Tees Valley line

File:North yorkshire moors railway map.gif, 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.{{cite web |title=The Stockton Railway |url=http://www.thisisstockton.co.uk/history/The_Stockton_and_Darlington_Railway.asp|website=This is Stockton on Tees |access-date=15 January 2016}} 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.{{cite web|title=Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Whitby,_Redcar_and_Middlesbrough_Union_Railway|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk|access-date=15 January 2016}}

In March 2015, a {{convert|0.62|mi|km|0}} 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.[http://www.thejournal.co.uk/business/business-news/hitachi-rail-europes-newton-aycliffe-8920523 Hitachi Rail Europe's Newton Aycliffe factory connected to national rail network] The Journal 25 March 2015[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-32052907 Newton Aycliffe's Hitachi train plant connected to main line] BBC News 25 March 2015

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 Carlise via the Tyne Valley Line. {{Cite web |title=Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern |website=Northern Railway |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |url=https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/travel/timetables }}
• 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 {{rws|Manchester Airport}}.{{Cite web |website=TransPennine Express |title=Timetables |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=5 November 2024 |url=https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/timetables }} 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.{{Cite web |title=Our timetables |website=LNER |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |url=https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/travelling-later/timetables/ }}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/northern-launches-north-easts-first-fully-refurbished-train|title=Northern launches North East’s first fully refurbished train|website=Northern News|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-03-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/northerns-refurbished-trains-creating-jobs-and-boosting-the-economy|title=Northern’s refurbished trains – creating jobs and boosting the economy|website=Northern News|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-03-03}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-04 |title=Northern’s train refurbishment nears completion {{!}} Northern |url=https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/news/northerns-train-refurbishment-nears-completion |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=www.northernrailway.co.uk |language=en}}

Class 185 units were refurbished as part of a £32 million investment, with the work being completed in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/media-centre/news/2017/july/brighter-bigger-better-a-modern-makeover-for-our-trains|title=Brighter bigger better A modern makeover for our trains|website=www.tpexpress.co.uk|access-date=3 March 2020}}

Class 142 Pacer DMUs formerly served the line on Northern services, until the early 2020s when they were withdrawn from passenger service.{{Cite web|url=https://media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/first-northern-pacer-retires|title=Northern retires first Pacer train|website=Northern News|language=en-GB|access-date=3 March 2020}}

{{Tees Valley Line RDT}}

The route serves the following stations:

{{GeoGroup|section=Stations}}

{{PoIgb start|type=collapsed}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Bishop Auckland}}|54.6572|-1.678| | | |name=Bishop Auckland Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Shildon}}|54.6262|-1.6367| | | |name=Shildon Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Newton Aycliffe}}|54.6137|-1.5897| | | |name=Newton Aycliffe Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Heighington}}|54.5971|-1.5818| | | |name=Heighington Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|North Road}}|54.5357|-1.5537| | | |name=North Road Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Darlington}}|54.5207|-1.5467| | | |name=Darlington Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Dinsdale}}|54.5150|-1.4671| | | |name=Dinsdale Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Teesside Airport}}|54.5185|-1.4253| | | |name=Teesside Airport Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Allens West}}|54.5246|-1.3616| | | |name=Allens West Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Eaglescliffe}}|54.5301|-1.3497| | | |name=Eaglescliffe Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Thornaby}}|54.5592|-1.302| | | |name=Thornaby Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Middlesbrough}}|54.5791|-1.2345| | | |name=Middlesbrough Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Cargo Fleet}}|54.577|-1.2094| |Closed 1990 | |name=Cargo Fleet Station (Closed 1990)}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|South Bank|England}}|54.5840|-1.1763| | | |name=South Bank Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Grangetown}}|54.5885|-1.1521| |Closed 1991 | |name=Grangetown Station (Closed 1991)}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Warrenby Halt}}|54.6156|-1.1135| |Closed 1978 | |name=Warrenby Halt (Closed 1978)}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Redcar British Steel}}|54.6098|-1.1126| |Suspended 2019 | |name=Redcar British Steel Station (Suspended 2019)}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Redcar Central}}|54.6160|-1.0703| | | |name=Redcar Central Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Redcar East}}|54.6091|-1.05193| | | |name=Redcar East Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Longbeck}}|54.5893|-1.0310| | | |name=Longbeck Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Marske}}|54.5874|-1.0195| | | |name=Marske Station}}

{{PoIgb|{{stnlnk|Saltburn}}|54.5834|-0.9752| | | |name=Saltburn Station}}

{{PoIgb|Zetland Hotel platform|54.5837|-0.9715| |Closed 1983 | |name=Zetland Hotel platform (Closed 1983)}}

{{PoIgb end}}

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

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.

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.

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Tees Valley Line}}

• [http://go.to/genmaps GenMaps - Maps of Durham, Yorkshire 1885]
• [http://www.npemap.org.uk/ NPEMaps - Maps of area circa 1950]
• [http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/3085.aspx Network Rail maps of Route 9 - North East Routes]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090327141045/http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/m.h.ellison/nera/october_tour_2000.htm North Eastern Railway Tour 2000]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070823054954/http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/cardboardcity/page5.phtml Communigate - Grangetown streets and buildings]
• [http://www.bishopline.org The Bishop Line]
• [http://www.tvl-rug.org.uk Tees Valley Line Rail User Group]

{{Railway lines in North East England}}

Category:Railway lines in North East England

Category:Rail transport in County Durham

Category:Rail transport in North Yorkshire

Category:Transport in Middlesbrough

Category:Community railway lines in England