Chester-le-Street railway station
Chester-le-Street  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Chester-le-Street, County Durham England | ||||
| Coordinates | 54°51′16″N 1°34′42″W / 54.8545355°N 1.5782541°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NZ271512 | ||||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||||
| Manager | Northern Trains | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | CLS[1] | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
| History | |||||
Original company | North Eastern Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | North Eastern Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | |||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1 December 1868 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  31,274 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.149 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.118 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.153 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.232 million | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
Chester-le-Street is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station is situated 71 miles 72 chains (115.7 kilometres) from York,[2] serving the market town of Chester-le-Street in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
History
.jpg)
The Team Valley Line of the North Eastern Railway, which connected Newton Hall Junction, near Durham, with Gateshead was authorised in 1848. However, the line was not opened until 2 March 1868, with the powers having been renewed in 1862. At first only freight trains used the route, but passenger services began on 1 December 1868,[3] with the station opening on the same day.[4] The station was the third station in the town, although the other two closed before the current station opened.[5]
In the 1960s, the station was listed for closure as part of the Beeching Axe,[6] which led to it being mentioned in the song Slow Train by Flanders and Swann. However, the station still remains open today.
In February and March 2022, tactile paving was added to the platform edges.[7]
Facilities
Between 1999 and 2018, Chester-le-Track, an independent private limited company, operated the station as an agent for the local franchised train operating company, which at the time of closure was Arriva Rail North.[8] The station's ticket office, waiting area and toilets were staffed six days per week, prior to the building's closure in early 2018.[9][10]
Following the building's closure, two self-service ticket machines have since been installed on the southbound platform. The station is unstaffed.[11]
The station has step-free access to both platforms and has shelters, live departure screens, a small car park and cycle storage.[11]
Passenger volume
| 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 126,033 | 151,486 | 160,799 | 192,519 | 186,930 | 197,398 | 205,572 | 189,460 | 174,968 | 199,131 | 200,844 | 223,326 | 230,972 | 219,592 | 199,260 | 193,456 | 31,274 | 148,692 | 118,086 | 152,994 | 232,324 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
Northern Trains
Following the May 2021 timetable change, there are three trains per day (Monday to Saturday) heading north towards Newcastle, two of which extend to Carlisle via Hexham. On Sunday, there is a once-daily service to Carlisle. Heading south, there is a once-daily service to Darlington, which extends to Saltburn on Sunday only.[13]
TransPennine Express
Following the May 2021 timetable change, there is a mostly two-hourly service between Newcastle and Liverpool Lime Street via York, with additional services operating at peak times.[14]
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | Northern Trains East Coast Main Line |
Newcastle | ||
| TransPennine Express East Coast Main Line |
||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Plawsworth | North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line |
Birtley | ||
References
- ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (2025). Railway Track Diagrams; 2: Eastern (6th ed.). Frome: TRACKmaps. p. 22. ISBN 978 1999627188.
- ↑ Allen, Cecil J. (1974) [1964]. The North Eastern Railway. Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 137, 141. ISBN 0-7110-0495-1.
- ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ↑ Quick 2023, p. 130, 536.
- ↑ Nelson, Alex (24 October 2008). "Wear Local History: The Beeching Axe". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ↑ Smith, Roger (13 March 2022). "Accessibility improvements made at County Durham railway station". RailAdvent. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ↑ Marshall & Pipe 2018, p. 68.
- ↑ "Station toilets and waiting room to close as face-to-face train ticket firm announces its closure". Sunderland Echo. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ↑ Priestley, Catherine (20 February 2018). "Train station ticket offices to shut at Chester-le-Street and Eaglescliffe". Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- 1 2 "Chester-le-Street Station | National Rail". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
- ↑ "Train times: Nunthorpe and Middlesbrough to Newcastle and Metrocentre" (PDF). Northern Trains. 16 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ↑ "Train times: Liverpool and Manchester to Leeds, Hull, York, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Edinburgh". TransPennine Express. 16 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
Bibliography
- Marshall, Geoff; Pipe, Vicki (2018). The Railway Adventures: Places, Trains, People and Stations. September Publishing. ISBN 978-1910463871.
- Quick, Michael (2023) [2001]. Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain (PDF) (5.05 ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
External links
- Train times and station information for Chester-le-Street railway station from National Rail