Newcastle railway station
Newcastle | |
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General information | |
Other names | Newcastle Central |
Location | Newcastle upon Tyne |
Coordinates | 54°58′07″N 1°37′02″W / 54.9686°N 1.6171°W |
Managed by | London North Eastern Railway |
Platforms | 12 |
Other information | |
Station code | NCL |
Fare zone | Network One: 1 TransFare: Yellow Tyne & Wear Metro: A |
History | |
Original company | Newcastle & Carlisle Railway York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway |
Pre-grouping | North Eastern Railway |
Post-grouping | London & North Eastern Railway |
Key dates | |
29 August 1850 | Opened as Newcastle-on-Tyne Central |
1890s | Extended |
Newcastle railway station (also known as Newcastle Central) is a major station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, located around 268 miles (432 km) north of London King's Cross.[2]
The station opened in August 1850, as part of the then Newcastle & Carlisle Railway and York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway. Now a Grade I listed building, it is located in the city's Grainger Town area, to the west of the Castle Keep.[1] In Simon Jenkins' Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations, the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars.[3]
The main line serving the station is the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh via Yorkshire and Newcastle. It also serves the Durham Coast Line to Sunderland, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, and the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham and Carlisle. Long-distance services are operated by LNER, TransPennine Express and CrossCountry, while Northern Trains operate local services. A Tyne and Wear Metro station, Central Station, is situated beneath the rail station.
Construction and opening
Conception
A scheme for a central station was proposed by Richard Grainger and Thomas Sopwith in 1836[4] but was not built.
The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway had agreed to relinquish their insistence on exclusively using their Redheugh terminus on the south bank of the River Tyne. They agreed with George Hudson on a general station north of the Tyne, near the Spital. Instead of crossing the Tyne by a low level bridge and climbing to the Spital by a rope-worked incline, they would build an extension crossing at Scotswood and approaching on the north bank. They opened this line and a temporary station at Forth, and passenger trains started using that on 1 March 1847.[5]
Hudson, known as the "Railway King" was concentrating on connecting his portfolio of railways so as to join Edinburgh with the English network. His Newcastle and Berwick Railway obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1845, but for the time being it was to use the Newcastle and North Shields Railway's station at Carliol Square. Building a crossing of the Tyne was obviously going to be a lengthy process, so that he gave the construction of the general station a low priority. The Tyne crossing became the High Level Bridge.[6][7]
In February 1846 the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway exerted pressure for the general station to be built, and the architect John Dobson was appointed by Hudson to design it, in association with the engineer T E Harrison, and Robert Stephenson. By now the general alignment of Hudson's railways was becoming clear: a main line from the south via Gateshead would approach over the High Level Bridge and enter the general station from the east; the Newcastle and Berwick line would be extended from Carliol Square and also enter from the east; through trains from London to Scotland would reverse in the new station. Newcastle and Carlisle Railway trains would of course enter from the west.[6][7]
A definite design
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Newcastle_Central_Station_%28Fordyce%29.jpg/220px-Newcastle_Central_Station_%28Fordyce%29.jpg)
Dobson produced general plans for the station, now being referred to as the Central station, on a broad curve to front Neville Street so as to accommodate the alignment of the approaching railways at east and west. It was to a "Romano-Italien design with ornamental work of the Doric order".[8] Two through platform lines were shown, with three west end bays and two at the east end. There were to be three trainshed roofs with spans of 60 feet. Extensive offices as well as refreshment facilities were shown, and there was to be a covered carriage drive on the Neville Street side extending from the porte-cochère at each end.
