Blaydon railway station

Blaydon
Location
Place	Blaydon
Local authority	Gateshead
Coordinates	54°57′57″N 1°42′47″W / 54.9658°N 1.7130°WCoordinates: 54°57′57″N 1°42′47″W / 54.9658°N 1.7130°W
Grid reference	NZ184635
Operations
Station code	BLO
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	4,284
2011/12	4,220
2012/13	2,770
2013/14	5,002
2014/15	11,880
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Tyne and Wear (Nexus)
History
Key dates	Opened 10 March 1835
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Blaydon from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Blaydon railway station is a railway station serving Blaydon in Tyne and Wear, northern England. It is located on the Tyne Valley Line which runs from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, and is managed by Northern.

History

The station was constructed by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway (N&CR), and opened on 9 March 1835 as the line's initial eastern terminus.^[1] Through running to Redheugh (Gateshead) on the south bank of the River Tyne began in 1837 and the line was completed through to Carlisle the following year.^[2] A second cross-river line via Scotswood to a temporary terminus near the site of Newcastle Central was opened in 1839 (diverging immediately east of the station), although it wasn't until January 1851 that Central station was accessible via this route.^[3] It was enlarged on the opening of the Lanchester Valley Extension line in 1867, with Blaydon Junction opening to its east; this enabled trains to run to Blackhill, Consett and through to Durham. The station was substantially rebuilt in 1912^[3] with new red brick station buildings and glass canopies. Passenger services over the Derwent Valley line ended in 1954 and it closed completely in 1963.

In 1969, Blaydon became an unstaffed station,^[3] and the canopies were removed. The station buildings were demolished in 1977 due to neglect and persistent vandalism. Services over the route via the Scotswood Bridge were withdrawn on 4 October 1982^[3] and the line closed (few traces of this now remain, though the position of the station signal box gives a clue as to the old alignment); all services were henceforth diverted over the original 1837 route along the south bank of the Tyne and then onward through Dunston, Bensham Junction and then over the King Edward VII Bridge, a route that had previously only been used by freight traffic.

Services

Blaydon railway station in 1965.

View in 1989

Up until the beginning of December 2013, the service there was infrequent compared to others on the line - three services on Monday to Friday to Hexham and three to Newcastle, whilst on Saturdays there were three to Hexham and two to Newcastle & no service at all on Sundays.^[4]

Since the December 2013 timetable change, the station now receives a much improved service with calls every two hours in each direction (by Middlesbrough - Hexham trains) and extra departures at peak times. There is also a Sunday service for the first time since the early 1970s.^[5]

The Office of Rail & Road estimates of station usage attributes the sharp rise in passenger numbers as down to the timetabling improvements.^[6]

References

1. Body, G Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, 1988, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1, p.133
2. South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society - A Brief History Of The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway STRPS website article; Retrieved 25 September 2013
3. "Blaydon". Disused Stations. 2 October 2013.
4. GB National Rail Timetable, May - December 2013 Edition, Table 48
5. Northern Rail Timetable 4: Carlisle - Hexham - Newcastle - Sunderland 5 October - 12 December 2015 Northern Rail; Retrieved 1 October 2015
6. "Estimate of Station Usage 2014 - 2015". ORR. ORR. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.