Hartlepool Station Improvements

Hartlepool Station is the Tees Valley’s third busiest rail station, with a footfall of around 650,000 passengers each year. It has a direct service connection to London through the Grand Central service to / from Sunderland and therefore provides an important regional / local interchange.  It is also a key interchange on the strategic Durham Coast rail line which links a number of key economic centres in the Tees Valley and the wider North East, via the hourly Northern service.

There is a long-standing contract commitment for an additional semi-fast Northern service connecting Middlesbrough to / from Newcastle, which will serve Hartlepool, and TVCA are working with the rail industry to deliver this enhancement. In addition, TVCA also have future aspirations for services to further enhance connectivity to / from Hartlepool.

However, capacity for new services is constrained by the infrastructure at Hartlepool Station. Despite the station having two through lines it only has one operational through platform, with the other platform currently disused and redundant. This means that the station is not fit for purpose for a rail hub of its size and use.  The current lack of platform capacity is an existing performance and operational risk for Northern and Grand Central and is impacting on future passenger and freight growth aspirations on the line.

Analysis has concluded that to achieve the capacity required for fast and efficient rail services, the disused platform needs to be brought back into use. Having two functioning through platforms at Hartlepool resolves the existing capacity constraint at the station and adjoining junctions.

As a key part of the Tees Valley’s transport infrastructure and one of Tees Valley Combined Authority’s major investment priorities, work is now under way to bring the redundant platform back into use and provide accessibility via a new Access for All compliant footbridge with lifts.

Click here to view the Hartlepool Station Outline Business Case.