Billingham railway station

Billingham
Location
Place	Billingham
Local authority	Stockton-on-Tees
Grid reference	NZ466236
Operations
Station code	BIL
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	68,428
2011/12	71,328
2012/13	68,720
2013/14	73,493
2014/15	75,980
History
Key dates	Opened 7 November 1966
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Billingham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Billingham railway station serves the town of Billingham, within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The railway station is located on the Durham Coast Line and is operated by Northern who provide all of the station's passenger services.

Station facilities here have recently been improved and included new fully lit waiting shelters and the installation of CCTV. The long-line public address system (PA) has been renewed and upgraded with pre-recorded train announcements.

History

Billingham's earlier station in 1965

The station is a modern-style halt on the line and was opened on Monday 7 November 1966 to replace the town's original larger grander station located further west towards Norton; this closed the previous day^[1] and was subsequently demolished in the early 1970s. It was located next to the level crossing carrying the old route of the A19 across the railway. Only the signal box and footbridge survive on the site of the original station. The new Billingham station of British Rail was provided with a booking hall, waiting room, parcels office and lavatories. These facilities were lost when the station was reduced to unstaffed halt status towards the end of the 1960s. The station building of 1966 still stands, and is used as the office of local taxi company Binks Taxis.

The Tees Valley Rail Strategy calls for the re-opening of the original station as 'Old Billingham' as a new additional station on the Durham Coast Line. However, the plans have yet to come to fruition.

Accidents and incidents

• On 2 December 1953, a train ran off the end of the loop and was derailed. An express freight train then ran into the wreckage and was also derailed.^[2]

Services

The station has a basic hourly service in each direction on weekdays (with a few peak period extras), northwards to Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle and southwards to Middlesbrough. Most northbound trains continue onto the Tyne Valley line to MetroCentre and Hexham, whilst southbound trains are usually extended to and from Nunthorpe.^[3]

Sundays see a two-hourly service each between Middlesbrough and MetroCentre and two additional direct services to/from Darlington.

References

1. Poster for New Billingham Station 1966Picture Stockton Archive; Retrieved 2013-12-02
2. Hoole, Ken (1983). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 4. Truro: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-07-9.
3. GB National Rail Timetable Dec 2015 - May 2016, Table 44

External links

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

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Stockton		Northern Rail Durham Coast Line		Seaton Carew

Coordinates: 54°36′22″N 1°16′44″W / 54.606°N 1.279°W