On 7 August 1847 a contract was let for the main part of the work to Mackay and Blackstock, for £92,000 (equivalent to £10,620,000 in 2023).[9] A considerable amount of groundworks was necessary on the large site prior to the actual building work.[6]
The work did not progress speedily, and in 1849 Hudson's collection of railway companies suffered a financial shock. At a time of more difficult trading and a tighter money market, Hudson's personal dealings were exposed as shady. The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had been formed by merger of the previous smaller companies, and the YN&BR wished to reduce the financial commitment to the Central Station substantially; hotel accommodation and the covered carriage drive were eliminated. One of the through platforms was also removed from the plan.[6]
As built the site covered three acres and the length of the platform faces was 830 yards.[8]
Inaugurated by the Queen
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Newcastle_Central_Station_%281850%29.jpg/220px-Newcastle_Central_Station_%281850%29.jpg)
The trainshed proved faster to construct and on 29 August 1850 Queen Victoria visited the station by train and formally opened it. The day was declared a public holiday in Newcastle.[10] The following day YN&BR trains were diverted into it.[note 1]
The trainshed was, jointly with the Lime Street station in Liverpool, the first to be designed and built in Britain using curved wrought iron ribs to support an arched roof. The large section of the ribs was fabricated using curved web plates specially rolled using bevelled rolls; the novel technique was created by Thomas Charlton of Hawks Crawshay, and was estimated to have saved 14% on the cost of the roof ironwork, compared with cutting rectilinear plates to the curve.[6]
The station was lit by gas; a demonstration of electric arc-lighting was made, but was not at that date a practical possibility for the large station space. The platforms were positioned 15 inches above rail level.
The station was shared from the beginning by the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, which abandoned its earlier terminus at Carliol Square to the east which had operated since 1839. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway started using Central station from 1 January 1851, and also abandoned its earlier terminus at Forth.[11]
In 1861 the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had already merged with others to form the North Eastern Railway, and now it was desired to amalgamate with the Newcastle and Berwick Railway too. The Corporation of Newcastle used the opportunity of the necessary Parliamentary Bill for the amalgamation to insist on construction of the abandoned porte-cochère, and this was designed by Thomas Prosser and completed in 1863.[12]
Expansion of the station
In the 1860s the passenger train service was increasing considerably, especially as branch lines opened, six platforms were increased to nine in 1871 and to twelve in 1877, and then to fifteen in 1894: an additional through island platform was provided in 1871, occupying space formerly in use for stabling carriages. Increase in traffic continued, as also increasing train lengths and it was clear that a major extension of the station was essential. Newcastle had been given city status in 1882 and was supportive of the work, seeing it as a civic improvement. Forth Street was displaced southwards and two new trainshed roofs covered a southward extension of the station; in addition a large expansion to the east took place, with additional bay platforms there on the north side of the former bays. The original through track was blocked to form east and west bays, so that there were still only three through platform lines. This work was completed in 1894.[6][11]
The new group of bay platforms at the east end had their own concourse quadrangle, known at the time as the "Tynemouth Square". There was a separate booking hall for those local services. At this stage the roof covered seven and a half acres in area; there were fifteen platforms with a length of 3,000 yards.[8]
Killingworth Billy
In 1901 an early steam locomotive was on display at the station; :
[The station] is further graced by a pedestal on which stands a curious old locomotive rejoicing in the name of "Billy". The true early history of "Billy" is well-nigh veiled in the mists of antiquity, and it was only by diligent enquiry that Mr Holliday, the Station Master, was able to learn a little of her antecedents. That "she" was constructed as far back as 1824 – 1826 is however certain, and on that score alone she is entitled to an introduction to such of the readers of the Railway Magazine as have until now been unaware of her existence. For about fifty-five years (until 1879) she performed good service, first at the Springwell, and latterly at the Killingworth colliery, from which place she actually steamed into Newcastle in 1881 to celebrate George Stephenson’s Centenary.[8]
An image of the locomotive in Bywell's article is captioned "Puffing billy" but it is not Puffing Billy of 1814, which is currently on display at the Science Museum in London.
