New £20m railway station promised at Teesside Airport

The Tory mayor wants an accessible station built using money allocated to the area from the scrapping of HS2.

The current station has long been neglected. Services have been suspended since May 2022, with no timescale for them resuming.

National Rail says the closure is due to “urgent repairs to the railway”.

Lord Houchen said: “As a serious airport we need a working rail link that passengers can use to get to the airport, and with the current state of the train station this is simply not possible.

Teesside Airport Station. (Image: PR)

“We are ahead of schedule on our plan to turn things around, and the next phase of development following the opening of our business park and cargo facility, will see us build a new station at the airport.

“This investment is another step towards making our fantastic local airport sustainable for the long-term and is only possible following the £1billion we received from government following the cancellation of the Manchester leg of HS2.

“It is no secret that our airport suffered serious neglect under the stewardship of the previous owners and local Labour councils, and it was always going to take some time to turn things around.

“In the past few years, we have saved the airport from closure, invested in our terminal which has helped us attract amazing holiday flights to Alicante, Faro, and Corfu to name just a few. These improvements have also allowed us to provide a level of service to our passengers which has seen us win two national awards.”

Ben Houchen pictured at Teesside Airport in 2020. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

He added the first phase of the project will start this month.

In 2021 the station was promised £6m for a revamp.

That year (2021/22) just 42 people used the station, making it the third least used in the country.

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A 2020 report by the Tees Valley combined authority estimated the cost of making the current station safe – by removing a platform and existing footbridge – would be about £700,000.

Chiefs ruled out moving the seldom-used stop closer to the terminal in 2019. Passengers face a 10-minute walk of more than half a mile from the platforms to the check-in hall.

In the past, suggestions including shuttle buses were put forward to boost its use.