Work starts on new £10million railway station expected to bring economic boost to the region

Ray Browning, Anna Weeks, Jonjo Ward, sponsor for Network Rail, Coun Simon Henig, Coun Carl Marshall, Durham County Councils Cabinet member for economic regeneration; and Stuart Timmiss, Durham County Councils head of development and housing.

Work on a new £10million railway station, which will link East Durham with Newcastle and Middlesbrough, has begun and is expected to bring an economic boost to the area.

The scheme, at Horden, near Peterlee, will link the area into the local, regional and national rail network and support wider regeneration in the area and is expected to take around one year to complete.

The first stage of work will see the creation of a 139-space car park as well as bus stops. Work will then follow to develop the station, which will feature two 100-metre platforms with shelters connected by an accessible footbridge.

The project will also see the creation of a new road, footpath and cycleway.

Coun Simon Henig, leader of Durham County Council, said: ““The development will open up employment opportunities for local people while at the same time providing a direct connection to our coastline for visitors travelling from further afield.”

The station is expected to open to passengers in spring 2020, with services every hour both north and south and will link East Durham to Newcastle, Middlesbrough and further afield.

A public consultation on the plans in 2016 saw almost 1,400 responses with 98.6 per cent of those who took part saying they would use the station and rail industry projections anticipate more than 70,000 passengers could use the station each year.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said: "I am pleased that the new station at Horden will open up the north east of the county, improve transport links for residents and create more jobs for local people.”

Durham County Council, which is funding the project, is working closely with Network Rail and Northern Railway.

A grant from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership LEP and £4.4 million from the Department for Transport’s New Stations Fund is also going towards

The project received funding of £3.34m from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the North East LEP.

Ray Browning, programme manager at the North East LEP, said: “The station will not only improve access to employment sites and education facilities in the Tees, Tyne and Wear conurbations but also bring visitors to the Durham Heritage Coast, giving a welcome economic boost.”

Anna Weeks, Northern Railway regional director for the North East, said: “The opening of Horden station will help connect the local community to Middlesbrough and Newcastle as well as our coastal destinations of Whitby and Saltburn and further afield to the National Rail Network."