The construction of a new £10.55 million railway station at Horden, near Peterlee in County Durham, has begun as representatives from the organisations involved gathered at the site on South East View to mark the start of work, which is expected to take about a year to complete.
Durham County Council has been working closely with Network Rail and Northern Railway on the project, which will link the area into the local, regional and national rail network and support wider regeneration in the area. It is being co-funded by the authority, by a £4.4 million from the Department for Transport’s New Stations Fund and by a grant of £3.34 million from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.
The station, which is expected to bring an economic boost to east Durham, will feature two 100-metre platforms with shelters connected by an accessible footbridge, as well as a 139-space car park bus stops, a new road, footpath and cycleway. It is expected to open to passengers in spring 2020, with services every hour both north to Newcastle and south to Middlesbrough.
Cllr Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “I am very pleased to see the start of work on a development which will bring much improved transport links for residents in the east of the county.
“The development will open up employment opportunities for local people while at the same time providing a direct connection to our coastline for visitors travelling from further afield.”
Anna Weeks, Northern Railway regional director for the North East, said: “We are really excited by this great opportunity on our Durham Coast route and are grateful to Durham County Council for their commitment in delivering this.
“The opening of Horden station will help connect the local community to Middlesbrough and Newcastle as well as our coastal destinations of Whitby and Saltburn and further afield to the National Rail Network. Along with our train modernisation programme, with the removal of the pacer units in 2019 and introduction of digital trains on the line, it’s an exciting time for train users in the region.”
The site at South East View is the second chosen by the council for the new station. It lies just a little north of the site of the original Horden station, which was opened when the Durham Coast line was first built in 1905 and then closed in 1964 following recommendations by Dr Beeching.
1 Trackback / Pingback