Eaglescliffe Railway Station

Eaglescliffe is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between and via . The station, situated east of Darlington, serves the village of Eaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

Before the station

The previous line ran on the east side of Yarm Road, through the grounds of Preston Hall. It is said that Lord Preston (Marshall Robinson Fowler) was unhappy the disruption that trains, such as ''Locomotion No. 1'', caused to his cattle and had insisted that it was moved west of the road when the Stockton and Darlington Railway re-aligned their line.

The railway station serving the parishes of Preston-on-Tees and Egglescliffe, was known as ''Preston''. Displeased at the cost of moving the station, the railway owners decided to name the new station after Egglescliffe (ultimately using a different spelling) instead.

Opening

The station was opened by the Leeds Northern Railway on 25 May 1852, with their line from Melmerby to Stockton. That line deviates from the original alignment of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The station became known as ''Eaglescliffe Junction'', as passengers could change between services on the two respective lines. Originally the station had four platforms: the westernmost platforms were taken out of use in the late 1960s and since been removed.

Misspelling

There are various stories as to how the station got the name , instead of the intended, . One such set of stories is that the signwriter was sent a telegram with a misspelling to paint the sign as ''Eaglescliffe.'' Another variant was that the signwriter thought to change it, after believing it to be incorrect. In each variation, it is said that the sign was not changed for a period of time, by which time the name had been adopted. In the following years the surrounding area came to be known interchangeably as Eaglescliffe (on road signs) or Egglescliffe (often referring to the original village or in building names).

Tees Valley Metro

Starting in 2006, Eaglescliffe was mentioned within the Tees Valley Metro scheme. This was a plan to upgrade the Tees Valley Line and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North East of England. In the initial phases the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments with new additional infrastructure and rollingstock. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions.

As part of the scheme, Eaglescliffe station would have received improved service to Darlington and Saltburn (1–2 to 4 trains per hour) and new rollingstock. The station would also have received a new ticket office, waiting facility, outdoor shelters, electronic information displays, and possible extension to the car park (Improvements eventually occurred after cancellation, with plans for the new footbridge starting in 2024). While speculative, there was further talk about additional stations being added in the area such as a Preston Farm station, and street-running trams to Ingleby Barwick, which may have impacted Eaglescliffe.

However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis, the project was ultimately shelved. Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in the future which may affect Eaglescliffe.

Facilities

The station's facilities have been recently upgraded during the early and mid–2010s, with improvements including the installation of real-time information screens and CCTV, as well as renewed station signage.

In January 2012, construction work started on a new ticket office at the station. In April 2015, the station's previous waiting shelters were replaced by a modern waiting room.

The station has been staffed since 2012. Initially, the ticket office was operated by an independent company, Chester-le-Track, which also operated the station at Chester-le-Street. Chester-le-Track ceased trading on 31 March 2018, and the booking office was subsequently closed.

The ticket office was later re-opened on 3 April 2018, and is now managed by Northern Trains, with staff provided by Grand Central. As of July 2021, the ticket office is open between 09:00 and 16:00 on weekdays, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.

There is step-free access to the island platform via the ramped footbridge from the car park and station entrance.

In May 2024, improvements to Eaglescliffe Station started, with a new footbridge connecting to the west side as well as the existing footbridge and ramps refurbished, with new waiting areas and taxi office being added as part of the project.

Services

Grand Central

Grand Central serves the station with 6 trains per day (5 on a Sunday) between Sunderland and London Kings Cross via Hartlepool, Northallerton, Thirsk and York. One train per day calls at Peterborough.

Northern Trains

Northern Trains serves the station with an hourly service between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland and an hourly service between Saltburn and Darlington. Three trains per day extend to Newcastle via Durham (with two continuing to Carlisle) and two trains per day to Nunthorpe. One late night service terminates at Middlesbrough.

On Sundays, the station is served by an hourly service between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland. One train per day operates between Darlington and Whitby via Nunthorpe. Two trains per day operate between Darlington and Hartlepool via Stockton.

TransPennine Express

From the December 2024 timetable change TransPennine Express operates an hourly service between Redcar Central and Manchester Airport via Yarm. Two trains per day extend to terminate at Saltburn.

References

Sources

*Body, G. (1988), ''PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough,
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External links

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{{Railway stations served by Northern Trains

Railway stations in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
DfT Category F1 stations
Former North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom) stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1853
Railway stations served by Grand Central Railway
Railway stations served by Northern