Why Darlington Station's £100m redevelopment is so important for the town

THE £100 million development at Darlington’s Bank Top Station is slowly becoming a reality with plans now submitted and construction due to start early in the new year.

The redevelopment will see three new platforms built to the east of the existing station, as well as a new station building, which is aimed at bringing more frequent services to the area.

The new station will also be HS2 ready and create “a fantastic gateway on the East Coast mainline", with the new high speed services cutting journey times from Darlington to Birmingham by 52 minutes and Darlington to London by 28 minutes, according to the Bank Top Station Masterplan.

But what will this multi-million pound redevelopment plan mean for Darlington? Why is it needed now and what impact will it have for people and businesses across the town?

With the increased capacity from the development, the station will also see an increase from four trains an hour, to up to eight trains an hour, which David Robinson, chair of PD Ports, says will be "transformational for the economy of the Tees Valley and put Darlington at the heart of a dynamic new economic corridor".

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen agrees – saying it will lead to more investment and more jobs coming to the town.

“What we’re going to have is a fantastic gateway on the East Coast mainline, good public transport access that really feeds the town centre and that’s going to give us greater access to other populations," he said.

"With the improvements to Darlington Station you can actually increase the frequency on trains on the East Coast Mainline with ultimately the Northern Powerhouse rail project could see us going from four trains an hour up to eight trains an hour.

“Now you can only do that if Northern Powerhouse rail is Northern project nevermind a Darlington Project, if you make the rail track improvements in Darlington."

“That means twice as many movements, better connectivity for Darlington people, Darlington businesses and people coming from outside the area to meet local businesses and access supply chains and clients."

Mr Houchen says for a town like Darlington to grow, it needs a state-of-the-art train station for good public access.

“It needs to be proper because it’s the first impression lots of people will get of the town when they get off the station or when they’re driving through it.

“The knock-on impact ultimately means, with an improved Darlington station, it’s going to lead to, in the medium term and certainly in the long term, more jobs, more investment coming to the town, either by way of direct investment with businesses relocating here for better connectivity, or businesses in the area growing because they’ll have better access to supply chains.

“For the wider region, it has a significant benefit on better public transport right across to Hartlepool and Redcar and everywhere in between.

Heather Scott, leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “I think everybody will benefit from the new station.

 “Certainly, it will be an access point for the Tees Valley and that’s an important thing because obviously it’s been quite difficult to get people into the Tees Valley.

“Obviously now with the treasury and everybody coming North, that’s going to be good connectivity.

“We are hoping that there will be increased train services giving more opportunity for Darlington people to get elsewhere.”

Tim Wood, Interim Chief Executive, for Transport for the North, said: “Transport for the North has been pleased to have been involved in this scheme throughout its development. It is included as part of our Investment Programme and Economic Recovery Plan and it will provide important additional capacity for local services and provide a modern-day passenger experience.

“This is a landmark intervention which will support more trains and quicker journey times to other parts of the region and further afield. It is exactly the sort of initiative we want to see more of across the North as we work together to transform connectivity across the Region.”