Six weekends of major engineering work in the North East will see huge strides made in Darlington station’s £140 million regeneration.
A 120-tonne crane will lift steelwork over the East Coast Main Line as construction continues at the grade II-listed building – transforming passenger facilities and delivering an integrated transport hub with improved local and national links.
Major upgrades at Darlington station and across the area will mean the line is closed in both directions for six consecutive weekends from Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 February. Train services will be affected and passengers are advised to check all parts of their journeys before travelling.
Also taking place during this period will be the demolition of the old Allerdene bridge, under National Highways’ A1 upgrade work. The structure spans all lines of the East Coast Main Line just south of Newcastle and its removal requires measures to protect the track and overhead line equipment, with trains unable to run through the area while this takes place.
The weekend of 22-23 February will see the new enclosed, step-free footbridge lifted into place over the two new platforms at Darlington, marking a major milestone in the regeneration project.
New switches will be tested against the signalling system, and there will be overhead line work across the whole station. Engineers will also be laying new cables and installing cabinets and equipment beside the railway lines to enable further steps to be made in the project.
Throughout the six weekends, additional work will include:
- Installation of a semi-automatic track warning system between Ferryhill South and Tursdale junctions to keep staff safer when working on the track.
- Renewal of more than half a mile of rail, sleeper and ballast at Chester-le-Street.
- Strengthening the ballast beneath the track at Tursdale Junction, restoring the line speed after previous rail upgrade work.
- Creation of walkways beside the line between Durham station and Tursdale Junction, providing safer routes for staff working on foot near the track.
- Completion of 14 other smaller jobs, including track maintenance, telecoms work and preparations for Railway 200 celebrations.
Luke Durston, Network Rail principal programme sponsor, said: “We’ve reached a crucial stage in this transformational project which will deliver a significantly upgraded Darlington railway station.
“The installation of the footbridge will mark an important and visually striking milestone as we provide major improvements for passengers well into the future, while also preserving the building’s past.
“We’re sorry to passengers and residents who may be affected during this phase, but we are making every effort to minimise disruption throughout the project by carrying out as much work as possible while the line is closed.”
Image credit: Network Rail
