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Eaglescliffe railway station

Eaglescliffe
National Rail
General information
LocationEaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
England
Coordinates54°31′48″N 1°20′59″W / 54.5300894°N 1.3497203°W / 54.5300894; -1.3497203
Grid referenceNZ421150
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeEAG
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyLeeds Northern Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Key dates
25 March 1852Opened as Eaglescliffe
1852/1853Renamed Eaglescliffe Junction
1854Renamed Preston Junction
1 February 1878Renamed Eaglescliffe Junction
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 0.191 million
2020/21Decrease 29,218
2021/22Increase 0.144 million
2022/23Increase 0.200 million
2023/24Increase 0.214 million
Location
Eaglescliffe is located in County Durham
Eaglescliffe
Eaglescliffe
Location in County Durham, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Eaglescliffe is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 8 miles 63 chains (8.79 mi; 14.1 km) east of Darlington, serves the village of Eaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

Before the station

The previous line ran on the east side of Yarm Road, through the grounds of Preston Hall. It is said that Lord Preston (Marshall Robinson Fowler) was unhappy the disruption that trains, such as Locomotion No. 1, caused to his cattle and had insisted that it was moved west of the road. When the Stockton and Darlington Railway re-aligned their line.[1]

The railway station serving the parishes of Preston-on-Tees and Egglescliffe, was known as Preston. Displeased at the cost of moving the station, the railway owners decided to name the new station after Egglescliffe (ultimately using a different spelling) instead.

Opening

The station was opened by the Leeds Northern Railway on 25 May 1852, with their line from Melmerby to Stockton. That line deviates from the original alignment of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.[2] The station became known as Eaglescliffe Junction, as passengers could change between services on the two respective lines. Originally the station had four platforms: the westernmost platforms were taken out of use in the late 1960s and since been removed.

Misspelling

There are various stories as to how the station got the name Eaglescliffe, instead of the intended, Egglescliffe. One such set of stories is that the signwriter was sent a telegram with a misspelling to paint the sign as Eaglescliffe. Another variant was that the signwriter thought to change it, after believing it to be incorrect. In each variation, it is said that the sign was not changed for a period of time, by which time the name had been adopted. In the following years the surrounding area came to be known interchangeably as Eaglescliffe (on road signs) or Egglescliffe (often referring to the original village or in building names).

Tees Valley Metro

Transit diagram showcasing all discussed or mentioned ideas for the Tees Valley Metro.

Starting in 2006, Eaglescliffe was mentioned within the Tees Valley Metro scheme. This was a plan to upgrade the Tees Valley Line and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North East of England. In the initial phases the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments with new additional infrastructure and rollingstock. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions.[3][4][5][6]

As part of the scheme, Eaglescliffe station would have received improved service to Darlington and Saltburn (1–2 to 4 trains per hour) and new rollingstock.[3] The station would also have received a new ticket office, waiting facility, outdoor shelters, electronic information displays, and possible extension to the car park[7] (Improvements eventually occurred after cancellation, with plans for the new footbridge starting in 2024[8]). While speculative, there was further talk about additional stations being added in the area such as a Preston Farm station, and street-running trams to Ingleby Barwick, which may have impacted Eaglescliffe.[5]

However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis, the project was ultimately shelved.[9] Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in the future which may affect Eaglescliffe.[10]

Facilities

The station's facilities have been recently upgraded during the early and mid–2010s, with improvements including the installation of real-time information screens and CCTV, as well as renewed station signage.

In January 2012, construction work started on a new ticket office at the station.[11] In April 2015, the station's previous waiting shelters were replaced by a modern waiting room.[12][13]

The station has been staffed since 2012. Initially, the ticket office was operated by an independent company, Chester-le-Track, which also operated the station at Chester-le-Street. Chester-le-Track ceased trading on 31 March 2018, and the booking office was subsequently closed.[14][15][16]

The ticket office was later re-opened on 3 April 2018, and is now managed by Northern Trains, with staff provided by Grand Central.[17][18] As of July 2021, the ticket office is open between 09:00 and 16:00 on weekdays, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.[19]

There is step-free access to the island platform via the ramped footbridge from the car park and station entrance.[19]

In May 2024, improvements to Eaglescliffe Station started, with a new footbridge connecting to the west side as well as the existing footbridge and ramps refurbished, with new waiting areas and taxi office being added as part of the project.[20]

Services

Grand Central

As of the June 2021 timetable change, there are four trains per day heading south towards London King's Cross via York. Heading north towards Sunderland, there are five trains per day on weekdays, with four and three trains per day on Saturday and Sunday respectively.[21]

Rolling stock used: Class 180 Adelante

Northern Trains

As of the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by two trains per hour between Saltburn and Darlington via Middlesbrough, with one train per hour extending to Bishop Auckland. An hourly service operates between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland on Sunday.[22]

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Thornaby   Northern Trains
Tees Valley Line 		  Allens West
Hartlepool   Grand Central
North Eastern 		  Northallerton
Thornaby style="background:#Template:AnspennineExpress colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   Transpennine Express
North Eastern 		style="background:#Template:AnspennineExpress colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   Yarm |}

References

  1. ^ Quick 2022, p. 174.
  2. ^ Body, p.66
  3. ^ a b Tees valley Unlimited (18 May 2010). "Tees Valley Metro: Phase 1 - Project Summary" (PDF). Stockton-on-Tess Borough Council.
  4. ^ Tees Valley Unlimited (April 2011). "Connecting the Tees Valley - Statement of Transport Ambition" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b LOWES, RON; PARKER, IAN (18 September 2007). "Executive Report - Tees Valley Metro" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Metro system hope for Tees Valley". 9 November 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  7. ^ Tees valley Unlimited (18 May 2010). "Tees Valley Metro: Phase 1 - Project Summary" (PDF). Stockton-on-Tess Borough Council.
  8. ^ Chapman, Joshua (16 May 2024). "Work starts on multi-million-pound improvement scheme at Eaglescliffe railway station".
  9. ^ "When the Tees Valley was set to get its own £220m metro system and what went wrong". The Northern Echo. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Tees Valley authority unanimously backs £1bn transport plan". BBC News. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  11. ^ "New station office offers a ticket to ride". Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. 3 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  12. ^ Blackburn, Mike (23 September 2014). "Delayed Eaglescliffe Station revamp to get underway but car park closure raises concerns". TeessideLive. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Transport Secretary celebrates improvements to Eaglescliffe Station". GOV.UK. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  14. ^ Englebrecht, Gavin (22 February 2018). "End of the line for railway ticket company". Northern Echo. p. 7. ISSN 2043-0442.
  15. ^ "Train station ticket offices to shut at Chester-le-Street and Eaglescliffe". Northern Echo. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  16. ^ Robson, Dave (20 February 2018). "Eaglescliffe station ticket office signals intention to close". TeessideLive. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  17. ^ Holden, Michael (7 April 2018). "Grand Central save Eaglescliffe ticket office". RailAdvent. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Grand Central Saves Eaglescliffe Ticket Office". Grand Central. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Eaglescliffe Station Information & Facilities". Northern Trains. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  20. ^ Chapman, Joshua (16 May 2024). "Work starts on multi-million-pound improvement scheme at Eaglescliffe railway station". Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Train times: North East and West Riding routes" (PDF). Grand Central. 6 June 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Train times: Bishop Auckland and Darlington to Middlesbrough and Saltburn" (PDF). Northern Trains. 16 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

Sources
Quelle: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaglescliffe_railway_station