Tees Valley line

Railway route in northern England

For the disused railway line between Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale, see Tees Valley Railway.

Tees Valley Line

A Northern Rail Class 158 arriving into Redcar Central Railway Station Platform One.

Overview
Status| Operational
Owner| Network Rail
Locale|

* County Durham
* North Yorkshire
* Tees Valley

Termini|

* Bishop Auckland
* Saltburn

Stations| 18
Service
Type| Heavy rail
System| National Rail
Operator(s)|

* Northern Trains
* TransPennine Express
* London North Eastern Railway
* Grand Central

Depot(s)| Heaton Depot
Rolling stock|

* Class 156
* Class 158
* Class 185
* Class 800

History
Opened| 27 September 1825
Technical
Track length| 38 miles (61 km)[1]
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed| 60 mph (97 km/h)

Route map

(Click to expand)

The Tees Valley Line is a railway route in Northern England, following part of the original Stockton and Darlington Railway route of 1825.[2] The line covers a distance of 38 miles (61 km), and connects Bishop Auckland with Saltburn via Darlington, Middlesbrough and other stations across the Tees Valley and Teesdale.

The section of line between Darlington and Bishop Auckland is branded as the Bishop Line and is supported by the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership.[3] The section of the route between Darlington and Saltburn is supported by the Tees Valley Line Rail User Group.[4] Beyond the line's western terminus at Bishop Auckland, the tracks continue for around 16 miles (26 km) to Stanhope along what is now the Weardale Heritage Railway.[5]

## History

[edit]

A map of the railway network of the Tees Valley, and neighbouring areas of County Durham and North Yorkshire, at its greatest extent during the early 20th century

The section of line between Bishop Auckland and Albert Hill Junction, Darlington (prior to joining the East Coast Main Line), as well as the section between Oak Tree Junction, Dinsdale (near Middleton St. George) and Eaglescliffe, follow the original route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, which dates back to 1825.[2] The 1825 S&DR route is rejoined north of Eaglescliffe and runs as far as Bowesfield Junction, Stockton.

The S&DR line from Bowesfield to Watson's Wharf on the Tees near Middlesbrough opened in 1830, and this was extended to Redcar in 1846. The extension to Saltburn opened in 1861 and the line towards Brotton and Loftus opened in 1872. The line beyond Loftus (now the freight-only line to Boulby Mine) was part of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway, opened in 1883; it closed on 5 May 1958.[6]

In March 2015, a 0.62 miles (1 km) electrified siding was laid adjacent to the Tees Valley Line, just south of Heighington. This allows low-speed testing of the trains manufactured at the nearby Hitachi Rail plant at Newton Aycliffe, including TOPS classes 800, 801, 805, 807, 810 and 385.[7][8]

## Services

[edit]

Services on the Tees Valley Line are operated by three train operating companies:

* Northern Trains, with a half hourly service from Saltburn to Darlington, of which one train every hour extends to Bishop Auckland. Additional services operate along the Tees Valley Line during the morning peak, with some journeys between Saltburn and Newcastle running along the East Coast Main Line, rather than the Durham Coast Line. One of these early morning services extends from Newcastle to Carlisle via the Tyne Valley Line. [9]
* TransPennine Express also operates along part of the Tees Valley Line, with hourly services from Redcar Central to York (via Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Eaglescliffe, Yarm), Leeds and Manchester Airport.[10] Eaglescliffe was added as a call for the first time during the December 2024 timetable change. Three trains a day extend to/from Redcar Central to Saltburn.
* London North Eastern Railway operates a weekday return service from Middlesbrough to London King's Cross.[11]

## Rolling stock

[edit]

Predominantly, rolling stock on the Tees Valley Line consists of:

* Northern Trains operates Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units (DMUs)
* TransPennine Express uses Class 185 DMUs
* London North Eastern Railway operates Class 800 bi-mode multiple units

Between 2019 and 2021, Class 156 and 158 units operating on the Tees Valley Line were refurbished, introducing free WiFi, power sockets, on-board passenger information displays and an interior refresh.[12][13][14]

Class 185 units were refurbished as part of a £32 million investment, with the work being completed in 2018.[15]

