Durham railway station

This article is about the station in England. For other uses, see Durham station (disambiguation).

Durham Add→{{rail-interchange}}
General information
Location	County of Durham
Coordinates	54.7798°N 1.5815°W / 54.7798; -1.5815
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Virgin Trains East Coast
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	DHM

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 the 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.

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.

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.

Since winning the intercity east coast rail franchise Virgin Trains East Coast have opened an information office on platform 2, added new bench and perch seating, installed Wi Fi and are planning to open a Brompton bicycle hire scheme in 2018.

Durham County Council, working with Virgin Trains East Coast and the Nort East Local Enterprise Partnership, have commenced a 6 month project to improve cycle routes and pedestrian access to the station from the north of the city. This involves the construction of a new cycle path as well as upgrades to road crossings on Framwellgate peth.

In order to acomodate the new Virgin Trains East Coast Class 800 and 801s, platform 1 was extended north by 40 metres in January 2017.

Services

General off-peak services

Direction	Virgin Trains East Coast	CrossCountry	TransPennine Express	Northern
Northbound	1tph to Newcastle Central, with some continuing to Edinburgh Waverley at peak times. 1tpd extends from Newcastle to Sunderland and 1tpd extends from Edinburgh to Glasgow	1tph to Newcastle Central 1tph to Edinburgh Waverley	1tph to Newcastle Central	3tpd to Newcastle Central in the early morning (2tpd on Saturday)
Southbound	1tph to London King's Cross via York	1tph to Reading via Doncaster and Birmingham 1tph to Plymouth via Leeds and Birmingham	1tph to Liverpool Lime Street via Leeds and Manchester Victoria	1tpd to Darlington in the late evening (except Saturdays) 1tpd to Saltburn on Sundays

tph = trains per hour, tpd = trains per day

External links

• Train times and station information for Durham railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Darlington		CrossCountry Cross Country Route		Newcastle Central
Darlington		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Chester-le-Street
Darlington		Northern Tees Valley Line		Chester-le-Street
Darlington		Virgin Trains East Coast London-Newcastle/Edinburgh		Newcastle Central
	Historical railways
Croxdale Line open, station closed		London and North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Plawsworth Line open, station closed
Croxdale Line open, station closed		London and North Eastern Railway Leamside Line		Leamside Line and station closed
Brandon Colliery Line and station closed		London and North Eastern Railway Durham to Bishop Auckland Line		Terminus
Ushaw Moor Line and station closed		London and North Eastern Railway Deerness Valley Railway		Terminus
Aldin Grange for Bearpark Line and station closed		London and North Eastern Railway Lanchester Valley Railway		Terminus