Billingham railway station

Billingham railway station serves the town of Billingham, within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The railway station is located on the Durham Coast Line 10 miles (16 km) north of Middlesbrough and is operated by Northern Trains who provide all of the station's passenger services.

Billingham
LocationBillingham, Stockton-on-Tees
England
Grid referenceNZ466236
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBIL
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Opened7 November 1966
Passengers
2015/16 86,016
2016/17 94,994
2017/18 81,862
2018/19 78,004
2019/20 91,504
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Facilities

The station is unstaffed but has a ticket machine. New fully lit waiting shelters, digital information screens and CCTV cameras have been installed here whilst the long-line public address system (PA) has been renewed and upgraded with pre-recorded train announcements; train running information can also be obtained by telephone, a customer help point and timetable poster boards. The only access to the island platform is via a stepped footbridge, so it is not accessible for wheelchair or mobility-impaired passengers.[1]

History

Billingham's earlier station in 1965

The station is a modern-style halt on the line and was opened on Monday 7 November 1966 to replace the town's original larger grander station located further west towards Norton; this closed the previous day[2] and was subsequently demolished in the early 1970s. It was located next to the level crossing carrying the old route of the A19 across the railway. Only the signal box and footbridge survive on the site of the original station. The new Billingham station of British Rail was provided with a booking hall, waiting room, parcels office and lavatories. These facilities were lost when the station was reduced to unstaffed halt status towards the end of the 1960s. The station building of 1966 still stands, and was used as the office of local taxi company Binks Taxis, but is now unoccupied.

The Tees Valley Rail Strategy calls for the re-opening of the original station as 'Old Billingham' as a new additional station on the Durham Coast Line. However, the plans have yet to come to fruition.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 2 December 1953, a train ran off the end of the loop and was derailed. An express freight train then ran into the wreckage and was also derailed.[3]

Services

Route 2:
Durham Coast Line
Newcastle
Heworth
Sunderland
Seaham
Horden
Hartlepool
Seaton Carew
Billingham
Stockton
Thornaby
Middlesbrough
Most services extend to/from
Hexham or Nunthorpe.

The station has a basic hourly service in each direction on weekdays (with a few peak period extras), northwards to Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle and southwards to Middlesbrough. Most northbound trains continue onto the Tyne Valley line to MetroCentre and Hexham, whilst southbound trains are usually extended to and from Nunthorpe (with a pair running to Whitby and a third to Castleton Moor).[4]

Sundays see an hourly service each between Nunthorpe/Middlesbrough and Newcastle and two additional direct services to/from Darlington (these terminate/start at Hartlepool). Three southbound trains run to Whitby via the Esk Valley Line.

References

  1. Billingham station facilitiesNational Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 8 February 2017
  2. Poster for New Billingham Station 1966Picture Stockton Archive; Retrieved 2013-12-02
  3. Hoole, Ken (1983). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 4. Truro: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-07-9.
  4. GB National Rail Timetable Dec 2019 - May 2020, Table 44
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern Trains
  Historical railways  
Stockton-on-Tees
Line and station open
  British Rail Eastern Region
Durham Coast Line
  Greatham
Line open, station closed

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