As we get closer to the return of passenger services to the Northumberland Line, let's take a look at how the new station at Seaton Delaval is looking, alongside images from the station that closed back in 1964. Once again, we'd like to thank local historian Ed Orwin for his help in finding the images and letting us share them with you.
The original station at Seaton Delaval dates back to opening in August 1841 with trains running to Percy Main on North Tyneside, with other lines opened to Newcastle in 1844 and to Blyth in 1847. The original station had two platforms, although the layout did change to using just one platform due to a weak road bridge over the line. The new station will also have one platform.
Back in 1865, the journey from Newcastle to Seaton Delaval took around 40 minutes and this reduced to around 35 minutes by 1906. When the passenger service starts later this year, the journey will be around 19 minutes from Seaton Delaval to Newcastle.
Back in 1865, there were 4 trains in each direction between Seaton Delaval and Newcastle on weekdays and 12 trains in each direction per day in 1906. When passenger trains return in December 2024, we'll have 2 trains per hour in each direction on Monday to Saturday daytimes and an hourly service on evenings and Sundays. We'll also have fully accessible trains with 138 seats, 2 wheelchair spaces, accessible toilets and next stop displays/announcements.
Seaton Delaval was a fairly busy station, with 77,375 tickets issued in 1911, with that number falling to 17,376 in 1951. When the line was recommended for closure in 1964, the survey data taken at the time showed that there were no regular users of the station.
Your new Seaton Delaval station is really taking shape and it will feature:
Full access to people with reduced mobility
156 Parking Spaces (of which 12 spaces will be for Blue Badge Users & 8 spaces for EV Charging)
Bike Storage
CCTV Cameras
Seating and Shelter
Ticket Machines
Audio Frequency Induction Loops
Audio & Visual Information on Train departures and arrivals
Thanks to Morgan Sindall & Gareth Williams Photography for some of the recent images of the new Seaton Delaval station.
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