastern Railway's chief architect, William Peachey, with an ornate Gothic style frontage. Behind this an overall roof of elliptical design once existed. Constructed out of wrought iron of lattice design, with glass covering the middle half and timber (inside)/slate (outside) covering the outer quarters. The two end screens were glazed with timber cladding around the outer edges. The roof was high in relation to its width.^[8]

The elliptical roof was severely damaged in a German daylight air raid in the afternoon of 3 August 1942^[9][10] and eventually removed in 1954, to be replaced by the current design over the concourse and platforms.^[11]

A major refurbishment of the station took place during 2017 and 2018 with repairs carried out to the station’s roof and stonework and upgrading of the Wood Street car park.^[12] New information screens were also installed as part of the refurbishment.

A new £15m station masterplan was unveiled in March 2018 with plans to open a third platform with accompanying glass frontage and concourse facing out onto Bridge Street West to accommodate the proposed re-introduction of direct trains from Middlesbrough to London in 2020.^[13]

Services

Middlesbrough station, July 2014

The station is served by a number of routes, all of which are operated by Northern, except those to Manchester that are operated by TransPennine Express.

The Tees Valley Line from Bishop Auckland & Darlington to Saltburn, (usually a British Rail Class 142 Pacer). Monday to Saturday daytimes there is a service every 30 minutes to Darlington & Saltburn and every hour to Bishop Auckland. There are also three a.m peak services to Newcastle via Durham.^[18] Sundays see an hourly service to Darlington/Saltburn and a two-hourly service to Bishop Auckland.

The Esk Valley Line to Whitby via Nunthorpe and Grosmont, (usually a British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter or Class 142 Pacer). The hourly service runs up to seventeen trains a day to Nunthorpe with four of the trains continuing to the terminus at Whitby. Sunday services (four each way, some running through to/from Newcastle) operate throughout the year.^[19] A new station on the Esk Valley Line to serve the James Cook University Hospital (between Middlesbrough and Marton railway stations) was opened on 18 May 2014.^[20]

The Durham Coast Line to Newcastle Central via Hartlepool and Sunderland (usually a Class 142 Pacer).^[18] There is a train every hour to Newcastle (most of which continue along the Tyne Valley Line) to Hexham or Carlisle. Sundays see an hourly service through to/from the MetroCentre and Carlisle.

The North Trans-Pennine line to Manchester Airport via York and Leeds (using a British Rail Class 185 Pennine Desiro). Monday to Saturdays there is an hourly service to Manchester Airport and every two hours on Sundays. TransPennine Express also operate one daily return service to Liverpool.^[21]

Under the new Northern franchise awarded to Arriva Rail North in December 2015 (commenced 1 April 2016), service frequencies on several routes are to be improved and rolling stock upgraded.^[22]

On 27 November 2014, it was announced that as part of the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise, direct rail services from Middlesbrough to London would be re-introduced.^[23] LNER, the current operator of the East Coast Main Line is expected to run the new Hitachi manufactured Class 800 Azuma trains to Middlesbrough in 2020.^[24]

Notes

References

• Body, G (1988). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-072-1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Middlesbrough railway station.

• Train times and station information for Middlesbrough railway station from National Rail

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Thornaby		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Terminus
Terminus		Northern Durham Coast Line		Thornaby
		Northern Esk Valley Line		James Cook
Redcar Central		Northern Tees Valley Line		Thornaby
South Bank
	Disused railways
Terminus		Middlesbrough & Guisborough Railway		Ormesby