Grand Central welcomes progress on Hartlepool rail station and says new platform will improve service punctuality

Grand Central’s Chief Operating Officer Sean English said he is delighted with the station’s soon-to-be-completed £12m enhancement.

He said the opening of the station's southbound platform, which has been unused for more than 30 years, will have an instant effect on train times.

Mr English said: “Reopening the southbound platform will immediately have a positive impact on punctuality as passenger trains travelling in opposite directions will no longer have to share a single through platform.

“The station will be a gateway to the town that everyone in Hartlepool can be proud of.”

Rail chiefs at Network Rail added that opening the new platform also paves the way for some “modest” journey time improvements for Grand Central trains later in 2024.

Grand Central has been running services between Hartlepool and the capital since 2007.

Other stations they stop at include Sunderland, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton and York.

The Mail reported last week how the station upgrade is on course for completion in January 2024 after starting in August of last year.

The southbound platform, named platform 3, is expected to be ready for use by passengers in the spring after the project is signed off by regulators.

Regional rail operator Northern has confirmed the platform will be used by its new faster Middlesbrough to Newcastle service beginning in December as part of its new timetable.

Hartlepool is currently the busiest single platform station in the country.