Newcastle railway station

A scheme for a central station was proposed by Richard Grainger and Thomas Sopwith in 1836[4] but was not built.

The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway had agreed to relinquish their insistence on exclusively using their Redheugh terminus on the south bank of the River Tyne. They agreed with George Hudson on a general station north of the Tyne, near the Spital. Instead of crossing the Tyne by a low level bridge and climbing to the Spital by a rope-worked incline, they would build an extension crossing at Scotswood and approaching on the north bank. They opened this line and a temporary station at Forth, and passenger trains started using that on 1 March 1847.[5]

Hudson, known as the "Railway King" was concentrating on connecting his portfolio of railways so as to join Edinburgh with the English network. His Newcastle and Berwick Railway obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1845, but for the time being it was to use the Newcastle and North Shields Railway's station at Carliol Square. Building a crossing of the Tyne was obviously going to be a lengthy process, so that he gave the construction of the general station a low priority. The Tyne crossing became the High Level Bridge.[6][7]

In February 1846 the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway exerted pressure for the general station to be built, and the architect John Dobson was appointed by Hudson to design it, in association with the engineer T E Harrison, and Robert Stephenson. Gibson Kyle was clerk of works.[8] By now the general alignment of Hudson's railways was becoming clear: a main line from the south via Gateshead would approach over the High Level Bridge and enter the general station from the east; the Newcastle and Berwick line would be extended from Carliol Square and also enter from the east; through trains from London to Scotland would reverse in the new station. Newcastle and Carlisle Railway trains would of course enter from the west.[6][7]

The exterior of the station in 1867.

Dobson produced general plans for the station, now being referred to as the Central station, on a broad curve to front Neville Street so as to accommodate the alignment of the approaching railways at east and west. It was to a "Romano-Italien design with ornamental work of the Doric order".[9] Two through platform lines were shown, with three west end bays and two at the east end. There were to be three trainshed roofs with spans of 60 feet. Extensive offices as well as refreshment facilities were shown, and there was to be a covered carriage drive on the Neville Street side extending from the porte-cochère at each end.

On 7 August 1847 a contract was let for the main part of the work to Mackay and Blackstock, for £92,000 (equivalent to £8,940,000 in 2021).[10] A considerable amount of groundworks was necessary on the large site prior to the actual building work.[6]

The work did not progress speedily, and in 1849 Hudson's collection of railway companies suffered a financial shock. At a time of more difficult trading and a tighter money market, Hudson's personal dealings were exposed as shady. The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had been formed by merger of the previous smaller companies, and the YN&BR wished to reduce the financial commitment to the Central Station substantially; hotel accommodation and the covered carriage drive were eliminated. One of the through platforms was also removed from the plan.[6]

As built the site covered three acres and the length of the platform faces was 830 yards.[9]

The trainshed soon after opening.

The trainshed proved faster to construct and on 29 August 1850 Queen Victoria visited the station by train and formally opened it. The day was declared a public holiday in Newcastle.[11] The following day YN&BR trains were diverted into it.[note 1]

The trainshed was, jointly with the Lime Street station in Liverpool, the first to be designed and built in Britain using curved wrought iron ribs to support an arched roof. The large section of the ribs was fabricated using curved web plates specially rolled using bevelled rolls; the novel technique was created by Thomas Charlton of Hawks Crawshay, and was estimated to have saved 14% on the cost of the roof ironwork, compared with cutting rectilinear plates to the curve.[6]

The station was lit by gas; a demonstration of electric arc-lighting was made, but was not at that date a practical possibility for the large station space. The platforms were positioned 15 inches above rail level.

The station was shared from the beginning by the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, which abandoned its earlier terminus at Carliol Square to the east which had operated since 1839. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway started using Central station from 1 January 1851, and also abandoned its earlier terminus at Forth.[12]

In 1861 the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had already merged with others to form the North Eastern Railway, and now it was desired to amalgamate with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway too. The Corporation of Newcastle used the opportunity of the necessary Parliamentary Bill for the amalgamation to insist on construction of the abandoned porte-cochère, and this was designed by Thomas Prosser and completed in 1863.[13]

