Middlesbrough railway station

The first railway line was opened in the area in December 1830, as an extension of the Stockton and Darlington Railway to connect with the port of the (then new) town of Middlesbrough. From the opening of the line until 1837, passengers were served by a wooden shed on the route to the riverside coal staithes. The line was extended to the new exchange along Commercial Street in 1837, with a new station being constructed two years later. This new, more substantial station was opened by the S&DR in 1839. In June 1846, a branch line extending eastwards from the Stockton and Darlington Railway towards Redcar was opened by the Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway. Situated on the Redcar branch line on the southern edge of the new town, a new passenger station was designed by John Middleton, which opened on 26 July 1847. As the town expanded rapidly southwards during the second half of the 19th century, the station was unable to cope with the increased traffic. Due to the design of the station not lending itself to expansion, it was subsequently demolished in 1874. It was replaced by the current, much larger station, which opened in December 1877. The Commercial Street station, which was increasingly isolated from the town by the opening of the Redcar branch line, became a goods station before eventually being demolished. The current station was designed by the North Eastern Railway's chief architect, William Peachey, with an ornate Gothic style frontage. Behind this, an overall roof of elliptical design once existed. It was constructed using wrought iron of lattice design, with glass covering the middle half and timber (inside) and slate (outside) covering the outer quarters. The two end screens were glazed with timber cladding around the outer edges. The roof was high in relation to its width. The elliptical roof was severely damaged in a German daylight air raid, which took place on the afternoon of 3 August 1942. It was eventually removed in 1954 to be replaced by the current design over the concourse and platforms. New information screens were also installed as part of the refurbishment. As part of a major upgrade to the station, platform 2 was extended in the first half of 2021, allowing for a new direct service from Middlesbrough to London King's Cross. On 13 December 2021, a London North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class 800 Azuma departed from the station at 07:08, the first direct service to the capital since 1988. ==Facilities==

The main station layout consists of an entrance hall with ticket office, large concourse/waiting area and two covered platforms that are each subdivided into two sections. Platform 1 is divided into two sub-platforms (1a and 1b), as is platform 2 (2a and 2b). Two freight lines by-pass to the north of the station. The station is staffed and has a range of facilities including a cafe/bar, newsagent, bicycle storage, toilets and lifts. A number of information screens throughout the station provide information on train arrivals and departures. Car parking, with 134 spaces, is situated to the east of the station and can be accessed via Exchange Square and Wood Street, and by footpath directly to the station. A drop-off point is located at the front of the station, close to the main entrance. ==Current and future developments==

Tees Valley Metro Starting in 2006, Middlesbrough was mentioned within the Tees Valley Metro scheme. This was a plan to upgrade the Tees Valley Line, and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line, to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North East of England. In the initial phases, the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments with new additional infrastructure and rolling stock. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions. As part of the scheme, Middlesbrough station would have received improved service to Darlington and Saltburn (from one/two up to four trains per hour), as well as and , and new rolling stock. The plan also suggested new street-running trams going into Middlesbrough town centre, but no concrete plans were ever submitted; the line from Nunthorpe to Hartlepool may have been extended to include street-running to Guisborough and the Headland. Several stations eventually got their suggested improvements after the scheme was cancelled and there is a possibility of improved rolling stock and services in the future which may affect Middlesbrough. Redevelopment As of April 2026, the station is currently undergoing a major £125 million multi-year redevelopment programme to improve the overall layout of the station. Phase 1 has been completed and included existing station platforms being extended and infrastructure upgraded to introduce a daily weekday LNER service to London. Phase 2 currently in progress, has seen further improvements to the station including the existing undercroft and associated new units being completely rebuilt, existing staircases repositioned and a new station entrance built. Completion of phase 2 is expected by the end of 2026. Phase 3 of the station will see a new platform 3 and additional track infrastructure built on the northern side of the station, increasing capacity to accommodate more trains. Phase 3 of the redevelopment is now estimated to cost £90 million (as of December 2025) and will be funded by money secured from the scrapping of the HS2 Northern leg and is now scheduled to be completed in 2028. ==Services==

The station is served by three train operating companies; they provide the following general off-peak services in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd): Northern Trains Durham Coast Line • 1 tph to , via , , and (limited stop). • 2 tph to . Esk Valley Line • 1 tph to Newcastle, via Hartlepool and Sunderland (stopping service) • 1 tph to ; of which: • 2 tpd continue to • 6 tpd continue to , via Battersby. London North Eastern Railway • 1 tpd to , calling at , York, , and . {{rail line {{rail line {{rail line {{rail line {{rail line {{rail line ==Gallery==