Durham Coast Line

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Durham Coast Line

Legend East Coast Main Line to Edinburgh Newcastle Central River Tyne King Edward VII Bridge or High Level Bridge East Coast Main Line to Darlington Heworth Leamside branch to East Coast Main Line (non-operational) Tyne and Wear Metro to Tyne Dock Boldon Junctions - Freight line to Tyne Dock Brockley Whins (now Metro-only) East Boldon (now Metro-only) Seaburn (now Metro-only) Monkwearmouth River Wear Wearmouth Rail Bridge Sunderland Tyne and Wear Metro to South Hylton Freight line to Sunderland docks Seaham Colliery Seaham Easington Horden Blackhall Rocks Freight line to Middleton Hartlepool Seaton Carew Freight line to Hartlepool nuclear power station Delivery depot Greatham (closed late-1980s) Billingham Freight line to Seal Sands Norton Junction - Stillington branch freight line to ECML Stockton Tees Valley Line to Darlington River Tees Thornaby Freight depot Newport (closed 1915) Middlesbrough Esk Valley Line to Battersby Tees Valley Line to Redcar

The Durham Coast Line (DCL) is the name given to the railway line which links Newcastle upon Tyne with Middlesbrough, via Sunderland and Hartlepool. The services are operated by Northern Rail and the majority continue on from Newcastle to the MetroCentre and a few to Carlisle.

The lines which make up the route were originally part of the North Eastern Railway, which became the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 Grouping. The DCL comes under the aegis of the Tees Valley Rail Strategy, whose aims are to enhance services in the region. Under that scheme, Phase 1 undertaken on DCL resulted in an hourly service between Newcastle and Hartlepool from 2000; a half-hourly service was later to come into operation. Plans for Phase 2, including opening new stations, has been on hold since the Strategic Rail Authority came into being, when funding for the scheme was brought to a virtual standstill.

A halt at Greatham was downgraded to a partial service during the early 1980s and discontinued altogether by the end of the decade.

The section between the junction just south of Sunderland and Pelaw Junction (just south of Pelaw Metro station) is the only Network Rail route electrified at 1500V DC overhead, this section is shared with trains operated by Tyne and Wear Metro which collect the overhead current via Pantograph.

[edit] Route

• Middlesbrough
• Thornaby
• Stockton
• Billingham
• Seaton Carew
• Hartlepool
• Seaham
• Sunderland
• Heworth
• Newcastle

[edit] External links

• Details of the Tees Valley Rail Strategy