Doncaster railway station
Doncaster  | |
|---|---|
|
The frontage at Doncaster | |
| Location | |
| Place | Doncaster |
| Local authority | Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster |
| Coordinates | 53°31′21″N 1°08′22″W / 53.5225°N 1.1395°WCoordinates: 53°31′21″N 1°08′22″W / 53.5225°N 1.1395°W |
| Grid reference | SE571032 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | DON |
| Managed by | Virgin Trains East Coast |
| Number of platforms | 8 platform 2 not in public use |
| DfT category | B |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2007/08 |
 2.903 million |
| 2008/09 |
3.780 million |
| 2009/10 |
 3.676 million |
| 2010/11 |
3.785 million |
| 2011/12 |
3.883 million |
| - Interchange | 1.284 million |
| 2012/13 |
3.835 million |
| - Interchange |
1.278 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | South Yorkshire |
| Zone | Doncaster |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Doncaster from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
| UK Railways portal | |
Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the East Coast Main Line 156 miles (251 km) north of London Kings Cross, and is about five minutes walk from Doncaster town centre. The station is managed by Virgin Trains East Coast. It is a major passenger interchange between the East Coast Main Line and Cross Country Route and local services running across the North of England. It is also the point for which Virgin Trains East Coast services from London divide, either branching off to Leeds or continuing north to Scotland via Newcastle and the North East.
History
The station was built in 1849 replacing a temporary structure constructed a year earlier.[1] It was rebuilt in its present form in 1938 and has had several slight modifications since that date, most notably in 2006, when the new interchange and connection to Frenchgate Centre opened.
Description
The station has 8 platforms on two islands. Platforms 1, 3, 4 and 8 take through trains. Platforms 2 and 5 are south-facing bays, and 6 and 7 are north facing bays. A First Class Lounge for passengers with 'First Open' tickets is available on platform 3A.
Platform 1 takes southbound East Coast Main Line trains towards (London) Kings Cross from Leeds, and Northern Rail services to and from Hull.
Platform 2 is not available for public use.
Platform 3A takes southbound East Coast Main Line trains towards (London) Kings Cross - these services generally call at most stations on the East Coast Main Line (or services calling at just Newark North Gate and Peterborough), and most southbound First Hull Trains services to (London) Kings Cross.
Platform 3B takes services to Sheffield and Manchester / Manchester Airport and a few services from Sheffield.
Between platforms 3 and 4 are the high speed up and down lines from London
Platform 4 takes (normally) northbound East Coast Main Line services towards York, Newcastle and Edinburgh; First Hull Trains services to Hull; Northern Rail through services to Bridlington; and First TransPennine Express services to Cleethorpes. Also, CrossCountry services towards Birmingham New Street depart from this platform.
Platform 5 is a bay platform used for Northern Rail and East Midlands Trains services to Sheffield and Lincoln Central (some of which extend to Peterborough).
Platform 6 is a bay platform used for Northern Rail commuter services to Leeds.
Platform 7 is seldom in public use, but when it is, is used for Northern Rail services towards Scunthorpe via all stations.
Platform 8 is used for northbound East Coast Main Line services towards Leeds and CrossCountry services to Newcastle; and local services to Sheffield and Adwick, also it is used for Northern Rail local services to Scunthorpe via all stations.
There are no ticket barriers in operation at this station; however on Race Days (at Doncaster Racecourse), manual ticket checks are in operation in the subway.
The station has recently been refurbished and is now directly connected to the new Frenchgate Centre extension in Doncaster town centre. The station now has a new booking office for tickets and information, three new lifts, refurbished staircases and subway. There is a newsagent and some food outlets.
Whilst all platforms are currently operational, platform 2 is not currently used for any timetabled service.
1951 accident
On 16 March 1951 a derailment occurred south of the station in which 14 passengers were killed and 12 seriously injured.
Services
Seven train operators (or TOCs) call at Doncaster, which is equal in number only to Crewe in the UK. Train operators include the following:
CrossCountry
CrossCountry have dropped most Doncaster to Edinburgh services. They offer an hourly service to Newcastle and Reading with one service per day running through to both Edinburgh Waverley and Guildford or Southampton Central. All CrossCountry services at Doncaster use Voyager DEMUs.
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains offer a limited direct service to London St. Pancras and to Leeds and York. Services to London (St Pancras) run via Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby and Leicester but less often than Virgin Trains East Coast. They also operate a local service to Lincoln which occasionally extends to Sleaford and Peterborough.
First Hull Trains
First Hull Trains operates services between London and Hull or Beverley via Selby.
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express serve stations towards the east to Cleethorpes, and to the west towards Manchester Airport. First TransPennine services operate hourly in each direction generally.
Grand Central
Grand Central Railway offers four trains a day between Bradford Interchange and King's Cross. All Braford-London services call at Doncaster. Southbound the next stop is King's Cross with a journey time of 90 minutes.
Northern Rail
Northern Rail generally offers services from Doncaster to stations within Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, such as Sheffield, Leeds and Lincoln. It provides stopping services, stopping at every station along-route, and 'fast' services, stopping at just the principal stations. It is possible to travel on Northern Rail to Retford from Doncaster, via Sheffield, on a direct train. However, this involves a journey of 80 min. The direct Virgin Trains East Coast service takes, on average, just 14 min.
Virgin Trains East Coast
Virgin Trains East Coast offers regular direct trains services to London, which can be reached in 100-115 mins, depending on the service. All trains to Leeds call at Doncaster, and an hourly service to Newcastle or Scotland (Edinburgh and the once daily Glasgow Central service). Virgin Trains East Coast also offer services to cities such as Leeds (terminating services), York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.
There were plans to add platforms 9 and 10 to cope with Eurostar trains but this project was cancelled when it was decided that Eurostar would not serve Britain outside the South East of England.
In the media
In 1973 the station was featured in the first episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, entitled Strangers on a Train. It starred James Bolam and Rodney Bewes although only Bolam was featured in location filming at the station, which took place in late 1972.
Although it is not known whereabouts in the station the scenes were placed, signs for Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe are visible behind Bolam.
See also
- Joan Croft Halt railway station (North Doncaster Chord project)
- Doncaster Works - a locomotive works adjacent to the station.
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Doncaster railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Doncaster railway station from National Rail
- Frenchgate Interchange
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