Class 142 Pacer DMUs formerly served the line on Northern services, until the early 2020s when they were withdrawn from passenger service.[16]

## Stations

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

Tees Valley line

Legend

|  |  |

|  |

Weardale Railway

|
|
|
|

|  |

|  |

Durham–Bishop Auckland Line

|  |

|  | Bishop Auckland
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway

|  |

|  |

Clarence Railway to Ferryhill

|  |

|  |

Stockton & Darlington Railway to Brussleton Lane

|  |

|  |

Shildon Tunnel

|  |

|  | Shildon
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Locomotion Museum

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Shildon Sidings

|  |

|  | Newton Aycliffe
|  |

|  |

Clarence Railway to Stillington

|  |

|  | Heighington
|  |

|  |

Hitachi Newton Aycliffe

|  |

|  |

A1(M)

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Darlington & Barnard Castle Railway

|  |

|  | North Road
|  |

|  |

Skerne Bridge over River Skerne

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

East Coast Main Line to Newcastle

|  |

|  | Darlington (Bank Top)
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

East Coast Main Line to York

|  |

|  | Fighting Cocks
|  |

|  | Dinsdale
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  | Teesside Airport
|  |

|  | Allens West
|  |

|  | Yarm Depot
|  |

|  |

Northallerton–Eaglescliffe line

|  |

|  | Eaglescliffe
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Castle Eden Railway to Wellfield

|  |

|  |

Durham Coast Line to Hartlepool

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  | Stockton
|  |

|  |

Surtees Rail Bridge over River Tees

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  | Thornaby
|  |

|  |

Tees Marshalling Yard

|  |

|  |

A19 Tees Newport Bridge

|  |

|  | Newport
|  |

|  |

Tees Riverside Intermodal Terminal

|  |

|  | Middlesbrough
|  |

|  |

Esk Valley Line

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  | Cargo Fleet
|  |

|  | Cleveland Port
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Normanby Wharf

|  |

|  |

Cleveland Railway

|  |

|  | Eston

(2nd)

|  |

|  | South Bank
|  |

|  | Eston

(1st)

|  |

|  |

Eston mines branch

|  |

|  | Grangetown
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Teesside Steelworks (Lackenby)

|  |

|  | Lackenby
|  |

|  |

Teesport

|  |

|  | Lazenby
|  |

|  |

into Wilton International

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Redcar Bulk Terminal

|  |

|  | Warrenby Halt
|  |

|  | Redcar British Steel
|  |

|  |

Teesside Steelworks (Redcar)

|  |

|  | Redcar

(1st)

|  |

|  | Redcar Central
|  |

|  | Redcar East
|  |

|  | Longbeck
|  |

|  | Marske
|  |

|  |

| Saltburn West Junction

Boulby line

|  |

|  | Saltburn
|  |  |  |  |  |

The route serves the following stations:

Map this section's coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

* KML
* GPX (all coordinates)
* GPX (primary coordinates)
* GPX (secondary coordinates)