The locomotive in Bywell's article is known simply as Billy (Built in 1826). It was presented to Newcastle upon Tyne Corporation for preservation in 1881. Initially it was displayed on a plinth at the north end of the High Level Bridge, but was moved to the interior of Newcastle Central Station in 1896; it remained there until 1945, when it was moved to the city's Museum of Science and Industry; it was moved again in 1981 to the Stephenson Railway Museum in nearby North Shields, where it is still on display.[13]
The early history of the locomotive is uncertain; it is probably a George Stephenson locomotive, and was probably built at Killingworth Colliery workshops around 1815-1820.[14]
The twentieth century
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In 1900 the North Eastern Railway started replacing the gas lighting in the station with electric arc equipment. Further use of electricity came from 1904 when several suburban lines were electrified using the third rail system, to form the Tyneside Electrics system, electric trains were introduced, using Central Station from 1 July 1904. The tracks on platforms 1 to 6 were equipped with electrified third rails, and platform 7 was later electrified to handle electric trains to South Shields.[11]
Another major development came on 1 October 1906 when the King Edward VII Bridge was opened, crossing the Tyne to the south-west of the station: Since 1850 East Coast Main Line trains had entered Newcastle from the south via the High Level Bridge to the south-east, this meant however that they had to reverse in order to continue their journey, which lengthened journey times and led to congestion at the busy junction east of the station. The four-track King Edward Bridge remedied this by allowing north-south trains to leave or enter from either side of the station. The triangular junction at the Gateshead side also allowed for greater flexibility, allowing trains from Sunderland to use the new bridge if necessary.[11]
In 1909, Central station became Newcastle's only major city-centre station when the former Blyth and Tyne Railway's terminus at Newcastle New Bridge Street was closed, and its trains diverted to Central station via a new connection to Manors station.[11]
Metro station
The Tyne and Wear Metro system opened in 1980, taking over and improving many of the Tyneside suburban routes that had declined under British Railways management. The underground Central Station for Metro trains was constructed during the late 1970s underneath the main line station, and opened in 1981. Part of the porte-cochère was temporarily dismantled while excavation work took place.[15] The Metro system was a considerable success; Many conventional rail services were transferred there, and several of the east end bays were closed and converted to car parking and other usage. The Carlisle line was diverted to enter Newcastle over the King Edward Bridge of 1906, and a large out-of-town shopping development, the Metro Centre, was opened with a station on that line. The changing pattern of railway services meant that terminating trains were significantly fewer and through trains had increased. The emphasis on bay platforms at the station was no longer appropriate.
The opportunity was taken in conjunction with the East Coast Main Line electrification scheme, inaugurated in 1991 by British Rail, to extend the station southwards to provide more through platforms. This encroached on to land occupied by through tracks previously used by goods trains, which had seen little use since the withdrawal of many goods services in the 1960s. A new island platform was provided, built around the southern wall of the station. The two platform faces are divided so as to provide four numbered platforms, 5 to 8, generally used for local trains.[6]
Station Masters
- George Smart 1850 - 1860[16] (afterwards stationmaster at Leicester)
- Robert Reid 1860 - 1897
- Samuel Holliday 1897[17] - 1902 (formerly stationmaster at York)
- G.N. Saxby 1902 - 1913
- William Thompson 1913 -1923 (formerly stationmaster at York)
- Thomas Clements Humphrey 1923[18] - 1932 (formerly stationmaster at York)
- Harry. A. Butcher 1932[19] - 1939 (formerly stationmaster at York)
- George W. Pattinson 1939 - ????
- W.H. Burton 1950 - 1952 (afterwards station master of London Liverpool Street)
- W.H. Campbell 1952 - 1962
- R.E. Hardy 1962 - ???? (formerly station master at Birmingham New Street)
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Train services
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Newcastle_Central_Station_%28geograph_3009163%29.jpg/220px-Newcastle_Central_Station_%28geograph_3009163%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Newcastle_East_Junction_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1203615.jpg/220px-Newcastle_East_Junction_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1203615.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Newcastle_Central_station%2C_27_July_2011_%282%29.jpg/220px-Newcastle_Central_station%2C_27_July_2011_%282%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Newcastle_Central_Station_%28geograph_1866151%29.jpg/220px-Newcastle_Central_Station_%28geograph_1866151%29.jpg)
Newcastle is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. The station is operated by London North Eastern Railway.
London North Eastern Railway
London North Eastern Railway provides high-speed inter-city services southbound every half hour to London (one fast, one semi-fast) as well as 3 trains per 2 hours continue northbound into Scotland. One service is also provided each evening Monday - Friday from Newcastle to Sunderland.[20]
- northbound to Edinburgh Waverley calling at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Extra services at peak times to Edinburgh only also call at Morpeth, Alnmouth and Dunbar. At weekends, all daytime services arriving from London continue to Edinburgh.
- 4 services are extended daily to Aberdeen
- 1 service is extended daily to Glasgow Central
- 1 service is extended daily to Inverness
- 1 service is extended daily to Stirling
- southbound to London King's Cross;
- 1 semi-fast service calling at Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Doncaster, Newark North Gate, Peterborough and other stations on the ECML at peak times with a journey time of approximately 3 hours 20 minutes.
