Darlington Station upgrade leads to train delays, diversions, and bus replacements for six weekends. Plan your travel!
The project includes a new car park with 650 spaces. It also creates a transport hub and a better entrance on the west side. Workers will demolish the old Allerdene bridge. This is part of the A1 upgrade by National Highways.
This bridge goes over the East Coast Main Line, just south of Newcastle. Removing it needs track protection, and overhead lines must be safe. Trains can’t run during this work.
February 22-23 is when they install a new footbridge. It will be enclosed and have no steps and goes over the two new platforms in Darlington. New switches will be tested with the signal system, and overhead wires will be worked on across the station.
Engineers are laying new cables and installing equipment by the tracks. This enables future project steps. Other work over the six weekends includes a safer track warning system, ballast strengthening at Tursdale Junction, and new walkways to enhance safety near Durham station.
LNER will run fewer trains during these weekends. Expect one train hourly, each way, between London and Newcastle. It will run on a diverted route. Other services will start or end at York and Newcastle, with buses filling the gaps, affecting Lumo services as well.
Grand Central trains will run less often on Saturdays; some trains will start/end at York instead of Sunderland. Sundays also see reduced service. Northern trains will stop at Eaglescliffe. Buses will connect to Darlington/Bishop Auckland.
TransPennine Express will use buses between York and Newcastle. Before noon on Sundays, expect diversions via Castleford. Buses will replace CrossCountry trains connecting York and Newcastle. It’s messy!
These updates will affect travel, so check your route before traveling. Train companies have info about this and suggest checking their websites and social media. They thank everyone in advance for their patience.