Hartlepool is a railway station on the Durham Coast Line, which runs between Newcastle and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool. The station, situated south-east of Sunderland, serves the port town of

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The

Stockton and Hartlepool Railway The Clarence Railway was an early railway company that operated in north-east England between 1833 and 1853. The railway was built to take coal from mines in County Durham to ports on the River Tees and was a competitor to the Stockton and Darli ...

, which connected the town of West Hartlepool with the Clarence Railway near , was opened for goods on 12 November 1839 and to passengers on 1 December 1839. 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, when West Hartlepool was merged with

and following the complete closure of the former Hartlepool Dock & Railway station in the

Headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

, previously known as ''Hartlepool'', in 1964. The station has two platforms currently in use: a bi-directionally signalled through platform (the original down platform), used by almost all timetabled services and a south-facing bay platform (with only one weekly booked departure). The former up platform 1 has been disused since the footbridge linking the platforms was removed in the late 1990s. In August 2013 Grand Central proposed reopening the disused up platform as part of its track access application extension although they never implemented this proposal. In September 2020, Tees Valley Combined Authority launched a £1.5 million study to investigate the feasibility of a similar scheme to reopen the former up platform so as to improve capacity through the station. In March 2022, it was announced that funding had been secured to bring the old platform back into use, with a new footbridge and lifts installed, by June 2023. It is now planned to open in the spring of 2024, after delays in the work to install the new lifts and bridge. Between November 2009 and August 2010 (ahead of the town hosting the Tall Ships' Races), the station was extensively refurbished as part of a £4 million scheme to improve station facilities and integrate it into the new Hartlepool Interchange. The line through the station was also re-signalled in spring 2010 as part of the Durham Coast modernisation scheme, with the consequent loss of three manual signal boxes in and around the station. A new waiting room was also added to the station in 2011.

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office, which is open from 07:30 to 18:30 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 barriers have been operation at the station since September 2017. Train running information is offered via automatic announcements, dot matrix 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.

Services

Grand Central

As of the June 2021 timetable change, there are four trains per day heading south towards

London King's Cross King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United King ...

via York. Heading north towards

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, there are five trains per day on weekdays, with four and three trains per day on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Rolling stock used: Class 180 ''Adelante''

Northern Trains

As of the winter 2023 timetable change, the station is served by an hourly service between Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Most trains continue to

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

northbound (or

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

on Sunday) and Nunthorpe southbound. Two trains per day (three on Sunday) continue to Whitby. Two trains operate directly between Hartlepool and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

on Sundays. Rolling stock used: Class 156 ''Super Sprinter'' and Class 158 ''Express Sprinter''

References

External links

{{Railway stations served by Grand Central Railway stations in the Borough of Hartlepool Former North Eastern Railway (UK) stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1841 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1880 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1880 Railway stations served by Grand Central Railway Northern franchise railway stations Buildings and structures in Hartlepool DfT Category D stations