Hexham railway station

Hexham
Location
Place	Hexham
Local authority	Northumberland
Coordinates	54°58′25″N 2°05′42″W / 54.9736°N 2.0949°W / 54.9736; -2.0949Coordinates: 54°58′25″N 2°05′42″W / 54.9736°N 2.0949°W / 54.9736; -2.0949
Grid reference	NY940643
Operations
Station code	HEX
Managed by	Northern Rail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	0.339 million
2005/06	0.358 million
2006/07	0.351 million
2007/08	0.356 million
2008/09	0.372 million
2009/10	0.367 million
2010/11	0.381 million
2011/12	0.380 million
History
Original company	Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
9 March 1835	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hexham from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Hexham railway station serves the town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. It is located on the Tyne Valley Line which runs from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, and is managed by Northern Rail who provide most passenger train services.

History

A 1911 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (upper left) railways in the vicinity of Hexham

The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was formed in 1829, and was opened in stages.^[1] The first section of that line to open for passenger trains was between Blaydon and Hexham, which was formally opened on 3 March 1835,^[2] with normal services beginning either the next day,^[2] or on 9 March 1835.^[3] The line was extended from Hexham to Haydon Bridge on 28 June 1836.^[4] After the N&CR had been absorbed by the North Eastern Railway, Hexham became a junction station with the opening of the first section of the Border Counties Railway, between Hexham and Chollerford on 5 April 1858.^[5] The first section of a second branch, the Hexham and Allendale Railway (H&AR) was opened (for goods) in August 1867 - the H&AR, initially promoted to serve lead mines, opened for passengers on 1 March 1869.^[6]

On the main line, the next station to the west of Hexham was Fourstones,^[7] which closed in 1967.^[8]

The station has two waiting rooms. Platform two's waiting room has a fireplace made of black marble, which includes many fossilised orthoceras cephalopods, dated to approximately 400 million years old.^{[citation needed]}

The floral displays have won several awards from the Britain in Bloom scheme.^{[citation needed]}

Dating from around 1835, Hexham station is one of the oldest purpose-built railway stations in the world.^[9]

The station has diminished in size and importance since the closure of the Allendale branch (to passengers on 22 September 1930, completely in 1950) and the Border Counties Railway (to passengers October 1956, all traffic 1958),^[10] both of which met the Tyne Valley line west of Hexham station.

In 2013 a major Network Rail managed redevelopment scheme commenced. The goods yard on the south east side is becoming a retail park. The Victorian railway stables are being relocated to Beamish Museum. Both of the Victorian good shed buildings are to be re-used. On the north side a new supplementary entrance and car park will be created affording disabled access to that platform.^[11]

Services

The station has an hourly Northern Rail service on weekdays westwards to Carlisle - one afternoon train continues through to Whitehaven (though there is no corresponding service in the opposite direction). There are two trains per hour to Newcastle - one of which runs through from Carlisle and serves only Prudhoe and the MetroCentre, whilst the other starts at Hexham and calls at most intermediate stations.^[12] Many of the latter continue on via the Durham Coast Line to Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

On Sundays an hourly service operates between Carlisle and Newcastle only.

First ScotRail provide a limited service of three trains each way to both Newcastle and to Glasgow Central via the Glasgow South Western Line (except Sundays).

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Corbridge		First ScotRail Glasgow South Western Line		Haltwhistle
Corbridge		Northern Rail Tyne Valley Line		Haydon Bridge
	Historical railways
Corbridge Line and station open		North Eastern Railway Newcastle and Carlisle Railway		Fourstones Line open, station closed
	Disused railways
Terminus		London and North Eastern Railway Hexham and Allendale Railway		Elrington Halt
Wall		London and North Eastern Railway Border Counties Railway		Terminus

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Hexham railway station from National Rail
• Buses from the station