Hartlepool railway station

Hartlepool
Hartlepool railway station in 2010
Location
Place	Hartlepool
Local authority	Hartlepool
Coordinates	54°41′13″N 1°12′25″W / 54.687°N 1.207°WCoordinates: 54°41′13″N 1°12′25″W / 54.687°N 1.207°W
Grid reference	NZ512327
Operations
Station code	HPL
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.508 million
2011/12	0.523 million
2012/13	0.533 million
2013/14	0.573 million
2014/15	0.616 million
History
Original company	Stockton and Hartlepool Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
9 February 1841	First station opened as Hartlepool West
February 1848	Renamed West Hartlepool
3 May 1880	First station replaced by second
26 April 1967	Renamed Hartlepool
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hartlepool from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Hartlepool railway station serves the town of Hartlepool in County Durham, North East England. It is a through station on the Durham Coast Line 17 miles (27 km) between Newcastle and Middlesbrough and is one two stations on the line within the Borough of Hartlepool, the other being Seaton Carew.

Northern manages the station and is the primary train operator, providing regional services along the Durham Coast route and beyond to Newcastle and Hexham in the north, and Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe in the south. Intercity Grand Central services between Sunderland and London King's Cross also call at the station.

History

The Stockton and Hartlepool Railway, which connected the town of West Hartlepool with the Clarence Railway near Billingham, was opened for goods on 12 November 1839 and to passengers on 1 December in the same year.^[1] 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,^[2] when West Hartlepool was merged with Hartlepool.^[3]

The station has two platforms currently in use: the old northbound platform (now bi-directionally signalled & used by all timetabled services) and a south-facing bay platform (available but has no services booked to use it). Platform 3, originally used for southbound trains, has been disused for over 20 years. The footbridge linking the platforms was removed in the late 1990s. In August 2013 as part of its track access application extension, Grand Central proposed reinstating platform 3.^[4]

As of March 2008 the station is undergoing extensive refurbishment to include a brand new transport interchange for Hartlepool, and also improvements to the current station facilities. It was also re-signalled in the spring of 2010 as part of the Durham Coast modernisation scheme, with the consequent loss of three manual signal boxes in & around the station.^[5]

Services

Northern Rail

From Monday to Saturday Hartlepool is served by hourly trains in each direction. Southbound services run to Middlesbrough via Seaton Carew, Billingham, Stockton and Thornaby, with some journeys extending to Nunthorpe. Northbound services run to Newcastle, calling at Seaham, Sunderland and Heworth, with some continuing to MetroCentre, Hexham and Carlisle.^[6]

The frequency of services is also hourly on Sundays between Middlesbrough and MetroCentre only. Two additional southbound services run to Darlington, running directly from Stockton onto Eaglescliffe, Allens West and Dinsdale. One of these journeys calls additionally at Teesside Airport. A new waiting room was added to the station in 2011.

Grand Central

There are five open access Grand Central services per day in each direction. Northbound trains provide services to Sunderland, running directly without calling at Seaham. Southbound services call at Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk, and York, before terminating at London King's Cross.^[7]

Hartlepool station in August 1981

The station platforms before refurbishment

The ticket office, following redevelopment in 2008

The Interchange

From November 2009, extensive work was carried out on Hartlepool station. This included the new Interchange, for buses, taxis and trains to be together. The station roof was totally renewed, and new information screens were put in place. The work was finished for the Tall Ships' Races in August 2010 at a cost of £4m and was originally used for park and ride services terminating in the town for the event.^[8][9] Hartlepool Interchange was opened to bus and coach services from 11 August 2010 and built on the site of the old bus station that was demolished in the 1990s for the A179 bridge over the railway line.

Services

The Interchange was used by Arriva North East and Go North East as a terminus. However, not all services in the town serve the Interchange, with the majority of, Stagecoach in Hartlepool services and Go North East's X35 service preferring to serve the stops in the town and at the nearby Marina.^[10] From 28 October 2012, following a change to the service network, Arriva services serving Hartlepool no longer terminated at the Interchange, with the 22 and 23 terminating at the Marina, replicating Go North East's X35 service, while new service 57A would terminate on Victoria Road in the town centre.^[11] This leaves just two Scarlet Band services plus National Express coaches serving the Interchange.

Buses from Hartlepool Interchange go to Durham and Peterlee with National Express coach services running to Leeds, London and York.

The bus services that use Hartlepool Interchange and its Stand Letter are:^[12][13][14]

(Places in bold are where services terminate)

No	Operator	Destination	Stand
22	Scarlet Band	Peterlee via Hartlepool town centre, King Oswy Drive, Blackhall and Horden (continues to Durham as service 58A)	2^1
58	Scarlet Band	Durham via Hartlepool town centre, University Hospital of Hartlepool, Hart Village, Wheatley Hill, Coxhoe, Kelloe	2
Coaches	National Express	National Express services to Leeds and London (and journeys returning from there bound for South Shields and Newcastle)	3
Some services stop at bus stands outside the Interchange on Church Square (stand 5) or Marina Gateway (stand 6)
3	Stagecoach in Hartlepool	Bishop Cuthbert via Marina and Throston Grange	6
4	Stagecoach in Hartlepool	Clavering via Marina and Hart Station	6
7	Stagecoach in Hartlepool	The Headland via Marina	6
22	Arriva North East	Hartlepool Marina	6
23	Arriva North East	Hartlepool Marina	6
36	Stagecoach on Teesside	Hartlepool Marina	6
104	Croft Coach Travel	Cleveland College of Art & Design via Hartlepool town centre and Billingham	5^2
X35	Go North East	Hartlepool Marina	6

Notes:

1	Monday-Saturday evening journey only
2	One weekday morning journey
3	Two Saturday journeys only

References

1. James, Leslie (November 1983). A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778-1855. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 29. ISBN 0-7110-1277-6. BE/1183.
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 115, 245, 114. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
3. "Hartlepool — a brief History", History.UK.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
4. Application to the Office of Rail Regulation for a track access agreement Grand Central August 2013
5. "Route Plans 9 - Route 9 - North East Routes - Connecting Local Communities" (PDF). London: Network Rail. March 2009. pp. 12, 15. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
6. GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 44
7. "sunderland timetable". Grand Central. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
8. "Transport hub opens in time for Hartlepool Tall Ships". BBC News. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
9. "£4m transport interchange to be unveiled". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
10. "Firm has 'no plans' to send more buses to transport hub". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
11. "Bus Service Changes in Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Sunderland" (PDF). Arriva Bus. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
12. "Hartlepool Interchange - Stand Allocation" (PDF). Connect Tees Valley. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
13. "National Express - 380 Timetable" (PDF). National Express. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
14. "National Express - 425 Timetable" (PDF). National Express. Retrieved 2 February 2011.

External links

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

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Eaglescliffe		Grand Central London-Sunderland		Sunderland
Seaton Carew		Northern Rail Durham Coast Line		Seaham