In the 1860s the passenger train service was increasing considerably, especially as branch lines opened, six platforms were increased to nine in 1871 and to twelve in 1877, and then to fifteen in 1894: an additional through island platform was provided in 1871, occupying space formerly in use for stabling carriages. Increase in traffic continued, as also increasing train lengths and it was clear that a major extension of the station was essential. Newcastle had been given city status in 1882 and was supportive of the work, seeing it as a civic improvement. Forth Street was displaced southwards and two new trainshed roofs covered a southward extension of the station; in addition a large expansion to the east took place, with additional bay platforms there on the north side of the former bays. The original through track was blocked to form east and west bays, so that there were still only three through platform lines. This work was completed in 1894.[6][12]

The new group of bay platforms at the east end had their own concourse quadrangle, known at the time as the "Tynemouth Square". There was a separate booking hall for those local services. At this stage the roof covered seven and a half acres in area; there were fifteen platforms with a length of 3,000 yards.[9]

In 1901 an early steam locomotive was on display at the station:

[The station] is further graced by a pedestal on which stands a curious old locomotive rejoicing in the name of "Billy". The true early history of "Billy" is well-nigh veiled in the mists of antiquity, and it was only by diligent enquiry that Mr Holliday, the Station Master, was able to learn a little of her antecedents. That "she" was constructed as far back as 1824 – 1826 is however certain, and on that score alone she is entitled to an introduction to such of the readers of the Railway Magazine as have until now been unaware of her existence. For about fifty-five years (until 1879) she performed good service, first at the Springwell, and latterly at the Killingworth colliery, from which place she actually steamed into Newcastle in 1881 to celebrate George Stephenson's Centenary.[9]

An image of the locomotive in Bywell's article is captioned "Puffing billy" but it is not Puffing Billy of 1814, which is currently on display at the Science Museum in London.

The locomotive in Bywell's article is known simply as Billy (Built in 1826). It was presented to Newcastle upon Tyne Corporation for preservation in 1881. Initially it was displayed on a plinth at the north end of the High Level Bridge, but was moved to the interior of Newcastle Central Station in 1896; it remained there until 1945, when it was moved to the city's Museum of Science and Industry; it was moved again in 1981 to the Stephenson Railway Museum in nearby North Shields, where it is still on display.[14]

The early history of the locomotive is uncertain; it is probably a George Stephenson locomotive, and was probably built at Killingworth Colliery workshops around 1815–1820.[15]

Railways between Newcastle and Gateshead
Tyne and Wear Metro to Monument East Coast Main Line to Morpeth Central Station Tyne Valley Line to Scotswood Newcastle King Edward VII Bridge High Level Bridge River Tyne QEII Metro Bridge Gateshead Tyne Valley Line to MetroCentre Gateshead Interchange East Coast Main Line to Durham Durham Coast Line to Heworth Tyne and Wear Metro to Gateshead Stadium

In 1900 the North Eastern Railway started replacing the gas lighting in the station with electric arc equipment. Further use of electricity came from 1904 when several suburban lines were electrified using the third rail system, to form the Tyneside Electrics system, electric trains were introduced, using Central Station from 1 July 1904. The tracks on platforms 1 to 6 were equipped with electrified third rails, and platform 7 was later electrified to handle electric trains to South Shields.[12]

Another major development came on 1 October 1906 when the King Edward VII Bridge was opened, crossing the Tyne to the south-west of the station: Since 1850 East Coast Main Line trains had entered Newcastle from the south via the High Level Bridge to the south-east, this meant however that they had to reverse in order to continue their journey, which lengthened journey times and led to congestion at the busy junction east of the station. The four-track King Edward Bridge remedied this by allowing north–south trains to leave or enter from either side of the station. The triangular junction at the Gateshead side also allowed for greater flexibility, allowing trains from Sunderland to use the new bridge if necessary.[12]

In 1909, Central station became Newcastle's only major city-centre station when the former Blyth and Tyne Railway's terminus at Newcastle New Bridge Street was closed, and its trains diverted to Central station via a new connection to Manors station.[12]

The Tyne and Wear Metro system opened in 1980, taking over and improving many of the Tyneside suburban routes that had declined under British Railways management. The underground Central Station for Metro trains was constructed during the late 1970s underneath the main line station, and opened in 1981. Part of the porte-cochère was temporarily dismantled while excavation work took place.[16] The Metro system was a considerable success; Many conventional rail services were transferred there, and several of the east end bays were closed and converted to car parking and other usage. The Carlisle line was diverted to enter Newcastle over the King Edward Bridge of 1906, and a large out-of-town shopping development, the Metro Centre, was opened with a station on that line. The changing pattern of railway services meant that terminating trains were significantly fewer and through trains had increased. The emphasis on bay platforms at the station was no longer appropriate.

