Hartlepool railway station

Hartlepool railway station serves the town of Hartlepool in County Durham. It is a through station on the Durham Coast Line, located about 17 miles (27 km) between Newcastle and Middlesbrough. It is one two stations on the line within the Borough of Hartlepool, the other being Seaton Carew.

Hartlepool
Location
Place	Hartlepool
Local authority	Hartlepool
Coordinates	54.687°N 1.207°W / 54.687; -1.207
Grid reference	NZ512327
Operations
Station code	HPL
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.616 million
2015/16	0.638 million
2016/17	0.638 million
2017/18	0.638 million
2018/19	0.629 million
History
Original company	Stockton and Hartlepool Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
9 February 1841	First station opened as Hartlepool West
February 1848	Renamed West Hartlepool
3 May 1880	First station closed and replaced by second
26 April 1967	Renamed Hartlepool
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hartlepool from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Northern Trains manages the station, and is the primary train operator, providing regional services along the Durham Coast Line route, serving Sunderland, Newcastle and Hexham to the north, and Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe to the south. Grand Central also operate from the station, with five daily services between Sunderland and London King's Cross.

History

The Stockton and Hartlepool Railway, which connected the town of West Hartlepool with the Clarence Railway near Billingham, was opened for goods on 12 November 1839 and to passengers on 1 December 1839.[1] A station named Hartlepool West was opened on 9 February 1841; this was renamed West Hartlepool in February 1848, and closed on 3 May 1880 when it was replaced by a new West Hartlepool station. This in turn was renamed Hartlepool on 26 April 1967,[2] when West Hartlepool was merged with Hartlepool[3] and following the complete closure of the former Hartlepool Dock & Railway station, previously known as Hartlepool, in 1964.[4]

The station has two platforms currently in use: the old northbound platform (now bi-directionally signalled & used by almost all timetabled services) and a south-facing bay platform (available but has only one service per week booked to depart from it). Platform 1, originally used for southbound trains, has been disused for over 20 years. The footbridge linking the platforms was removed in the late 1990s. In August 2013 as part of its track access application extension, Grand Central proposed reinstating platform 1.[5]

As of March 2008 the station is undergoing extensive refurbishment to include a brand new transport interchange for Hartlepool, and also improvements to the current station facilities. It was also re-signalled in the spring of 2010 as part of the Durham Coast modernisation scheme, with the consequent loss of three manual signal boxes in and around the station.[6]

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office, which is open from 07:25 to 18:20 Mondays through Saturdays (closed Sundays). A self-service ticket machine is also provided near the station entrance for use when the ticket office is closed and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Ticket barrier gates have been installed for operation from September 2017. Train running information is offered via automatic announcements, digital display screens and timetable posters. There are toilets in the ticket office and a waiting room on the concourse, along with vending machines dispensing snacks and cold drinks. Step-free access is available from the entrance to the platforms.[7]

Services

Northern Trains

Northern Trains Route 2: Durham Coast Line
Tyne Valley Line to Carlisle East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross Newcastle East Coast Main Line to Edinburgh Heworth Sunderland Seaham Horden Hartlepool Seaton Carew Billingham Stockton Tees Valley Line to Bishop Auckland Thornaby Middlesbrough Tees Valley Line to Saltburn Esk Valley Line to Whitby

From Monday to Saturday Hartlepool is served by hourly trains in each direction. Southbound services run to Middlesbrough via Seaton Carew, Billingham, Stockton and Thornaby, with some journeys extending to Nunthorpe or Whitby. Northbound services run to Newcastle, calling at Seaham, Sunderland and Heworth, with some continuing to MetroCentre, Hexham and Carlisle.[8]

The frequency of services is also hourly on Sundays between Middlesbrough and Carlisle. Two additional southbound services run to Darlington, running directly from Stockton onto Eaglescliffe, Allens West and Dinsdale. One of these journeys calls additionally at Teesside Airport. A new waiting room was added to the station in 2011.

Grand Central

Grand Central: North East & Yorkshire to London
Bradford Interchange Low Moor Halifax Brighouse Sunderland Mirfield Hartlepool Wakefield Kirkgate Eaglescliffe Northallerton Pontefract Monkhill Thirsk York Doncaster non-stop London King's Cross

There are five open access Grand Central services per day in each direction. Northbound trains provide services to Sunderland, running directly without calling at Seaham. Southbound services call at Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk, and York, before terminating at London King's Cross.[9]

Hartlepool Interchange

Hartlepool Interchange
Location	Church Street Hartlepool County Durham
Coordinates	54.6865°N 1.2095°W / 54.6865; -1.2095
Bus stands	6
Connections	Hartlepool
Construction
Parking	138 spaces
History
Opened	11 August 2010
Location
Hartlepool Interchange Location within County Durham

From November 2009, extensive work was carried out at the station, including the construction of Hartlepool Interchange. The station's refurbishment was completed ahead of the Tall Ships' Races in August 2010 – at a cost of £4 million.[10][11]

Hartlepool Interchange was opened on 11 August 2010, and constructed on the site of the former Hartlepool Bus Station, which was demolished in the 1990s, to allow for the construction of the A179 road bridge over the railway line.

It is served by Arriva North East's local bus services, with Stagecoach North East providing a limited service, connecting with some Grand Central services to and from London King's Cross. The bus station has four departure stands (lettered A–D), with two further stands located at Church Square (Stand E) and Marina Gateway Bridge (Stand F).

As of June 2020, the stand allocation is:

Stand	Route	Destination
A	No services operate from this stand
B	57	Durham      via Wingate & Coxhoe
	57A	Durham      via Trimdon & Coxhoe
	58	Durham      via Wingate & Coxhoe
C	36	Middlesbrough      via Stockton & Billingham
D	Coach and Rail Replacement Services
E	57	Durham      via Wingate & Coxhoe
	57A	Durham      via Trimdon & Coxhoe
	58	Durham      via Wingate & Coxhoe
F	1	Throston Grange
	7	The Headland
	23	Hartlepool Marina
	24	Hartlepool Marina
	65	Hartlepool Marina

Gallery

• 
  A Class 101 DMU, seen at Hartlepool in August 1981.
• 
  The station's platforms, seen prior to refurbishment.
• 
  The station's ticket office, seen following refurbishment.

References

1. James, Leslie (November 1983). A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778-1855. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 29. ISBN 0-7110-1277-6. BE/1183.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 115, 245, 114. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. "Hartlepool — a brief History" Archived 23 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, History.UK.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
4. Hoole, K. (1978). North Eastern Railway branch lines since 1925. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. p. 114. ISBN 0711008299.
5. Grand Central hope to reinstate disused platform at Hartlepool Station
6. "Route Plans 9 - Route 9 - North East Routes - Connecting Local Communities" (PDF). London: Network Rail. March 2009. pp. 12, 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
7. Hartlepool Station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 3 February 2017
8. GB eNRT 2019-20 Edition, Table 44
9. "sunderland timetable". Grand Central. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
10. "Transport hub opens in time for Hartlepool Tall Ships". BBC News. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
11. "£4m transport interchange to be unveiled". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2011.

External links

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

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Eaglescliffe		Grand Central Sunderland–London		Sunderland
Seaton Carew		Northern Trains Durham Coast Line		Horden
	Historical railways
Seaton Carew Line and station open		London and North Eastern Railway Durham Coast Line		Hart Line open, station closed
Terminus		London and North Eastern Railway Hartlepool Dock & Railway		Hart Line and station closed
Terminus		London and North Eastern Railway West Hartlepool–Hartlepool		Hartelpool (HD&R) Line and station closed