- 1 fast service calling at Darlington and York only with a journey time of 2 hours 50 minutes.
- Additional services operate between Edinburgh-Newcastle/York and between Newcastle-York.
Rolling stock used: Class 800s, Class 801s and InterCity 225s
Flying Scotsman
- early morning service, the Flying Scotsman operated by London North Eastern Railway, from Edinburgh Waverley to London King's Cross calling at Newcastle only arriving at King's Cross at 09.40, not corresponding northbound service
Rolling stock used: Class 800s
CrossCountry
CrossCountry operate services north into Scotland, supplementing London North Eastern Railway services, and southbound there are two trains per hour to the CrossCountry hub at Birmingham New Street from where they extend towards the South West and South Coast.[21]
- northbound to Edinburgh Waverley hourly, continuing to Glasgow Central (every two hours) or Aberdeen (once daily) calling at most stations en route.
- southbound to the South West of England hourly calling at Durham, Darlington, York, Leeds, Wakefield Westgate, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham New Street, Cheltenham Spa, Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth. Three services to continue Penzance.
- southbound to Reading hourly calling at Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham New Street, Leamington Spa, Banbury, Oxford and Reading. Some services are continue to Southampton Central or Guildford (once daily).
Rolling stock used: Class 220s, Class 221s and InterCity 125s
TransPennine Express
Newcastle is a terminus for TransPennine Express services to and from Manchester and also sees services from Liverpool call at the station heading towards Edinburgh.
With the electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool Line, from May 2014 a new timetable was introduced which is made up an hourly express service between Newcastle and Liverpool via Leeds and Manchester reducing journey times to Liverpool to three hours as part of the Northern Hub scheme.[22] Services to Leeds/York are also supplemented by London North Eastern Railway and CrossCountry.
- southbound to Liverpool Lime Street calling at Chester-le-Street, Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria.
- southbound to Manchester Airport calling at Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Leeds, Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Manchester Piccadilly.
- northbound to Edinburgh Waverley calling at Morpeth only.
Rolling stock used: Class 802 bi-mode multiple units
Northern Trains
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East Coast Main line
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Most services extend to/from
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Durham Coast line
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Tyne Valley line
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Northern Trains operates a number of commuter and regional services :[23]
- northbound on the East Coast Main Line to Cramlington and Morpeth with services extended to Chathill at peak hours.
- southbound along the Durham Coast Line to Middlesbrough calling at Heworth, Sunderland, Seaham, Hartlepool, Seaton Carew, Billingham, Stockton and Thornaby. Extended most hours to Nunthorpe in order to serve the new railway station at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
- westbound on the Tyne Valley Line to Carlisle calling at MetroCentre, Prudhoe, Hexham, Haydon Bridge, Haltwhistle, Brampton and others at alternate hours.
- westbound slow service on the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham calling at Dunston, MetroCentre, Blaydon, Wylam, Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Riding Mill, Corbridge and terminating at Hexham. Extended to Carlisle at peak hours.
- 1 train per hour operates between Newcastle and Metro Centre calling at Dunston only during the day.
Rolling stock used: Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units
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TransPennine North
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Edinburgh Waverley One way operation |
London North Eastern Railway Flying Scotsman |
London King's Cross One way operation | ||
Durham or Darlington |
London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line |
Terminus | ||
Alnmouth or Morpeth or Berwick-upon-Tweed or Edinburgh Waverley | ||||
Sunderland Limited service | ||||
Northern Trains | through to Tyne Valley Line |
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through to Tyne Valley Line | Northern Trains East Coast Main Line | |||
Limited service | Northern Trains East Coast Main Line | Terminus | ||
through to East Coast Main Line | Northern Trains Tyne Valley Line | |||
through to Durham Coast Line | ||||
Future Services | ||||
Stevenage | East Coast Trains East Coast Main Line London – Edinburgh |
Morpeth |
Future
East Coast Trains
In May 2016 ORR gave the green light to a new operator called East Coast Trains which would operate services to Edinburgh Waverley via Stevenage, Newcastle & Morpeth. The operation would begin operation in 2021.[24][25][26]
Proposed Northumberland Line to Ashington
Since the 1990s local councils have considered the feasibility of restoring passenger services linking Ashington and Blyth with Newcastle.[27] These early, informal, proposals suggested serving Blyth, not by reopening the branch to Blyth station, but by reopening the nearby Newsham station.
