Durham railway station

Durham
Location
Place	Durham
Local authority	County of Durham
Coordinates	54°46′47″N 1°34′53″W / 54.7798°N 1.5815°WCoordinates: 54°46′47″N 1°34′53″W / 54.7798°N 1.5815°W
Grid reference	NZ269428
Operations
Station code	DHM
Managed by	Virgin Trains East Coast
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*
2010/11	2.180 million
– Interchange	3,416
2011/12	2.284 million
– Interchange	3,828
2012/13	2.274 million
– Interchange	3,475
2013/14	2.415 million
– Interchange	4,664
2014/15	2.522 million
– Interchange	9,060
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 serves the city of Durham, England, on the East Coast Main Line. The station is managed by Virgin Trains East Coast. Despite its small functional capacity, the station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line and is called at by many intercity services travelling the route.

The travel time between Durham and London King's Cross, 254 miles (409 km) south, is around three hours on a high-speed Virgin Trains East Coast service.

Description

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 the 2006–2008 renovation, the booking hall is now located in the original stone station building.

History

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

• Shincliffe (Shincliffe Town from 1861): located in nearby Shincliffe, which was built in 1839 and was served by the Durham and Sunderland Railway, using rope haulage between opening and 1856, and closed when Elvet station opened in the city centre. A second station, Shincliffe, on the Leamside to Ferryhill line, was opened in 1844. The latter 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 a viaduct over 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 completely 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 Axe on 4 May 1964.

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

2006–2008 refurbishment

Today, the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by Virgin Trains East Coast. The station was refurbished between 2006 and 2008 by operator GNER and later National Express East Coast which included a new lounge, toilets, travel centre, glazed waiting area, lifts and shops. The entrance and booking hall were moved from the 'temporary' 1960s building into the original stone building following renovation and repairs. The renovations 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.^[3] Ticket barriers were installed in September 2009.

Services

General off-peak services^[4]

Direction	Virgin Trains East Coast	CrossCountry	TransPennine Express	Northern
Northbound	1tph to Newcastle Central, with some continuing to Edinburgh Waverley at peak times	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

Gallery

• 

  The Durham Viaduct

• 

  The northbound platform as seen from a train

• 

  Middle of the station, showing departures board

• 

  A HST departing for Newcastle

• 

  Local train from Newcastle in 1953

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. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/3688129.Durham_named___Britain_s_best_railway_station/
4. Table 26, 39, 44 & 51 National Rail timetable, May 2016

External links

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