Chester-le-Street railway station

Chester-le-Street railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the town of Chester-le-Street, County Durham. It is 260 miles 32 chains (419.1 km) north of London King's Cross between Durham to the south and Newcastle to the north. Its three-letter station code is CLS.

Chester-le-Street
Location	Chester-le-Street, County of Durham England
Coordinates	54.855°N 1.578°W
Grid reference	NZ271512
Managed by	Northern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	CLS
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 December 1868	Station opened
Passengers
2015/16	0.223 million
2016/17	0.231 million
2017/18	0.220 million
2018/19	0.199 million
2019/20	0.193 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The Team Valley line of the North Eastern Railway, which connected Newton Hall Junction near Durham with Gateshead, was authorised in 1848 but not opened until 2 March 1868 (the powers having been renewed in 1862). At first only freight trains used the route, but passenger services began on 1 December 1868,[1] and the station at Chester-le-Street opened the same day.[2]

In the 1960s, the station was listed for closure as part of the Beeching cuts,[3] which led to it being mentioned in the song Slow Train by Flanders and Swann. However it was saved and remains open.

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.

Mondays to Saturdays there is a mostly two-hourly TransPennine Express service from Chester-le-Street, northbound to Newcastle and southbound to Durham, Darlington, York, Leeds, Manchester Victoria and Liverpool Lime Street.[4] Most services run to and from Liverpool since the May 2014 timetable change, though certain early morning trains come from Manchester Airport. On Sundays there is also a two-hourly service in each direction.

The station also has a very limited service provided by other operators. CrossCountry have a single service to Southampton Central calling in the evening peak, and Northern have three a.m northbound services to Newcastle calling on weekdays & two on Saturdays (from Middlesbrough and Saltburn) and one late night weekday southbound service to Darlington. The latter also runs on a Sunday, running through to Middlesbrough.

Other CrossCountry services as well as all London North Eastern Railway and some TransPennine Express services pass through the station but do not stop.

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Durham		CrossCountry Cross Country Route		Newcastle
		TransPennine Express North TransPennine
		Northern Tees Valley Line
	Historical railways
Plawsworth Line open, station closed		North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Birtley Line open, station closed

Operator and facilities

Chester-le-Street lost its part-time staff in or about 1990.

For about twenty years, from 1999 to 2018, Chester-le-Track, an independent private limited company, operated the station as an agent for the local franchised train operating company, which, in 2017, was Northern.[5]

In late 2020 National Rail say:

The independent retailer, Chester-le-Track, that ran the ticket office at this station has gone into administration. Northern Rail will be staffing the station on a part time basis but may not be able to sell the full range of tickets, in particular Advance Purchase and longer term Season Tickets.

In addition, some of the station facilities may not always be available at the times shown below. [6]

The ticket office is staffed six days per week, between 07:30 and 18:00 on weekdays and 07:30 and 13:00 on Saturdays (closed evenings and Sundays). At other times tickets must be bought on the train or prior to travel. There are toilets and a waiting room in the main building, along with standard shelters on each platform. Vending machines are available for the purchase of snacks and cold drinks. Train running information is offered via timetable posters and telephone. Step-free access is available to both platforms.[7]

References

1. Allen, Cecil J. (1974) [1964]. The North Eastern Railway. Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 137, 141. ISBN 0-7110-0495-1.
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
3. "Wear Local History - The Beeching Axe". BBC. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
4. GB National Rail Timetable May - December 2016, Tables 26 & 39 (Network Rail)
5. "About Us". Chester-le-Track. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
6. Chester-le-Street station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 12 December 2020
7. Chester-le-Street station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 7 February 2017

External links

• Train times and station information for Chester-le-Street railway station from National Rail
• Chester-le-Track – operator of Chester-Le-Street station