# Northallerton railway station

Northallerton railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the town of Northallerton in North Yorkshire, England. It is between Thirsk to the south and Darlington to the north. Its three-letter station code is NTR.
The station is managed by TransPennine Express and also served by Grand Central and London North Eastern Railway trains. The station is on one of the fastest parts of the East Coast Main Line. London North Eastern Railway, Lumo and CrossCountry express services pass through the station at speeds of up to 125 mph (200 km/h).
In 2014 the Wensleydale Railway opened a temporary station at Northallerton West. The heritage railway aims to run trains into the station from Redmire and eventually Garsdale on the Settle–Carlisle line.

## History

The station was opened by the Great North of England Railway on 30 March 1841. Eleven years later the Leeds Northern Railway's line from Leeds to Stockton passed through the town, but did not initially connect with the main line. Instead trains called at nearby Northallerton Town station near where it passed beneath the line to Darlington. By 1854 the GNoE and the LN had become part of the North Eastern Railway which began running through trains on the LN route via Thirsk. These rejoined the line towards Eaglescliffe on a new link from the main line at High Junction that opened in 1856. The original LN route southwards towards Melmerby was then operated as a branch line until 1901, when the NER connected it to the main line via another junction at the southern end of the station and used it as the primary route from West Yorkshire to Teesside.
The Wensleydale branch line to Bedale, Leyburn and Hawes opened in stages between 1848 and 1878. It joined the main line immediately north of the station and its trains used a bay at the northern end of the northbound island platform. Passenger trains on the branch were withdrawn from 26 April 1954, although it remains open for occasional MoD trains to Redmire and heritage trains operated by the Wensleydale Railway. The old down passenger loop platform and Hawes bay were removed in the early 1970s and there is no direct route to the branch from the station as its junction faces north; trains must access it by means of a reversing siding off the northbound main line. The defunct south to west curve will need to be reinstated and a new platform constructed before Wensleydale trains can run to and from the station. The link to Leeming Bar was by bus until late 2014 until a temporary terminus was constructed approximately one mile (1.6 km) away.
Services were withdrawn on the line towards Ripon on 6 March 1967, after the route was earmarked for closure in the Beeching Report. The line north-eastwards towards Stockton had lost its local passenger services by this time, but it was retained for freight traffic to and from Teesside and occasional longer distance passenger trains. It now carries a regular service to and from Middlesbrough.

### Future

In plans published in 2020, Network Rail unveiled a proposal to provide two fast lines through the station and to move both platforms outwards with new loops. There are other possible variations including the installation of a grade-separated junction north of the station, to allow trains to access the Middlesbrough line without conflicting with trains heading south, and even a proposal to move the station south of the town so that it can be furnished with platforms that have access to all lines.

## Facilities

The station is staffed, its ticket hall opens from 05:30 each day (except Sundays, when it opens at 09:30) until 18:30. Self-service ticket machines are available for the collecting advance purchase/pre-paid tickets. Toilets and a newsagents are provided on the concourse, along with heated waiting rooms on both platforms. Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, timetable posters, customer help points and automated announcements.
The station has step-free access to both platforms via ramps from a subway, however, some wheelchair users have struggled with the steepness of the ramps. In May 2021, work began on a project to replace the ramps with lifts to improve accessibility. The project was completed at the end of March 2022.

## Services

The station is operated by TransPennine Express (TPE): on weekdays the company serves Northallerton with one train an hour each way during the daytime, with additional services in the morning and evening. In the southbound direction, trains generally run to Manchester Airport via York, Leeds and Huddersfield, with some morning and evening services serving Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria and Newton-le-Willows. Northbound, there is one train per hour to Redcar Central via Middlesbrough, and some morning and evening services run to Newcastle. On Saturdays, there are additional services all day on the Liverpool to Newcastle axis, giving a 2 trains per hour service.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) serves the station with trains between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley; these call at Northallerton on an approximately two-hourly basis for most of the day on weekdays and Saturdays. Additionally, on weekdays, two 5-car "Azuma" services shuttle between York and Newcastle, providing Northallerton with approximately an extra two-hourly service between the two cities. In February 2017, the platforms were extended to accommodate 9-car Azuma trains which are longer than the original East Coast electric trains.
On Sundays, there are two TPE services per hour each way (Redcar to Manchester Airport and Newcastle to Liverpool, and vice versa) and an LNER service on the London to Edinburgh route which runs at one or two-hourly intervals in each direction.
All Grand Central services between London King's Cross and Sunderland stop at Northallerton (five services per day each way).

## Electrification

Electrification of the railway through the station was carried out by British Rail, with completion by 1991.

## Accidents and incidents

On 28 August 1979, a Kings Cross to Edinburgh Service (1S28) was derailed just south of the station. The train completely left the tracks, but stayed upright and came to a halt 1,800 feet (550 m) north of where it hit the trailing points that caused the derailment. Although the complement of passengers was in excess of 440, only one person was kept in hospital overnight. The leading power car of the High Speed Train (E43110) had a seized front axle because of a gearbox failure and confusion over maintenance schedules and it caused an out of gauge wheelset that derailed on the points.