Newcastle station, Tyne and Wear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Newcastle | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | |||
| Place | Newcastle upon Tyne | ||
| Local authority | Newcastle upon Tyne | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | NCL | ||
| Managed by | GNER | ||
| Platforms in use | 12 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 ** | 5.728 million | ||
| Passenger Transport Executive | |||
| PTE | Tyne and Wear (Nexus) | ||
| Zone | 26 | ||
| History | |||
| 1850 1890s |
Opened Extended |
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| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Newcastle (source) | |||
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Newcastle Central Station is the principal mainline train station in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building. The station also has its own entrance to the separate Tyne and Wear Metro underground station.
Contents |
[edit] Construction and opening
The station was designed by John Dobson for the North Eastern Railway company, and was constructed in collaboration with Robert Stephenson (also responsible for the High Level Bridge) between 1845 and 1850. The opening ceremony, attended by Queen Victoria, took place on 29 August 1850.
The building has a Classical styled frontage, and its trainshed has a distinctive roof with three curved, arched spans — one of the first examples of its kind. A portico, designed by Thomas Prosser, was added to the station entrance in 1863, and the trainshed was extended southwards in the 1890s with a new span designed by William Bell.
An underground station for Tyne and Wear Metro trains was constructed during the late 1970s, and opened in 1981. Part of the portico was temporarily dismantled while excavation work for this station took place.
[edit] Train services
Newcastle is a key stop on the East Coast Main Line. Passenger services are operated by several companies:
- GNER trains run to London King's Cross station via York and Doncaster, and to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen in Scotland.
- Virgin Trains run to Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads and Parkway, Cardiff Central, Devon and Cornwall via York, Leeds or Doncaster, to Sheffield and to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
- Northern Rail operates local services within Tyneside, Wearside, Teesside, Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Northumberland. Destinations include Sunderland, Morpeth, Middlesbrough, Hexham, and Carlisle. Some Carlisle services continue to Whitehaven, and to Glasgow via Dumfries.
- Transpennine Express trains run to Manchester and Liverpool Lime Street via York and Leeds.
- First ScotRail operates two daily services to Stranraer via Carlisle.
[edit] Railway infrastructure
Trains may cross the River Tyne on one of two bridges — the High Level Bridge (opened 1849) to the south-east of the station, and the King Edward Bridge (opened 1906) to the south-west. The trackwork north and south of the river forms a complete circle with these two bridges, allowing trains to be turned around if necessary. The former Gateshead depot is situated, next to the connecting tracks, on the opposite side of the Tyne, mirroring the station.
The station was famed for its highly complex "diamond crossing" to the east of the station. This facilitated access to the High Level Bridge and northbound ECML and was once said to be the greatest such crossing in the world.[1] The crossing has been greatly simplified in recent years, however, as the opening of the Metro brought about the withdrawal of many heavy-rail suburban services and the closure of the platforms they operated from, and removed the need for such a complex crossing. Heaton depot is to the north of the station, on the East Coast Main Line.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Newcastle station, Tyne and Wear from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Newcastle station, Tyne and Wear from Multimap.com
- Newcastle Central Station - Part of the 2000 art exhibition "Stephenson's Legacy." Includes old photographs of the station.
[edit] References
- ^ Guy, Andy (2003). Steam and Speed: Railways of Tyne and Wear. Tyne Bridge Publishing, p 80. ISBN 1-85795-161-1.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Northern Rail Tyne Valley Line |
Dunston | ||
| Chester-le-Street | Northern Rail Tees Valley Line |
Terminus | ||
| Terminus | Northern Rail East Coast Main Line |
Manors | ||
| Chester-le-Street | TransPennine Express North TransPennine |
Terminus | ||
| Heworth | Northern Rail Durham Coast |
Terminus | ||
| Durham | GNER East Coast Main Line |
Morpeth | ||
| Terminus | First ScotRail Glasgow South Western Line |
MetroCentre (Limited Service) |
||
| Chester-le-Street | Virgin Trains Cross Country Route |
Morpeth | ||
| Railway stations in Tyne and Wear | |
|---|---|
|
Blaydon - Dunston - Heworth - Manors - MetroCentre - Newcastle Central - Sunderland |
|
| Major UK railway stations |
|---|
| Managed by Network Rail: Birmingham New Street • Edinburgh Waverley • Gatwick Airport • Glasgow Central • Leeds City • Liverpool Lime Street • Manchester Piccadilly |
| Managed by train operator: Aberdeen • Belfast Central • Belfast GVS • Birmingham Snow Hill • Brighton • Bristol Temple Meads • Cardiff Central • Crewe • Derby • Doncaster • Dundee • Glasgow Queen Street • Hull • Manchester Victoria • Newcastle • Nottingham • Reading • Sheffield • York |
| Railway stations of London: Central area | Greater London |
| Managed by Network Rail: Cannon Street • Charing Cross • Euston • Fenchurch Street • King's Cross • Liverpool Street • London Bridge • Paddington • Victoria • Waterloo |
| Managed by train operator: Blackfriars • Marylebone • Moorgate • St Pancras |
