A major milestone has been reached in the £140 million transformation of Darlington Station as the construction of the new concourse building is completed.
Works have been ongoing at the new Eastern Concourse building for several months as part of the landmark redevelopment described as a “gateway to the whole of the Tees Valley”.
The concourse structure has now been completed - marking the halfway point of the project - and was marked at a special preview on Thursday (November 14).
New pictures show how the concourse now looks, with a new elevated walkway set to connect it to the historic station.
Work is still well underway at the site on building two new platforms, with a hole now in the roof of the main station ready for the bridge to be added next year.
Also planned for the major project include a new multi-storey car park for more than 650 cars, a transport interchange and an improved Western entrance.
The building is set to be transferred to Network Rail, which will fit the site with new retail shop units and amenities ahead of welcoming passengers in late 2025.
‘On track, on time, and on budget’
The Northern Echo was given an exclusive tour around the site alongside Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, Darlington Council leader Steve Harker, and other figures from Network Rail and LNER involved in the project.
Mr Houchen praised the new concourse: “It's now been just over a year since we started construction on what is the gateway to the whole of the Tees Valley.
“Everybody knows how many people get the train from Darlington either up to Edinburgh or south to London Kings Cross.
“And today, we've done the work that we were supposed to. You can see Wilmott Dixon on my hat - they're the main contractor that we've employed to do this incredible work, but now they're handing over to Network Rail to do their magic.
“We’re on track, we’re on time, and we’re on budget, which is always nice to say in a public sector infrastructure project, but we're only really at the halfway point.
“It's not going to be until the end of next year that this is going to be completely finished. Hopefully, people are getting a sense of what it's going to become and actually, we are creating an incredible gateway not just into Darlington but the whole of our region.”
But what can rail passengers look forward to? Mr Houchen said they will arrive in an “incredibly redesigned” space, that has been “overgrown and underdeveloped for a long, long, time”.
He continued: “We're going to be able to use the big car park, you are going to have retail units inside, you are going to have big screens as if you were wandering into Kings Cross.
“You’re going to have a new bridge across to the station as well if you're going northbound. It's just going to create a huge capacity.
“What's also really important is that - and it goes unsaid a lot of the time about this type of project - it helps increase capacity along our local lines as well.
“If you go over to the other side of the station, what you'll see is a new railway line going in with new platforms. That means that the local trains, instead of cutting across the main line, will sit at this station.
“That could allow us to run five to six trains an hour from here right across to Yarm, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Darlington, and Hartlepool, which will increase rail travel across the region, not just connecting our region with the rest of the country.”
Mr Houchen added that boosting capacity will make rail travel become a real alternative: “We can put much more capacity on the local line, which means that rail travel should, in theory, over the coming years be a real alternative to people which at the moment, frankly, it's not.”
‘Significant milestone’
The new station has been designed to “mould the historic grandeur of the Grade-ll listed station” with modern facilities, with work being carried out by Willmott Dixon.
While the exact units set to open inside are not yet known, LNER head of stations Steve Wilson said there will be some “exciting retail opportunities” inside.
He said: “We’ve got one retail unit just as you come in from the car park, then a brand new ticket window and machines.
“We will be working very closely with National Rail to make sure our facilities are tailored towards our customers.”
Cllr Steve Harker described the update as a “significant milestone”: “The bigger piece of work is very significant to Darlington and the North East.
“It will enable much greater capacity in terms of trains, so in terms of services to London to Edinburgh, it's going to allow increased capacity.
“It will enable a much better, more regular service from Darlington into the Tees Valley, which means people that are commuting for work will have a much better timetable that they can rely on in terms of journeys to and from Darlington to get to work and for just general leisure use.
“Darlington has always been a significant railway station on the network. It's an interchange that allows you to get to virtually anywhere in the UK. So the investment here to improve the station facilities really encapsulates what Darlington has always been about.
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“It is a significant railway station and having much better facilities makes the point that Darlington is important and we are continuing to invest in it because of that.”
Luke Durston, Network Rail principal programme sponsor, described Thursday as a real "handing of the baton" moment, while Willmott Dixon construction manager Simon Bywater said the firm was "enormously proud" to deliver the project.
Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority have contributed £43million to the overhaul while Network Rail and the Department for Transport have put in £96million.
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