The opportunity was taken in conjunction with the East Coast Main Line electrification scheme, inaugurated in 1991 by British Rail, to extend the station southwards to provide more through platforms. This encroached on to land occupied by through tracks previously used by goods trains, which had seen little use since the withdrawal of many goods services in the 1960s. A new island platform was provided, built around the southern wall of the station. The two platform faces are divided so as to provide four numbered platforms, 5 to 8, generally used for local trains.[6]

The eastern approach to the station in 1960, viewed from The Castle

A similar view in 2005. The station was reduced in size after the Metro replaced suburban heavy rail services.

London North Eastern Railway provides high-speed inter-city services southbound every half-hour to London (one fast, one semi-fast) as well as 3 trains per 2 hours continue northbound into Scotland. One service is also provided each evening Monday - Friday from Newcastle to Sunderland.[17]

• northbound to Edinburgh Waverley calling at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Extra services at peak times to Edinburgh only also call at Morpeth, Alnmouth and Dunbar. At weekends, all daytime services arriving from London continue to Edinburgh.
  • 4 services are extended daily to Aberdeen
  • 1 service is extended daily to Glasgow Central
  • 1 service is extended daily to Inverness
  • 1 service is extended daily to Stirling
• southbound to London King's Cross;
  • 1 semi-fast service calling at Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Doncaster, Newark North Gate, Peterborough and other stations on the ECML at peak times with a journey time of approximately 3 hours 20 minutes.
  • 1 fast service calling at Darlington and York only with a journey time of 2 hours 50 minutes.
  • Additional services operate between Edinburgh-Newcastle/York and between Newcastle-York.

Rolling stock used: Class 800s, Class 801s

• early-morning service, the Flying Scotsman operated by London North Eastern Railway, from Edinburgh Waverley to London King's Cross calling at Newcastle only, arriving King's Cross at 09.40; no corresponding northbound service

Rolling stock used: Class 800s

CrossCountry operates services north into Scotland, supplementing London North Eastern Railway services, and southbound there are two trains per hour to the CrossCountry hub at Birmingham New Street, from where they extend towards the South West and South Coast.[18]

• northbound to Edinburgh Waverley hourly, continuing to Glasgow Central (every two hours) or Aberdeen (once daily), calling at most stations en route.
• southbound to the South West of England hourly, calling at Durham, Darlington, York, Leeds, Wakefield Westgate, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham New Street, Cheltenham Spa, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth. Three services continue to Penzance.
• southbound to Reading hourly, calling at Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham New Street, Leamington Spa, Banbury, Oxford and Reading. Some services continue to Southampton Central.

Rolling stock used: Class 220s, Class 221s

Newcastle is a terminus for TransPennine Express services to and from Manchester and also sees services from Liverpool call at the station heading towards Edinburgh.

With the electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool Line, from May 2014 a new timetable was introduced which is made up an hourly express service between Newcastle and Liverpool via Leeds and Manchester reducing journey times to Liverpool to three hours as part of the Northern Hub scheme.[19] Services to Leeds/York are also supplemented by London North Eastern Railway and CrossCountry.

• southbound to Liverpool Lime Street calling at Chester-le-Street, Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria.
• southbound to Manchester Airport calling at Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Leeds, Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Manchester Piccadilly.
• northbound to Edinburgh Waverley calling at Morpeth only.

Rolling stock used: Class 802 bi-mode multiple units

Northern Trains Route 1
East Coast Main Line
Chathill Alnmouth Acklington Widdrington Pegswood Morpeth Cramlington Manors Newcastle MetroCentre
Most services extend to/from Carlisle.

Northern Trains Route 2
Durham Coast Line
Newcastle Heworth Sunderland Seaham Horden Hartlepool Seaton Carew Billingham Stockton Thornaby Middlesbrough
Most services extend to/from Hexham or Nunthorpe.

Northern Trains Route 4
Tyne Valley Line
Carlisle Wetheral Brampton Haltwhistle Bardon Mill Haydon Bridge Hexham Corbridge Riding Mill Stocksfield Prudhoe Wylam Blaydon MetroCentre Dunston Newcastle
Most services extend to/from Morpeth or Nunthorpe.

