Horden railway station

Horden (also referred to as Horden Peterlee and Peterlee Horden during development) is a railway station on the Durham Coast Line, located in the village of Horden, County Durham. The station opened on 29 June 2020, following a £10.55 million investment.[1][2] It is the second station to have been located in the village, it having replaced an earlier station, located approximately 200 yards (180 m) further south, which closed in May 1964.[3]

Horden
The current station on the day of its opening in June 2020
LocationHorden, County Durham
England
Coordinates54.7638°N 1.3073°W / 54.7638; -1.3073
Grid referenceNZ 447 412
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeHRE
History
Original companyNorth Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Key dates
1 April 1905First station opened
4 May 1964First station closed
29 June 2020Second station opened

History
Site of the original Horden station in July 2017. The current station is located a short distance behind the camera.

The original station at Horden was opened by the North Eastern Railway on 1 April 1905.[4] The station opened as part of the NER's project to build a new coastal line by linking together Seaham and Hart on the routes of the earlier Londonderry, Seaham & Sunderland and Hartlepool Dock & Railway lines. This new line had been constructed primarily to avoid the steep gradients of the inland route at Seaton Bank and Hesleden Bank,[5] but also provided access to the newly developed collieries of the Durham Coast.[6]

A six-inch Ordnance Survey map from 1922 shows the station, along with a station hotel, located at what was then the southern end of the new settlement, which was built to house workers from the nearby Horden Colliery.[7]

The new town of Peterlee was established in 1948,[8] and is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Horden; hence, at the time, Horden had been the closest railway station to the town. Despite the development of this new town, however, the station was recommended for closure, as part of the Beeching Report, and was duly closed on 4 May 1964, along with other remaining stations at Blackhall Colliery and Easington.[9]

Reopening

It had been a long-held ambition of Durham County Council to reopen a station on the Durham Coast Line between Seaham and Hartlepool, to serve the communities of in the county's south east. The council investigated seven potential sites in the area, initially selected a site adjacent to the Sea View Industrial Estate in Horden as the most suitable for a new station.[10] The site was located about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) to the north of the original station.

It was identified that one of the key benefits of reopening Horden, as opposed to any of the other closed stations on the Durham Coast Line was the station's close proximity to Peterlee, which has grown significantly since 1964. This allowed the potential for 61,000 residents to benefit from improved access to employment opportunities across the region.[11] Durham County Council had applied for funding from the first round of the Department for Transport's New Stations Fund in 2013, but were unsuccessful at that stage.[11][12]

In September 2016, Durham County Council the original plans were revised and a new preferred site was identified at South East View, Horden, and a public consultation was launched,[13] in order to gauge the potential usage of a reopened station. This site is located about 200 yards (180 m) from the original station,[3] significantly closer than the earlier proposal.

The current Horden station under construction in December 2019. At this time only the carpark had been completed, with construction of the platforms yet to begin.

In July 2017, it was announced that the station would be built with a contribution of £4.4 million in funding from the second round of the New Stations Fund,[14] with the remainder of the scheme's £10.5 million cost being covered by funding which has already been provided by Durham County Council and the North East Combined Authority.[15] Network Rail submitted a planning application for the new station on 1 November 2018,[16] and this was duly approved on 7 January 2019.[17]

The first stage of construction work for this project, involving the creation of the station car park and adjacent bus stop, commenced on 28 May 2019.[18] It was later followed by the construction of the station itself, as well as associated signalling and track realignment works, in the second stage.[18][19] In late April 2020, having completed both platforms, the station's footbridge and associated ramps and stairs were installed by Story Contracting, using a 500 tonne crane. Following this, work progressed through mechanical, electrical and telecoms works and, finally, interface works between the station and car park.[20]

The station opened on 29 June 2020.[1][2] It had originally been expected to be open in March 2020,[21] but this was later revised to May 2020.[22] This May 2020 opening date was also missed owing to a requirement to adjust working practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[23]

Services
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.

The station is served by an hourly service between Nunthorpe and Hexham, operated by Northern Trains.

Facilities

The station has two platforms, both of which have ticket machines, seating, waiting shelters, next train audio and visual displays and an emergency help point on both platforms. The platforms are linked by an accessible footbridge. There is a car park with 139 spaces, as well as facilities for drop-off, a taxi rank and a bus stop.[24] The station is part of the Northern Trains penalty fare network, meaning that a ticket, or "promise to pay" notice is required prior to boarding.[25]

References
  1. Thompson, Fiona (29 June 2020). "First trains to make their stop at new £10.55 million train station in Horden". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. Seddon, Sean (29 June 2020). "Horden train station opens today for first time in more than 50 years". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  3. "Work starts on new £10.55m Horden Railway Station". East Durham News. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. Body, Geoffrey (1989). PSL Field Guides – Railways of the Eastern Region. 2. Patrick Stephens Limited. pp. 66, 85 and 150. ISBN 1852600721.
  5. Hill, Norman (2001). Teesside Railways: A View From The Past. Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. p. 48. ISBN 0711028036.
  6. Trenholm, Dru. "Blackhall Colliery and Village History" (PDF). Durham in Time. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  7. Hatcher, Jane. "Horden – a short history" (PDF). Durham in Time. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  8. "Peterlee history". Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  9. Waller, Paul (2013). Rail Atlas: The Beeching Era. Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. pp. 67 and 104. ISBN 9780711035492.
  10. "New Peterlee rail station is still right on track". The Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  11. "Plans to build long-awaited Horden station 'progressing'". Rail Technology Magazine. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  12. "New Stations Fund". Network Rail. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  13. Engelbrecht, Gavin (27 September 2016). "Plans for a new railway station in Horden remain on track". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  14. Maynard, Paul (28 July 2017). "New station boost for passengers thanks to £16 million government investment". Department for Transport. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  15. Clark, Kevin (28 July 2017). "East Durham to get new railway station after £4.4 million Government funding announcement". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  16. "'Sorely needed' Horden station plan submitted". BBC News. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  17. "Work to start in weeks after new £10m railway station gets the go-ahead". Hartlepool Mail. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  18. Kennedy, Poppy (28 May 2019). "Work starts on new £10 million railway station expected to bring economic boost to the region". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  19. "Story wins contract to build new station in County Durham". Rail Technology Magazine. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  20. "Story tackles Covid challenges". The Construction Index. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  21. DfT https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-station-boost-for-passengers-thanks-to-16-million-government-investment
  22. "Horden Station - Durham County Council". Durham County Council. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  23. Thompson, Fiona (7 May 2020). "Work on new train station slowed by coronavirus – but launch should still happen this summer". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  24. "Station facilities for Horden (HRE)". National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  25. "Penalty Fares". Northern Trains. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern Trains
  Historical railways  
Blackhall Colliery
Line open, station closed		   London and North Eastern Railway
Durham Coast Line		   Easington
Line open, station closed
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