Chathill railway station

Chathill is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station serves the village of Chathill in Northumberland. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Chathill
LocationChathill, Northumberland
England
Coordinates55°32′12″N 1°42′24″W
Grid referenceNU186270
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeCHT
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyYork, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Key dates
29 March 1847Opened
Passengers
2015/16 2,574
2016/17 2,768
2017/18 2,162
2018/19 2,546
2019/20 2,840
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Although it is on the main line, the station is served by just two arrivals and departures per day, Mondays to Saturdays only, providing commuting links to Newcastle. The services are operated by Northern Trains, which also manages the station. As Chathill is the northern terminus of these services and the Northern network, there are no direct connections between Chathill and stations further north (the diesel multiple unit used on these services runs empty northwards from here to Belford loop to reverse before returning to take up its southbound working).

History

The station was for many years served by loco-hauled stopping trains between Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh Waverley (the British Rail timetable for 1982 had four departures each way from here), but these were reduced in frequency and curtailed at Berwick by BR at the latter end of the 1980s and subsequently withdrawn altogether north of Chathill after the introduction of electric working on the ECML in 1991.[1]

Because of the limited service, an easement permits passengers wishing to travel northwards towards Berwick-upon-Tweed and Scotland may double back via Alnmouth.[2] The local rail user group SENRUG has been campaigning since September 2016 to have local services on the Newcastle - Berwick - Edinburgh corridor increased (to offer more choice for commuters and offer leisure opportunities for visitors to locations such as Lindisfarne and St Cuthbert's Way) which would see service levels from here improved if the proposals were adopted.[3]

The station was opened by the Newcastle & Berwick Railway in 1847 and between 1898 and 1951, it was the southwestern terminus of the North Sunderland Railway. Independent until its takeover by the LNER in 1939, it formed a standard gauge rail link to the fishing village of Seahouses.[4]

It has retained its grade II listed main building and signal box on the northbound side, though neither is in operational use (the station house is privately owned and the box houses signalling equipment).[5][6][7] The level crossing here is remotely operated by CCTV.

Facilities

The station is unmanned and has no ticket facilities, so intending passengers must buy tickets on the train or prior to travel. There is a large stone waiting shelter on the southbound platform, but no other amenities apart from information posters on each side. Step-free access is available to each platform.[8]

Services
Route 1:
East Coast Main Line
 Chathill
 Alnmouth for Alnwick
 Acklington
 Widdrington
 Pegswood
 Morpeth
 Cramlington
 Manors
Newcastle
Most services extend to/from
Carlisle.

The station sees only two services per day in each direction, and only on Mondays-Saturdays including bank holidays. Southbound services run to Newcastle at 07:10 and 19:15 (weekdays), and 07:10 and 19:30 on a Saturday in the winter 2018 timetable; both trains continue beyond Newcastle via the Tyne Valley line (the morning service to Prudhoe and the evening train to Carlisle). Northbound services from Newcastle arrive (and terminate here) at 06:47 and 18:54 on weekdays and 06:47 and 19:01 on Saturdays, the latter in each case starts from MetroCentre.[9]

There is no Sunday service.

References
  1. BR National Rail Timetable May 1991 Edition, Table 47
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. North of Morpeth Local Services SENRUG website article; Retrieved 9 February 2017
  4. Wright, 1988
  5. Chathill station (2002) Stafford, William Geograph.org.uk; Retrieved 9 February 2017
  6. Historic England. "Chathill Station and Down Platform  (Grade II) (1276357)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  7. Historic England. "Signal Box at Chathill Station  (Grade II) (1276364)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  8. Chathill station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 9 February 2017
  9. GB National Rail Timetable December 2018, Table 48

Sources
  • Wright, A., (1988), The North Sunderland Railway, The Oakwood Press, Locomotion Papers No. 36, ISBN 0-85361-335-4
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Alnmouth for Alnwick   Northern Trains
East Coast Main Line		   Terminus
  Historical railways  
Alnmouth for Alnwick   British Rail (Eastern Region)
East Coast Main Line		   Berwick-upon-Tweed
Terminus   London and North Eastern Railway
North Sunderland Railway		   North Sunderland
Fallodon   York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
East Coast Main Line		   Newham
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