Point  | Coordinates
(Links to map resources)  | OS Grid Ref | Notes

|
|
|

Bishop Auckland | 54°39′26″N 1°40′41″W﻿ / ﻿54.6572°N 1.678°W﻿ / 54.6572; -1.678﻿ (Bishop Auckland Station) | NZ20872917  |
Shildon | 54°37′34″N 1°38′12″W﻿ / ﻿54.6262°N 1.6367°W﻿ / 54.6262; -1.6367﻿ (Shildon Station) | NZ23552573  |
Newton Aycliffe | 54°36′49″N 1°35′23″W﻿ / ﻿54.6137°N 1.5897°W﻿ / 54.6137; -1.5897﻿ (Newton Aycliffe Station) | NZ26592435  |
Heighington | 54°35′50″N 1°34′54″W﻿ / ﻿54.5971°N 1.5818°W﻿ / 54.5971; -1.5818﻿ (Heighington Station) | NZ27112251  |
North Road | 54°32′09″N 1°33′13″W﻿ / ﻿54.5357°N 1.5537°W﻿ / 54.5357; -1.5537﻿ (North Road Station) | NZ28971569  |
Darlington | 54°31′15″N 1°32′48″W﻿ / ﻿54.5207°N 1.5467°W﻿ / 54.5207; -1.5467﻿ (Darlington Station) | NZ29441402  |
Dinsdale | 54°30′54″N 1°28′02″W﻿ / ﻿54.5150°N 1.4671°W﻿ / 54.5150; -1.4671﻿ (Dinsdale Station) | NZ34591343  |
Teesside Airport | 54°31′07″N 1°25′31″W﻿ / ﻿54.5185°N 1.4253°W﻿ / 54.5185; -1.4253﻿ (Teesside Airport Station) | NZ37301384  |
Allens West | 54°31′29″N 1°21′42″W﻿ / ﻿54.5246°N 1.3616°W﻿ / 54.5246; -1.3616﻿ (Allens West Station) | NZ41411455  |
Eaglescliffe | 54°31′48″N 1°20′59″W﻿ / ﻿54.5301°N 1.3497°W﻿ / 54.5301; -1.3497﻿ (Eaglescliffe Station) | NZ42181517  |
Thornaby | 54°33′33″N 1°18′07″W﻿ / ﻿54.5592°N 1.302°W﻿ / 54.5592; -1.302﻿ (Thornaby Station) | NZ45231844  |
Middlesbrough | 54°34′45″N 1°14′04″W﻿ / ﻿54.5791°N 1.2345°W﻿ / 54.5791; -1.2345﻿ (Middlesbrough Station) | NZ49572070  |
Cargo Fleet | 54°34′37″N 1°12′34″W﻿ / ﻿54.577°N 1.2094°W﻿ / 54.577; -1.2094﻿ (Cargo Fleet Station (Closed 1990)) | NZ51202048  | Closed 1990
South Bank | 54°35′02″N 1°10′35″W﻿ / ﻿54.5840°N 1.1763°W﻿ / 54.5840; -1.1763﻿ (South Bank Station) | NZ53332128  |
Grangetown | 54°35′19″N 1°09′08″W﻿ / ﻿54.5885°N 1.1521°W﻿ / 54.5885; -1.1521﻿ (Grangetown Station (Closed 1991)) | NZ54892180  | Closed 1991
Warrenby Halt | 54°36′56″N 1°06′49″W﻿ / ﻿54.6156°N 1.1135°W﻿ / 54.6156; -1.1135﻿ (Warrenby Halt (Closed 1978)) | NZ57342485  | Closed 1978
Redcar British Steel | 54°36′35″N 1°06′45″W﻿ / ﻿54.6098°N 1.1126°W﻿ / 54.6098; -1.1126﻿ (Redcar British Steel Station (Suspended 2019)) | NZ57412421  | Suspended 2019
Redcar Central | 54°36′58″N 1°04′13″W﻿ / ﻿54.6160°N 1.0703°W﻿ / 54.6160; -1.0703﻿ (Redcar Central Station) | NZ60132493  |
Redcar East | 54°36′33″N 1°03′07″W﻿ / ﻿54.6091°N 1.05193°W﻿ / 54.6091; -1.05193﻿ (Redcar East Station) | NZ61332418  |
Longbeck | 54°35′21″N 1°01′52″W﻿ / ﻿54.5893°N 1.0310°W﻿ / 54.5893; -1.0310﻿ (Longbeck Station) | NZ62712199  |
Marske | 54°35′15″N 1°01′10″W﻿ / ﻿54.5874°N 1.0195°W﻿ / 54.5874; -1.0195﻿ (Marske Station) | NZ63462179  |
Saltburn | 54°35′00″N 0°58′31″W﻿ / ﻿54.5834°N 0.9752°W﻿ / 54.5834; -0.9752﻿ (Saltburn Station) | NZ66332139  |
Zetland Hotel platform  | 54°35′01″N 0°58′17″W﻿ / ﻿54.5837°N 0.9715°W﻿ / 54.5837; -0.9715﻿ (Zetland Hotel platform (Closed 1983)) | NZ66562143  | Closed 1983

### Least-used stations

[edit]

In 2019, the Tees Valley Line was home to two of the country's least-used railway stations.

#### Redcar British Steel

[edit]

In 2017-18, Redcar British Steel was the least-used station in Great Britain, with an estimated 40 passenger journeys made.