Denis Murphy, the then Labour MP for Wansbeck, expressed support in the House of Commons in an adjournment debate in April 1999 and again in a debate in January 2007.[28] The Railway Development Society (renamed Railfuture in 2000) also endorsed the proposal in 1998.[27]
Later, in 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies published a £34 million proposal to restore passenger services from Newcastle to Ashington, serving Blyth in this way.[29]
In the early 2010s, Northumberland County Council (NCC) became interested in the reintroduction of passenger services along the remaining freight-only section of the former Blyth and Tyne Railway main line between Benton Junction and a reopened Ashington station. In June 2013 NCC commissioned Network Rail to complete a GRIP 1 study to examine the best options for the scheme.[30] The GRIP 1 study was received by NCC in March 2014 and in June 2015 they initiated a more detailed GRIP 2 Feasibility Study at a cost of £850,000.[31]
The GRIP 2 study, which NCC received in October 2016, confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day a week passenger service between Newcastle and Ashington was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034.[32] This GRIP 2 study suggested construction of up to 7 new or reopened stations, potentially including a new terminus at Woodhorn (for the Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives) east of Ashington, with a potential end to end journey time of 37 minutes.[33] At the time it was suggested that, subject to funding being raised for the £191 million[32] scheme, detailed design work could begin in October 2018 with construction commencing four months later and the first passenger services introduced in 2021[32] though by October 2018 such works were yet to begin.
After receiving the GRIP 2 study, NCC initially announced that they were preceding with a GRIP 3 Study from Network Rail but such a report was not commissioned at the time.[34] Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections[35] the authority continued to work towards the reintroduction of a passenger service onto the line,[36] encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail, which named the line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services.[37][38] Consequentially, NCC commissioned a further interim study in November 2017 (dubbed GRIP 2B) to determine whether high costs and long timescales identified in the GRIP 2 Study could be reduced by reducing the initial scope of the project but the report failed to deliver on this.[34]
The Northumberland County Council has, however, continued to develop the project, announcing an additional £3.46 million in funding for a further business case and detailed design study[39] (equivalent to GRIP 3)[34] to be completed by the end of 2019, with the first passenger services potentially being introduced on the line in 2022.[39] However, the revised proposals, released in July 2019, are reduced in scope from the plan considered in the 2016 GRIP 2 study and propose 4-phase project[40] to reduce the initial cost of the scheme. As such, the initial phase, at an estimated £90 million,[39] would see the creation of new or reopened National Rail stations at only Northumberland Park, Newsham, Bedlington and Ashington as well as a number of other infrastructure upgrades.[40] Two further stations, at Seaton Delaval and Blyth Bebside and further infrastructure upgrades would then follow in later phases.[40] The previously proposed station at Woodhorn appears to have been dropped from the scheme entirely.
The North East Joint Transport Committee's bid for the UK Government's Transfroming Cities Fund, submitted on 20 June 2019, includes £99 million to fund the first phase of the Newcastle to Ashington Northumberland Line project,[41] while further work is ongoing to secure additional public and private investment.[42]
Layout and platforms
The station has 12 surface-level platforms, served by heavy rail services, with a further two sub-surface platforms served by the Tyne & Wear Metro network.
- Platform 1: A bay platform facing east, serving terminating Northern Trains services from the East Coast Main Line. Following the May 2019 timetable change, this platform is used less frequently, as most Northern Trains services from Morpeth now continue west along the Tyne Valley Line.[43]
- Platform 2: The main through platform for CrossCountry and LNER services heading north along the East Coast Main Line towards Edinburgh Waverley.
- Platforms 3 & 4: The main through platforms for CrossCountry services heading towards Birmingham New Street, the South East and the South Coast, and LNER services heading south along the East Coast Main Line towards London King's Cross. These platforms are also (less frequently) used by services heading north along the East Coast Main Line, as well as by services terminating at Newcastle.
- Platforms 5-8: The four platforms all share the newer island platform, mainly used by Northern Trains services heading west along the Tyne Valley Line towards Hexham and Carlisle, and east along the Durham Coast Line towards Sunderland, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.