Northern Trains operates a number of commuter and regional services :[20]

• northbound on the East Coast Main Line to Cramlington and Morpeth with services extended to Chathill at peak hours.
• southbound along the Durham Coast Line to Middlesbrough calling at Heworth, Sunderland, Seaham, Hartlepool, Seaton Carew, Billingham, Stockton and Thornaby. Extended most hours to Nunthorpe in order to serve James Cook railway station at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
• westbound on the Tyne Valley Line to Carlisle calling at MetroCentre, Prudhoe, Hexham, Haydon Bridge, Haltwhistle, Brampton and others at alternate hours.
• westbound slow service on the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham calling at Dunston, MetroCentre, Blaydon, Wylam, Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Riding Mill, Corbridge and terminating at Hexham. Extended to Carlisle at peak hours.
• 1 train per hour operates between Newcastle and Metro Centre calling at Dunston only during the day.

Rolling stock used: Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units

Open-access operator Lumo provides services northbound to Morpeth and Edinburgh Waverley, and southbound to Stevenage and London Kings Cross.[21][22][23]

Rolling stock used: Class 803

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Durham		CrossCountry Cross Country Route		Morpeth
				Terminus
Chester-le-Street		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Cramlington
Durham				Morpeth
Edinburgh Waverley One way operation		London North Eastern Railway Flying Scotsman		London King's Cross One way operation
Durham or Darlington		London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Terminus
				Alnmouth or Morpeth or Berwick-upon-Tweed or Edinburgh Waverley
				Sunderland Limited service only on weekdays
Heworth		Northern Trains Durham Coast Line		through to Tyne Valley Line
through to Tyne Valley Line		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line		Manors
Chester-le-Street Limited service		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line		Terminus
through to East Coast Main Line		Northern Trains Tyne Valley Line		Dunston
through to Durham Coast Line				MetroCentre
Stevenage		Lumo London to Edinburgh		Morpeth
London Kings Cross

Proposals to reintroduce passenger rail services between Newcastle Central Station and the communities of south east Northumberland have been discussed since the 1990s.[24][25][26] In the early 2010s, Northumberland County Council became interested in the proposals, commissioning Network Rail to complete the first study into the feasibility of the scheme in June 2013.[27] This was followed by a more detailed study, commissioned in June 2015,[28] which confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day-a-week passenger service between Newcastle Central and Ashington was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034.[29]

Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections[30] the authority continued to develop the project,[31] encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail, which named the line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services.[32][33] More detailed plans were announced in July 2019 which would have split the project into four phases[34] to reduce the initial cost of the scheme. The initial phase, at an estimated £90 million,[35] would have seen the creation of new or reopened National Rail stations at Northumberland Park (for interchange with the Tyne and Wear Metro), Newsham, Bedlington and Ashington and several other infrastructure upgrades undertaken[34] to allow an hourly passenger train to be provided[36] between them and Newcastle. Two further stations, at Seaton Delaval and Blyth Bebside were to be added in Phase 2 and other infrastructure upgrades would follow in Phases 3 and 4[34] to enable the frequency to be doubled to half-hourly.[36] In August 2020, it was reported that these four proposed phases might be merged into a single one.[37]

The Department for Transport allocated an initial grant of £1.5 million towards the project costs in January 2020[38] which was supplemented by an allocation of £10 million of funds from Northumberland County Council the following month.[36] This funding enabled detailed on-site ground investigation works to begin in October 2020.[39] The allocation of a further £34 million of UK Government funding for the project in January 2021 enables the necessary land to be purchased, detailed designs to be prepared and some early preparatory and site works to begin.[40] In January 2021, it was anticipated that the UK Government would fund the remainder of the project cost, estimated at £166 million as of January 2021, once the final phase of design works were completed.[41] However, in April 2021, it was reported that government officials were seeking to reduce the cost of the project as part of the Department for Transport's Project SPEED initiative.[42] It was reported that the cost-saving measures under consideration included and cutting initial service frequencies from two to one trains per hour and dropping the proposed Blyth Bebside station from initial project scope[42] (although the latter option was later publicly ruled out by Minister for Railways Chris Heaton-Harris).[43]

Northumberland County Council submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on 26 May 2021,[44][45] under which they would be conferred certain additional powers deemed necessary for the new stations to be constructed and the line upgraded to carry regular passenger services.[46] It is anticipated that the main construction phase might begin as early as June 2022,[36] enabling an opening date in 2024.[41]