Doncaster railway station
Doncaster | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster |
| Managed by | Virgin Trains East Coast |
| Platforms | 8 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | DON |
| Fare zone | Doncaster |
Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the East Coast Main Line 156 miles (251 km) north of London King's Cross and managed by Virgin Trains East Coast. It is a major passenger interchange between the East Coast Main Line and Cross Country Route and local services running across the North of England. It is also the point for which Virgin Trains East Coast services from London divide, either branching off to Leeds or continuing north to Scotland via Newcastle and the North East.
History
The railway station was built in 1849 replacing a temporary structure constructed a year earlier.[1] It was rebuilt in its present form in 1938 and has had several slight modifications since that date, most notably in 2006, when the new interchange and connection to Frenchgate Centre opened.
In May 2015, construction commenced on a new Platform 0 to the north-east of the station adjacent to the Frenchgate Centre on the site of the former cattle dock. It will be used by terminating Northern services to Hull, Beverley, Bridlington and Scarborough. This will allow these services to operate independently of the East Coast Main Line. It will be joined to Platform 1 via an underpass.[2][3]
Description
The station has eight platforms on two islands. Platforms 1, 3, 4 and 8 take through trains. Platforms 2 and 5 are south-facing bays, and 6 and 7 are north facing bays. A First Class Lounge is available on platform 3A.
Platform 1 takes southbound East Coast Main Line trains towards London Kings Cross from Leeds, and Northern services to and from Hull.
Platform 2 has no schedules and is not normally for public use.
Platform 3A takes southbound East Coast Main Line trains towards London Kings Cross - these services generally call at most stations on the East Coast Main Line, and most southbound Hull Trains services to London King's Cross.
Platform 3B takes services to Sheffield and Manchester / Manchester Airport and a few services from Sheffield.
Between platforms 3 and 4 are the high speed up and down lines from London
Platform 4 takes (normally) northbound East Coast Main Line services towards York, Newcastle and Edinburgh; Hull Trains services to Hull; Northern through services to Bridlington; and TransPennine Express services to Cleethorpes. Also, CrossCountry services towards Birmingham New Street depart from this platform.
Platform 5 is a bay platform used for Northern and East Midlands Trains services to Sheffield and Lincoln Central (some of which extend to Peterborough).
Platform 6 is a bay platform used for Northern commuter services to Leeds.
Platform 7 is seldom in public use, but when it is, is used for Northern services towards Scunthorpe via all stations.
Platform 8 is used for northbound East Coast Main Line services towards Leeds and CrossCountry services to Newcastle; and local services to Sheffield and Adwick, also it is used for Northern local services to Scunthorpe via all stations.
There are no ticket barriers in operation at this station; however on Race Days (at Doncaster Racecourse), manual ticket checks are in operation in the subway.
The station has recently been refurbished and is now directly connected to the Frenchgate Centre extension in Doncaster town centre. The station now has a new booking office for tickets and information, three new lifts, refurbished staircases and subway. There is a newsagent and some food outlets.
Whilst all platforms are currently operational, platform 2 is not currently used for any timetabled service.
1951 accident
On 16 March 1951 a derailment occurred south of the station in which 14 passengers were killed and 12 seriously injured.
Services
Seven train operators (or TOCs) call at Doncaster, which is equal in number only to Crewe in the UK. Train operators include the following:
CrossCountry
CrossCountry have dropped most Doncaster to Edinburgh services. They offer an hourly service to Newcastle and Reading with one service per day running through to both Edinburgh Waverley and Guildford or Southampton Central.[4] All CrossCountry services at Doncaster use Voyager DEMUs.
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains offer a limited direct service to London St. Pancras and to Leeds and York. Services to London (St Pancras) run via Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby and Leicester but less often than Virgin Trains East Coast. They also operate a local service to Lincoln which occasionally extends to Sleaford and Peterborough.[5]
Hull Trains
Hull Trains operates services between London and Hull or Beverley via Selby.
TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express serve stations towards the east to Cleethorpes, and to the west towards Manchester Airport. First TransPennine services operate hourly in each direction generally.[6]
Grand Central
Grand Central Railway offers four trains a day between Bradford Interchange and King's Cross. All Bradford-London services call at Doncaster. Southbound the next stop is King's Cross with a journey time of 90 minutes.
Northern
Northern generally offers services from Doncaster to stations within Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, such as Sheffield, Leeds and Lincoln. It provides stopping services, stopping at every station along-route, and 'fast' services, stopping at just the principal stations. It is possible to travel on Northern Rail to Retford from Doncaster, via Sheffield, on a direct train. However, this involves a journey of 80 min. The direct Virgin Trains East Coast service takes, on average, just 14 min.[7]
Virgin Trains East Coast
Virgin Trains East Coast offers regular direct trains services to London, which can be reached in 100-115 mins, depending on the service. All trains to Leeds call at Doncaster, and an hourly service to Newcastle or Scotland (Edinburgh and the once daily Glasgow Central service). Virgin Trains East Coast also offer services to cities such as Leeds (terminating services), York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.[8]
There were plans to add platforms 9 and 10 to cope with Eurostar trains but this project was cancelled when it was decided that Eurostar would not serve Britain outside the South East of England.
In the media
In 1973 the station was featured in the first episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, entitled Strangers on a Train, featuring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. Although it is not stated where the scenes in the station were filmed, signs for Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe are visible in the background.
See also
- Joan Croft Halt railway station (North Doncaster Chord project)
- Doncaster Works - a locomotive works adjacent to the station.
References
- ^ http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10443027&wwwflag=2&imagepos=24
- ^ "Doncaster to get a Platform 0 in £21m upgrade" The Railway Magazine issue 1371 June 2015 page 81
- ^ "Roll up, roll up for Doncaster's Platform 0" Rail issue 777 24 June 2015 page 15
- ^ Table 51 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ^ Table 18 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ^ Table 29 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ^ Table 31 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ^ Table 26 National Rail timetable, May 2016
External links
Media related to Doncaster railway station at Wikimedia Commons
- Train times and station information for Doncaster railway station from National Rail
- Use dmy dates from February 2012
- Railway stations in Doncaster
- Former Great Northern Railway stations
- Railway stations opened in 1848
- Railway stations closed in 1850
- Railway stations opened in 1850
- Railway stations served by CrossCountry
- Railway stations served by East Midlands Trains
- Railway stations served by Hull Trains
- Railway stations served by TransPennine Express
- Railway stations served by Northern (train operating company)
- Railway stations served by Virgin Trains East Coast
- Buildings and structures completed in 1938