- Platforms 9-12: Four bay terminal platforms facing west. Platforms 9 & 10 are used by TransPennine Express services towards Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street, as well as some Northern Trains services heading west along the Tyne Valley Line. Platform 11 is mainly used by CrossCountry services towards Birmingham New Street, the South East and the South Coast. Platform 12 is mainly used by CrossCountry services terminating at Newcastle.
Station redevelopment
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Entrance_to_Newcastle_Railway_Station_%28geograph_3609299%29.jpg/220px-Entrance_to_Newcastle_Railway_Station_%28geograph_3609299%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Newcastle_Central_Station_%282%29.jpg/220px-Newcastle_Central_Station_%282%29.jpg)
Plans were revealed on 30 April 2013 for a major redevelopment,[44] including an £8.6 million project to regenerate the inside of the station,[45] and a further £11.4 million to develop the area surrounding the station.[46] The portico redevelopment was completed in April 2014.[47]
The redevelopment plans contain a number of improvements, including:
- New retail space in the portico area, which will be turned into glazed arches to provide weather protection as well as retail units replacing the existing ticket office and travel centre. This will double the current amount of retail space to make it equivalent to that of the new King's Cross Station.[44][45][48][49]
- The travel centre and ticket office will be reduced in size and relocated to the area beyond where the current Sainsbury's Local store is.[44][45][50]
- Improved toilet facilities.[44][45][49]
- Clearer signage.[44][45][49]
- Increased covered cycle-park space.[45]
- A simpler layout that accentuates the grade one listed architecture including the Castle Keep. The line of sight across the concourse will also be greatly improved.[45]
- Sand-blasting of the walls and new lighting to be fitted.[50]
- The current access points to the station will be moved to make it easier to enter and leave the station.[44]
- Improved waiting rooms.[49]
- Alteration to the existing bridge structure.[49]
- New lifts and escalators.[49]
- New glazed canopies.[49]
The redevelopment plan also includes a number of improvements to the area surrounding the station, including:
- New taxi rank to the east side of the portico.[45][48][50]
- A two-way cycle track at the west end of Neville Street.[44][50]
- Change of traffic flow patterns to ease congestion.[51]
- Pedestrian crossings on Neville Street and Grainger Street.[44]
- Pedestrianisation of the car-park space outside the Centurion Pub.[48][50]
- Wider footways and pavement cafes outside the station.[44]
The work began in May 2013 and was completed during April 2014 by Miller Construction.[45] The station operated as normal throughout the works.[45] The £8.6 million funding for the internal station work was provided by the Department for Transport's Station Commercial Project Facility Fund.[45] The external works were jointly funded by NE1, Regional Growth Fund and Newcastle City Council.[46]
Railway infrastructure
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Trains cross the River Tyne on one of two bridges. The older High Level Bridge south-east of the station, designed by Robert Stephenson opened on 27 September 1849. Its location meant north-south trains had to reverse in the station to continue their journey. The King Edward VII Bridge south-west of the station opened on 10 July 1906 allowing north-south trains to continue without reversing. The two bridges enable the trackwork north and south of the river to form a complete circle, allowing trains to be turned if necessary. The former Gateshead depot, next to the connecting tracks on the south side of the Tyne, mirrored Newcastle station.
The station was noted for its complex set of diamond crossings to the east of the station which facilitated access to the High Level Bridge and northbound East Coast Main Line and was said to be the greatest such crossing in the world.[52] The crossing was the subject of many early-1900s post cards, titled The Largest Railway Crossing in the World - photographed from the castle (towards the station), or from the station towards the castle.[53]
The crossing has been simplified in recent years as the opening of the Metro brought about the withdrawal of many heavy-rail suburban services and the closure of the bay platforms they operated from on the north side of the station removing the need for such a complex crossing. Much of this work was carried out in 1988-9 as part of remodelling and resignalling work associated with ECML electrification. A new island platform on the former goods lines was commissioned as part of this work, with signalling control relocated to the Tyneside IECC on the opposite side of the river. Heaton depot is to the north of the station, on the East Coast Main Line.
