Prudhoe railway station

Prudhoe
Location
Place	Prudhoe
Local authority	Northumberland
Grid reference	NZ087634
Operations
Station code	PRU
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13	0.147 million
2013/14	0.149 million
2014/15	0.159 million
2015/16	0.154 million
2016/17	0.155 million
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Prudhoe from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Prudhoe railway station /ˈprʌdə/^[1] is a railway station which serves the town of Prudhoe in Northumberland, England. It is located on the Tyne Valley Line 12 miles (19 km) west of Newcastle towards Carlisle, and is managed by Northern who provide most passenger train services.

It was first opened on 10 March 1835 by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Company. It was never a junction although extensive industrial connections on either side of the station once existed. The station buildings on the eastbound platform were rebuilt in 1884 in the "twin pavilion" style by the NER, but demolished in 1973 by British Rail after the station became unstaffed. It ceased handling goods traffic in 1965.^[2]

Manual semaphore signalling complete with a block post at Prudhoe Signalbox beside the station and level crossing continues to operate. The full barrier level crossing is signalman worked and because of the adjacent single track Ovingham Bridge over the River Tyne and the frequent train services, there are often long road queues. From 1859 until 1915 there was another station less than a mile west, known as "Mickley".

On 21 May 2007 a new public transport interchange was opened. This provides direct connections to bus and train services and a car park. On the same date a much improved train service started with most passenger trains on the line booked to call there. Go North East provide connecting bus services.

On 7 July 2007 saw a special excursion train call at Prudhoe. The first in many years to stop there. Northern operated a Saltburn to Whitehaven Coast to Coast special train using the Settle-Carlisle Railway liveried Class 156 DMU. Many other special trains using the Tyne Valley Line run through non-stop.

Facilities

Though the station is unmanned, there is a ticket machine provided to allow intending passengers to buy before boarding or collect pre-paid tickets. Standard waiting shelters, timetable posters and automated train running announcements are provided on both platforms and there is also a telephone on platform 2. Step-free access is available to both platforms via ramps and the level crossing, though there is also a stepped footbridge between them.^[3]

Services

Monday to Saturday daytimes there is a half-hourly service eastbound to Newcastle and westbound to Hexham with an hourly service onwards to Carlisle and three through trains to and from Glasgow Central via Dumfries. In the evenings and on Sundays there is an hourly service to both Newcastle and Carlisle.^[4] Many eastbound trains continue beyond Newcastle onto the Durham Coast Line.

A landslip between Corbridge & Riding Mill (caused by heavy rain and a broken drainage pipe) in early January 2016 led to the temporary suspension of services between here and Hexham whilst repairs to the track bed & adjacent cutting walls were carried out. Services from Newcastle terminated here and a replacement bus service ran for stations to Hexham until the work was completed.^[5] The line reopened on 8 February 2016, following the removal of over 35,000 tonnes (34,000 long tons; 39,000 short tons) of earth from the site.^[6]

References

External links

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

Coordinates: 54°57′56.6″N 1°51′54.2″W / 54.965722°N 1.865056°W / 54.965722; -1.865056

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Stocksfield		Northern Tyne Valley Line		Wylam