Prior to service suspension in December 2019, it was served by two trains during the morning peak and two during the evening peak.

#### Teesside Airport

[edit]

In 2012–13 and 2013–14, Teesside Airport was the least-used station in the country, with just eight passenger journeys made in both periods.

It is currently served by a once-weekly parliamentary service; a Sunday service, commencing at Hartlepool, calls here before continuing through to Darlington.

In 2020/21, due to decreased travel throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the station saw only two passenger journeys made. While remaining officially open, the station has seen its service suspended since May 2022, with the one operational platform condemned as unsafe. As a result, there were only 2 passengers in the year beginning April 2022.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Delivering a better railway for a better Britain: Route Specifications 2019 London North Eastern and East Midlands" (PDF). Network Rail. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
2. ^ a b "The Stockton Railway". This is Stockton on Tees. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
3. ^ "Welcome to the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership website". Bishop Line. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
4. ^ "TVLRUG Home Page". TVL-RUG. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
5. ^ "Weardale Railway trust | Stanhope | The Weardale Railway Trust". weardale-railway. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
6. ^ "Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
7. ^ Hitachi Rail Europe's Newton Aycliffe factory connected to national rail network Archived 1 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Journal 25 March 2015
8. ^ Newton Aycliffe's Hitachi train plant connected to main line BBC News 25 March 2015
9. ^ "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
10. ^ "Timetables". TransPennine Express. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
11. ^ "Our timetables". LNER. 2 June 2024. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
12. ^ "Northern launches North East's first fully refurbished train". Northern News. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
13. ^ "Northern's refurbished trains – creating jobs and boosting the economy". Northern News. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
14. ^ "Northern's train refurbishment nears completion | Northern". www.northernrailway.co.uk. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
15. ^ "Brighter bigger better A modern makeover for our trains". www.tpexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
16. ^ "Northern retires first Pacer train". Northern News. Retrieved 3 March 2020.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tees Valley Line.

* GenMaps - Maps of Durham, Yorkshire 1885
* NPEMaps - Maps of area circa 1950
* Network Rail maps of Route 9 - North East Routes
* North Eastern Railway Tour 2000
* Communigate - Grangetown streets and buildings
* The Bishop Line
* Tees Valley Line Rail User Group

* v
* t
* e

Railway lines in the North East

Primary|

| to London|

* East Coast Main Line

|

to Birmingham|

* Cross Country Route

Other|

| Inter–regional|

* Northallerton–Eaglescliffe line
* Tyne Valley line

|

Local|

* Durham Coast Line
* Esk Valley line
* Tees Valley line

Light rail|

* Tyne and Wear Metro

Freight-only|

* Port Clarence branch line
* Northumberland Line
* Boulby line
* Stillington line
* Tyne Dock branch line

Defunct|

* Allendale branch line
* Alnwick–Cornhill line
* Alston branch line (partial)
* Amble branch line
* Birtley to Wear Valley Junction via Consett line
* Blaydon–Consett line
* Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway
* Deerness Valley Railway
* Durham–Bishop Auckland line
* Durham–Sunderland line
* Eston branch line
* Ferryhill to Bishop Auckland via Beyers Green line
* Guisborough–Brotton line
* Hartlepool–Murton and Hartlepool–Ferryhill lines
* Hexham–Riccarton Junction line
* Lanchester Valley Railway
* Leamside line
* Middleton-in-Teesdale branch line
* Middlesbrough and Guisborough Railway (partial)
* Morpeth–Reedsmouth line
* North Sunderland Railway
* Riverside Branch
* Rothbury branch line
* Scotswood, Newburn and Wylam Railway
* Bishop Auckland to Kirkby Stephen East via Barnard Castle line
* Ponteland and Darras Hall branch line (partial)
* South Shields, Marsden, and Whitburn Colliery Railway
* Sunderland–Penshaw line (partial)
* Thornaby to Wellfield via Redmarshall line
* Tweedmouth–Kelso line

Heritage|

* Aln Valley Railway
* Bowes Railway
* North Tyneside Steam Railway
* South Tynedale Railway
* Tanfield Railway
* Weardale Railway

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template