Puneet Varma (Editor)

Durham railway station

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Place
  
Durham

Station code
  
DHM

DfT category
  
C1

Opened
  
1857

Number of platforms
  
2

Grid reference
  
NZ269428

Owned by
  
Network Rail

Address
  
Durham DH1 4SE, UK

Owner
  
Network Rail

Local authority
  
County Durham

Durham railway station

Managed by
  
Virgin Trains East Coast

Similar
  
Chester‑le‑Street railway station, Seaham railway station, Bishop Auckland railway st, Crook Hall - Durham, MetroCentre railway station

Durham railway station 09 3 2015


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) down-line from 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.

Contents

It is managed by Virgin Trains East Coast. Despite its small functional capacity, the station is a major stop on the main line and has frequent services.

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.

Durham railway station 21 12 2015


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 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. This became the main line, the current East Coast Main Line on the 15th January 1872.
  • 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.

    Today, the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by Virgin Trains East Coast. It was refurbished between 2006 and 2008 by the operator Great North Eastern Railway and later National Express East Coast, which included a new 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. Ticket barriers were installed in 2009.

    Services

    General off-peak services

    tph = trains per hour, tpd = trains per day

    References

    Durham railway station Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA