Darlington station upgrades

Work has started as part of a multi-million pound upgrade at Darlington station in County Durham.

What work is taking place?

Working together with Tees Valley Combined Authority, Darlington Borough Council and London North Eastern Railway, we will be providing two new platforms on the Eastern side of the station and a new, fully accessible and enclosed footbridge linking them to the current station building.

New cycle lanes will also be introduced, with bike shelters and a multi-storey car park which will adjoin the new station building. The car park will include secure parking for over 600 cars, including accessible parking bays and electric car charging points.

When is the work taking place?

The work has started and the upgrade is due to be completed end of 2025.

How will this work affect me?

Inside the existing station

We’re continuing construction inside the existing Grade II listed building for the new fully accessible footbridge, lifts and staircases, with ongoing foundation works for the new steel structures. This is all happening behind the timber hoarding on Platform 1 inside the station.

The thoroughfare between Platforms 1 and 4 will be closed off while work continues.

Access to Platform 1 will be clearly signposted around the south end of the station buildings by Platforms 2 and 3. These changes will continue until the work is complete in Autumn 2025. The station and trains for passengers will run normally during this work.

Smithfield Road railway bridge

Our teams are working hard to complete the rebuild of the railway bridge which takes trains over Smithfield Road to the south of Darlington station. This is part of the track layout improvements so more trains can serve Darlington station in future. This work has been taking place all year and our revised target is to get all of this work complete so Smithfield Road can reopen under the railway on Thursday 7 November 2024.

We’d like to thank road users and pedestrians for bearing with us as we know closing a road is inconvenient and impacts moving around your local area, and that this has taken longer than we had at first hoped.

Modern pedestrian Eastern Gateway ‘link bridge’

The work on the new bridge which will link the existing station with the new Eastern Gateway concourse building and new platforms has already started. This has involved piling so the iconic looking structure has firm foundations. Soon we’ll also be making a hole in the Victorian station roof for the new bridge to slide into in an ambitious part of the project between Tuesday 24 to 27 December 2024, when the railway traditionally shuts down to all trains.

New Platforms 5 and 6 and track layout upgrades

The two new platforms are really starting to take shape, and in Autumn 2024 we’ll be starting work to build the new railway track so that more trains will in future be able to serve them. We need to adapt the railway lines to the south of Darlington station where they branch onto the Bishop line.

This will see new track foundation stone, known as ballast, laid, new track and switches and crossings – the moving sections of track which allow trains to change lines – installed.

Why is the work needed?

Once completed, the package of upgrades will not only transform station facilities for passengers, but it will also provide a new integrated transport hub to improve the region’s local and national transport links.

The two new platforms will provide passengers with a better service and more travel options in the future. They will also improve reliability and reduce delays for both local and long-distance high-speed services on the East Coast Main Line, both for now and in the future.

The project is designed make the station easier to use for people arriving by public transport or on a bicycle. The station will also be fully accessible for those with additional access needs, limited mobility, families with pushchairs and those struggling with heavy luggage, with step-free access throughout the station.

Get in touch

For more information or to get in touch with us, please contact us by visiting our contact us page or by calling our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.