The Tees Valley Line is a railway route in
Northern England
Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...
, following part of the original
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...
route of 1825.
The line covers a distance of , and connects with via , and 14 other stations in the
Teesdale.
The section of line between and is branded as the ''Bishop Line'' and is supported by the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership. The section of the route between and is supported by the Tees Valley Line Rail User Group. Beyond the line's western terminus at Bishop Auckland, the tracks continue for around to along what is now the
Weardale Heritage Railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
.
History

The section of line between
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham.
M ...
and Albert Hill Junction,
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
(prior to joining the
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...
), as well as the section between Oak Tree Junction,
Dinsdale (near
Middleton St. George) and
Eaglescliffe, follow the original route of the
Stockton & Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...
, which dates back to 1825.
The 1825 S&DR route is rejoined north of Eaglescliffe and runs as far as Bowesfield Junction, Stockton.
The S&DR line from Bowesfield to Watson's Wharf on the Tees near Middlesbrough opened in 1830, and this was extended to Redcar in 1846. The extension to Saltburn opened in 1861 and the line towards Brotton and Loftus opened in 1872. The line beyond Loftus (now the
freight
In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...
-only line to
Boulby Mine
The Boulby Mine is an underground mining operation with surface facilities located just south-east of the village of Boulby, on the north-east coast of the North York Moors, east of Loftus, North Yorkshire. It is operated by Cleveland Potash L ...
) was part of the
Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway, opened in 1883; it closed on 5 May 1958.
In March 2015, a electrified siding was laid adjacent to the Tees Valley Line, just south of
Heighington. This allows low-speed testing of the trains manufactured at the nearby
Hitachi Rail plant at
Newton Aycliffe, including
TOPS classes 800,
801,
805,
807,
810 and
385.
Services
Services on the Tees Valley Line are operated by three
train operating companies
In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...
:
*
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, Trade name, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates Commuter rail, commuter and Inter-city rail, medium-distance intercity services in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Dep ...
, with a half hourly service from Saltburn to Darlington, of which one train every hour extends to Bishop Auckland. Additional services operate along the Tees Valley Line during the morning peak, with some journeys between Saltburn and
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
running along the
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...
, rather than the
Durham Coast Line
The Durham Coast Line is an approximately railway line running between Newcastle railway station, Newcastle and in North East England. Heavy rail passenger services, predominantly operated Northern Trains, and some freight services operate ove ...
. One of these early morning services extends from Newcastle to
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
via the Tyne Valley Line.
*
TransPennine Express
TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), is a British train operating company that has operated passenger services in the TransPennine Express franchise area since May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail ser ...
also operates along part of the Tees Valley Line, with hourly services from
Redcar Central to
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
(via Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Eaglescliffe, Yarm),
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
and . Eaglescliffe was added as a call for the first time during the December 2024 timetable change. Three trains a day extend to/from Redcar Central to Saltburn.
*
London North Eastern Railway
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company which operates most services on the East Coast Main Line. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Department for Transport (DfT). The company's name echoes that of the Londo ...
operates a weekday return service from Middlesbrough to
London King's Cross.
Rolling stock
Predominantly, rolling stock on the Tees Valley Line consists of:
* Northern Trains operates
Class 156 and
Class 158 diesel multiple units (DMUs)
* TransPennine Express uses
Class 185 DMUs
* London North Eastern Railway operates
Class 800 bi-mode multiple units
Between 2019 and 2021, Class 156 and 158 units operating on the Tees Valley Line were refurbished, introducing free WiFi, power sockets, on-board passenger information displays and an interior refresh.
Class 185 units were refurbished as part of a £32 million investment, with the work being completed in 2018.
Class 142 ''Pacer'' DMUs formerly served the line on Northern services, until the early 2020s when they were withdrawn from passenger service.
Stations
The route serves the following stations:
Least-used stations
In 2019, the Tees Valley Line was home to two of the country's least-used railway stations.
Redcar British Steel
In 2017-18, Redcar British Steel was the least-used station in Great Britain, with an estimated 40 passenger journeys made.
Prior to service suspension in December 2019, it was served by two trains during the morning peak and two during the evening peak.
Teesside Airport
In 2012–13 and 2013–14, Teesside Airport was the least-used station in the country, with just eight passenger journeys made in both periods.
It is currently served by a once-weekly
parliamentary service; a Sunday service, commencing at
Hartlepool
Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
, calls here before continuing through to Darlington.
In 2020/21, due to decreased travel throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the station saw only two passenger journeys made. While remaining officially open, the station has seen its service suspended since May 2022, with the one operational platform condemned as unsafe. As a result, there were only 2 passengers in the year beginning April 2022.
References
External links
GenMaps - Maps of Durham, Yorkshire 1885NPEMaps - Maps of area circa 1950Network Rail maps of Route 9 - North East RoutesCommunigate - Grangetown streets and buildingsThe Bishop LineTees Valley Line Rail User Group
{{Railway lines in North East England
Railway lines in North East England
Rail transport in County Durham
Rail transport in North Yorkshire
Transport in Middlesbrough
Community railway lines in England