The Tees Valley Line is a rail route, in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, following part of the original

Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near Shildo ...

route of 1825. The line covers a distance of , and connects to via , and 14 other stations in the Teesdale. The section of line between and is branded as ''The Bishop Line'', and is supported by the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership. Beyond the line's western terminus at Bishop Auckland, the tracks continue for around to along what is now the

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales ...

Heritage Railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

Service

Services on the Tees Valley Line are operated by

Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail ...

, with an hourly service running between

Saltburn Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridin ...

and Bishop Auckland, and half-hourly trains to

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

. Additional

services operate along the Tees Valley Line during the morning peak, with some journeys between

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and Newcastle running along the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain runni ...

, rather than the Durham Coast Line.

TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major c ...

also operate along part of the Tees Valley Line, with hourly services from Redcar Central and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

and Manchester Airport. Predominantly, rolling stock on the Tees Valley Line consists of Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units operated by

, as well Class 185 diesel multiple units operated by

. The Class 156 and

158 Year 158 ( CLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 911 '' Ab urbe ...

units operating on the Tees Valley Line are currently in the process of being refurbished, with upgrades including free WiFi, power sockets, on-board passenger information displays, and an interior refresh. Class 185 units operated by

were refurbished as part of a £32 million investment, with the work being completed in 2018. Class 142 'Pacer' trains also served the line on Northern services, until the turn of the new decade, when they were withdrawn from passenger service. The route serves the following stations: Bishop Auckland, Shildon, Newton Aycliffe, Heighington, North Road (Darlington),

, Dinsdale, Teesside Airport, Allens West, Eaglescliffe, Thornaby,

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Albert ...

, Redcar Central, Redcar East,

Longbeck Longbeck is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between and via . The station, situated east of Middlesbrough, serves the village of Marske-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network ...

, Marske and

History

The section of line between Bishop Auckland and

(prior to joining the

), as well as the section between Dinsdale (near

Middleton St. George Middleton St George is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington (borough), Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated approximately east of Darlington. According to the 2011 UK Census the ...

) and Eaglescliffe, follow the original route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, which dates back to 1825. The line from

, as well as the freight only line to Boulby Mine, were part of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway, until the line's closure on 5 May 1958. In March 2015, a 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 Year 385 ( CCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Bauto (or, less frequently, year 1138 ''Ab urbe co ...

.Newton Aycliffe's Hitachi train plant connected to main line
''BBC News'' 25 March 2015

Least-used stations

Prior to the suspension of services to Redcar British Steel in 2019, the Tees Valley Line was home to two of the country's least-used rail stations.

Redcar British Steel

In 2017-18, Redcar British Steel was the least-used station in Britain, with an estimated 40 passenger journeys made. Prior to service suspension in December 2019, Redcar British Steel was served by two trains during the morning peak (07:57 to Bishop Auckland & 08:25 to

), and two during the evening peak (16:58 to

& 18:17 to

Teesside Airport

In 2012–13 and 2013–14, Teesside Airport was the least-used station in the country, with just 8 passenger journeys made per year, in both periods. As of the December 2019 timetable change, Teesside Airport is currently served by a once-weekly parliamentary service. Currently, the single Sunday service, commencing at Hartlepool, is timetabled to call at Teesside Airport at 14:54, before continuing through to

Stations

References

External links

GenMaps - Maps of Durham, Yorkshire 1885NPEMaps - Maps of area circa 1950Network Rail maps of Route 9 - North East RoutesCommunigate - Grangetown streets and buildingsThe Bishop Line
{{Railway lines in North East England Railway lines in North East England Rail transport in County Durham Rail transport in North Yorkshire Transport in Middlesbrough Community railway lines in England