Eaglescliffe railway station

Eaglescliffe
Location	Eaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees England
Coordinates	54°31′48″N 1°20′59″W / 54.5300894°N 1.3497203°W / 54.5300894; -1.3497203Coordinates: 54°31′48″N 1°20′59″W / 54.5300894°N 1.3497203°W / 54.5300894; -1.3497203
Grid reference	NZ421150
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	EAG
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	Leeds Northern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway British Rail (North Eastern Region)
Key dates
25 March 1852	Opened as Eaglescliffe
1852/1853	Renamed Eaglescliffe Junction
1854	Renamed Preston Junction
1 February 1878	Renamed Eaglescliffe Junction
Passengers
2016/17	0.207 million
2017/18	0.207 million
2018/19	0.202 million
2019/20	0.191 million
2020/21	29,218
Location
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 (14 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[]

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.^[1] 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, they also started using the station at Eaglescliffe. The station became known as Eaglescliffe Junction, as passengers could change between services on the two respective lines.^[2]

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 instead.

In the following years, the station and surrounding area came to be known instead as Eaglescliffe. 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.

Originally, the station had four platforms. However, the westernmost platforms were taken out of use in the late 1960s, and have since been removed.

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.^[3] In April 2015, the station's previous waiting shelters were replaced by a modern waiting room.^[4][5]

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.^[6][7][8]

The ticket office was later re-opened on 3 April 2018, and is now managed by Northern Trains, with staff provided by Grand Central.^[9][10] As of July 2021, the ticket office is open between 09:00 and 16:00 on weekdays, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.^[11]

There is step-free access to the island platform via the ramped footbridge from the car park and station entrance.^[11]

Services[]

Grand Central[]

Grand Central
v t
North Eastern and West Riding
Sunderland Hartlepool Eaglescliffe Northallerton Thirsk York Bradford Interchange Low Moor Halifax Brighouse Mirfield Wakefield Kirkgate Pontefract Monkhill Doncaster London King's Cross
Some services do not call at Pontefract Monkhill.

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.^[12]

Rolling stock used: Class 180 Adelante

Northern Trains[]

Route 3
v t
Tees Valley Line
Bishop Auckland Shildon Newton Aycliffe Heighington North Road Darlington Dinsdale Teesside Airport Allens West Eaglescliffe Thornaby Middlesbrough South Bank Redcar Central Redcar East Longbeck Marske Saltburn

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.^[13]

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

References[]

Sources[]

External links[]

• Media related to Eaglescliffe railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Train times and station information for Eaglescliffe railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Northallerton		Grand Central North Eastern		Hartlepool
Allens West		Northern Trains Tees Valley Line		Thornaby