Accidents and incidents
- On 17 August 1951, two electric multiple units were in a head-on collision after one of them departed against a danger signal. Two people were killed.[54]
- On 19 April 1955, a collision occurred between V2 locomotive 60968 and Fairburn tank locomotive No. 42085 on the diamond crossings. Both locomotives were derailed.[55]
Tyne & Wear Metro
Newcastle station is located above Central metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, one of five underground stations serving the city centre. Central is an interchange between the Yellow and Green lines, and is the last stop prior to crossing the River Tyne towards Gateshead.
See also
- Blyth & Tyne Railway
- Central Station Metro station
- Newcastle New Bridge Street station
- Newcastle & North Shields Railway
- North Tyneside Loop
- Tyneside Electrics
Notes
- ^ Since the opening of a temporary crossing of the Tyne, through trains had used Greenesfield station in Gateshead and had reversed at the east end of the Central Station site without making a station call.
References
- ^ a b *Historic England. "Central Railway Station; Passenger Buildings and Train Shed with Platforms (1355291)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ Padgett, David (October 2016) [1988]. Brailsford, Martyn (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (4th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 22A. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.
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(help) - ^ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/review-britains-100-best-railway-stations-by-simon-jenkins-w5mjwgvf5
- ^ Richard Grainger, A Proposal for Concentrating the Termini of the Newcastle & Carlisle, Great North of England and Proposed Edinburgh Railways, Newcastle, 1836
- ^ Bill Fawcett, The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, North Eastern Railway Association, 2008, ISBN 978 1 873513 69 9
- ^ a b c d e f g Bill Fawcett, in John Addyman and Bill Fawcett, The High Level Bridge and Newcastle Central Station – 150 years across the Tyne, North Eastern Railway Association, 1999, ISBN 1-873513-28-3
- ^ a b John F Addyman (editor), A History of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway, North Eastern Railway Association, 2011, ISBN 978 1 873513 75 0
- ^ a b c d E M Bywell, Notable Railway Stations: XI: The Central Station, North-Eastern Railway, Newcastle-on-Tyne, in the Railway Magazine, January 1901
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/newcastle-central-station-anniversary-spotlight-9926113
- ^ a b c d e Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. pp. 27–31. ISBN 1-871944-20-1.
- ^ http://www.ribaj.com/buildings/newcastle-central-station-by-ryder
- ^ https://stephensonrailwaymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/billy
- ^ Michael R Bailey, Loco Motion: The World's Oldest Steam Locomotives, History Press, 2014, ISBN 978 0 7524 9101 1, pages 31-33
- ^ "Odd bits". Timmonet. 23 December 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
- ^ "Local Intelligence". Newcastle Journal. England. 18 August 1860. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The New Stationmaster at Newcastle". Shields Daily Gazette. England. 16 October 1897. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Today's News in Brief". Yorkshire Evening Post. England. 22 December 1923. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "York to Newcastle". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. England. 20 February 1932. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition Table 26
- ^ GB eNRT 2015-16, Table 51
- ^ GB eNRT, Table 39
- ^ GB eNRT 2015-16, Tables 44 & 48
- ^ Applications for the East Coast Main Line Office of Rail and Road 12 May 2016
- ^ First Group to run Edinburgh to London budget rail service BBC News 12 May 2016
- ^ VTEC and FirstGroup granted East Coast Main Line paths Railway Gazette International 12 May 2016
- ^ a b Bevan 1998, p. 59.
- ^ Denis Murphy; et al. (10 January 2007). "Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Railway". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 135WH–139WH.
- ^ ATOC 2009, p. 17.
- ^ "The Journal: Ashington Blyth and Tyne rail line restoration scheme gets green light". Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "New Post Leader: Plans for rail line reach milestone". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "Chronicle Live: Reopening of Newcastle to Ashington rail link moves one step closer". Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "Ashington Blyth & Tyne GRIP 2 Study" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "SENRUG - South East Northumberland Rail User Group: Re-open Ashington Blyth & Tyne Line". Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ Kelly, Mike; Muncaster, Michael (5 May 2017). "Northumberland local elections results IN FULL - council held by Tories in 'straw draw' drama - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Graham, Hannah (1 June 2018). "Northumberland's draft local plan unveiled: What it means for houses, jobs and the green belt - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Connecting people: a strategic vision for rail" (PDF). Department for Transport. November 2017. ISBN 9781528601252. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Allen, Andrew (12 December 2017). "What's in the government's new rail strategy? | CityMetric". CityMetric. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Ben (28 February 2019). "Phasing of proposed Northumberland rail line explained after concerns raised | News Post Leader". News Post Leader. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Ben (15 July 2019). "Six new stations could open if Ashington to Newcastle passenger trains resume - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Holland, Daniel (19 June 2019). "North East's £377m transport funding bid confirmed - but leaders say there is more to come - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Northumberland Line could reopen for passengers in 2022 | Rail Engineer". Rail Engineer. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "North East customers get extra Newcastle - Carlisle services". Northern News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Exciting plans for Central Station" (Press release). Newcastle City Council. 30 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "New Era for Newcastle Central Station". East Coast. 2013.
- ^ a b Daunt, Joe (30 April 2013). "Revamping Newcastle Central Station: Multi-Million Plans Revealed to Public". Sky News Tyne and Wear. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013.
- ^ Lognonne, Ruth (7 April 2014). "Newcastle Central Station's new look is unveiled". The Journal. thejournal.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
- ^ a b c Pearson, Adrian (12 March 2013). "Businesses welcome plans to revamp Newcastle's Central Station". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Newcastle Central Station to Benefit from an £8.6million Investment". Network Rail. 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Pearson, Adrian (11 March 2013). "Newcastle's Central Station set for radical £8 million makeover". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle.
- ^ Pearson, Adrian (20 April 2013). "Radical Plans for Newcastle Central Station are Revealed". The Journal. Newcastle.
- ^ Guy, Andy (2003). Steam and Speed: Railways of Tyne and Wear. Tyne Bridge Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 1-85795-161-1.
- ^ "Old Postcards And Photographs Of Newcastle upon Tyne". www.picturesofgateshead.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ Hoole, Ken (1983). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 4. Truro: Atlantic Books. p. 17. ISBN 0-906899-07-9.
- ^ Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 38. ISBN 0-906899 03 6.
Sources
- Bevan, Alan, ed. (1998). A-Z of Rail Reopenings (fourth ed.). Fareham: Railway Development Society Ltd. p. 59. ISBN 0-901283-13-4.
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(help) - "Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- "Property History : (004510030492) Newcastle Central Station, Neville Street, Newcastle upon Tyne". Newcastle City Council. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013.
- Addyman, John; Fawcett, Bill (1999). The High Level Bridge and Newcastle Central Station. North Eastern Railway Association. ISBN 1 873513 28 3.
- Addyman, John, ed. (2011). A History of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway. North Eastern Railway Association. ISBN 978 1 873513 75 0.
- Dobson, John (1848). "The Central Railway Station, Newcastle-upon-Tyne". The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal. 11. pp.353-4, plate XIII.
- Dobson, John (1849). "The Central Railway Station, Newcastle-upon-Tyne". The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal. 12. p.97, plate VI.
- Grainger, Richard (1836). A Proposal for Concentrating the Termini of the Newcastle & Carlisle, Great North of England & proposed Edinburgh Railways. Hodgson. A short pamphlet plus fold-out map. The original from which reference has been made is in the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. It is reference Tracts vol 57 p200ff This contains contemporary information about the early period of railway activity in Newcastle/Gateshead.
- Historic England. "Motorail Terminal, Neville Street (1326654)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- Historic England. "1, Neville Street (1024814)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- Historic England. "Irving House (1121977)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- Historic England. "Station Hotel (1104900)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
Further reading
- Etherington, Robin (August 1988). "All change at Newcastle Central". RAIL. No. 83. EMAP National Publications. p. 12. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
- Etherington, Robin (12 February – 8 March 1989). "New platforms 5, 6, 7 ad 8 at Newcastle Central". RAIL. No. 90. EMAP National Publications. p. 6. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Newcastle Central Station - Part of the 2000 art exhibition "Stephenson's Legacy." Includes old photographs of the station.
- Use dmy dates from April 2011
- Railway stations in Tyne and Wear
- Former North Eastern Railway (UK) stations
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850
- Railway stations served by Abellio ScotRail
- Railway stations served by CrossCountry
- Railway stations served by London North Eastern Railway
- Northern franchise railway stations
- Railway stations served by TransPennine Express
- Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Grade I listed buildings in Tyne and Wear
- Grade I listed railway stations
- Neoclassical architecture in England
- Transport in Newcastle upon Tyne
- William Bell railway stations