Teesside Airport

[leecalder]

Hi all,

I am a massive trainspotter and I have been a longtime silent reader of the forum. Anyway I am petitioning to save Teeside Airport Station (look it up), so please support me by signing my petition!

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/northern-rail-save-teesside-airport-station

 

[Darandio]

You do know why it's underused don't you? I'm guessing not after reading your petition description.

The airport is now practically deserted in terms of flights, you can count them on one hand most days. There is absolutely no link between train and plane, as you have claimed.

 

[leecalder]

You do know why it's underused don't you? I'm guessing not after reading your petition description.

The airport is now practically deserted in terms of flights, you can count them on one hand most days. There is absolutely no link between train and plane, as you have claimed.

The train times are connected to flights though, KLM run 2 flights to Amsterdam inwhich the Northern Rail service is adapted to.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Isn't the station however a very, very long walk from the terminal? Resiting may be a possible solution but I'm unsure just how much could be done with the status quo.

 

[Poolie]

Just look at the official airport site and it makes sad reading. 3 arrivals and 3 departures in the next 24 hours. And passengers have to pay a £6 fee just to use the airport. Its doomed.
As for getting there, it states the nearest rail station is Darlington, 7 miles away. No mention of Teeside Airport station so the airport itself has no interest in it.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

The train times are connected to flights though, KLM run 2 flights to Amsterdam inwhich the Northern Rail service is adapted to.

Sorry this is just not true. Both Sunday KLM flights are gone before the once weekly train arrives at 1020.

The issue of the nearly mile long walk to the terminal is also one to note.

The station is pointless as is and the airport is doomed.

 

[starrymarkb]

And it's going to get quieter, there are no charters being accepted now and the airport is planning to concentrate on General Aviation rather then airline traffic.

 

[Crossover]

Yes, it is a good 20 minute walk to the terminal from the station through an area that has a slightly abandoned feel. Surprised they don't suggest Dinsdale as the nearest station rather than Darlo

 

[leecalder]

Sorry this is just not true. Both Sunday KLM flights are gone before the once weekly train arrives at 1020.

The issue of the nearly mile long walk to the terminal is also one to note.

The station is pointless as is and the airport is doomed.

There is also planes from Aberdeen and Verona

 

[starrymarkb]

There is also planes from Aberdeen and Verona

The Aberdeen ones are only 30 seaters. In another thread it was pointed out that if every scheduled flight was full the airport would only have 325 passengers per day!

 

[oliMw]

I personally have never been to Teesside Airport but I have read a number of threads on this forum about the station and researched online. It has shown that the Airport it's self has seen a large decline in passenger numbers and the number of destinations, both Charter and Scheduled Services. The pulling out of Ryanair, Thomson and other large Airlines is likely to be the reason for this and today there is simply no demand. These low passenger numbers at the Airport (161,092) and stated by Starrymarkb a maximum of 325 passengers per day simply mean that the Airport's station will suffer too. The website does not even state Teesside airport station as the closest station, but Darlington 7 miles away. This shows to me that even the Airport, from which the station serves, have no faith in the Station!

You state in your petition "This route has many passengers but do not realise the station is 'their' (Grammar!)'" and you state this before in your appeal also. However I should Imagine the passengers know the existence of the station but have no requirement to use this. Should the number of services increase (Which would probably not be a viable plan) then there would likely to be a small increase in passengers but not a sufficient increase as many of the passengers would not use the station due to the location of the station.

Now it appears that there are plans in the future for housing developments, however as it stands the demand is not enough to increase the service. I believe the airport has a friends group to give the station "some tender loving care", which you could contact to give some ideas to them and see what becomes of that. However I do not believe a petition alone will help save Teesside airport station. :roll:

 

[gordonthemoron]

surely a petition to build lots of houses near Darlington International Airport Station would have some merit

 

[Deerfold]

The petition is also unimpressive as it's full of spelling mistakes.

The station is owned by Network Rail, not Northern though Nothern do manage it.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

As for getting there, it states the nearest rail station is Darlington, 7 miles away. No mention of Teeside Airport station so the airport itself has no interest in it.

It also gives links to the websites for NXEC, VT (for cross-country presumbaly) and Arriva Trains Northern! Also quite poorly worded saying 'over 40 trains per day' with mention of only York, Durham and Newcastle - surely it would be better to say 6 trains per hour (as is now) to York and Newcastle, and 2tph to Scotland, London and Birmingham (though this is well outside their catchment zone!), as well as the local connections to Bishop Auckland, and across into Stockton and Middlesbrough etc?

 

[TBY-Paul]

From Saturdays Northern Echo:-
"BOSSES at Durham Tees Valley Airport have flexed their muscles at a parish council and demanded the facility be removed from a local planning document that could affect its proposals to build 400 homes in its grounds.

Airport director Peter Nears said it is “wholly unnecessary” to include the site in Middleton St George’s proposed neighbourhood plan and argued the parish council did not have the knowledge or resources to comment on airport planning.

Middleton St George Parish Council has spent months working on a neighbourhood plan, a legal document setting out what the village is willing to allow in terms of future housing or business developments up to 2025."

Full text can be found here
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...hat_could_stop_its_housing_development_plans/

I'm guessing the long term plan, starts with 400 houses, wind down the flights before eventually building on the rest of the Airport. Which strangely enough makes the case for the airport station being kept open stronger.

 

[gordonthemoron]

which is what I meant

 

[telstarbox]

Yes, it is a good 20 minute walk to the terminal from the station through an area that has a slightly abandoned feel. Surprised they don't suggest Dinsdale as the nearest station rather than Darlo

The website does not even state Teesside airport station as the closest station, but Darlington 7 miles away. This shows to me that even the Airport, from which the station serves, have no faith in the Station!

The Airport isn't directly accessible by rail, so the quickest route for rail passengers is to alight at Darlington and taking a taxi from there.

Although Dinsdale station is closer to DTVA, the no 12 bus only runs once an hour and the Airport bus stop is still 500m from the terminal. So Darlington is the most convenient station for most passengers if not technically the closest.




Network Rail's plans for the 'replacement' station next to Mill Lane can be seen in this document, page 114.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iwsxm26dpu2w932/140422-PEEM2083-DTVA-Master-plan-LR.pdf

 

[cuccir]

The station is also not on the Bishop Line, as stated in the petition.

I used the airport back when it was a little busier; there used to be a free bus service from Darlington station. So the station has never been a major priority for the owners.

The current situation seems appropriate to me - effectively, the station is being mothballed. As long as the airport remains there, then there's scope for future growth and investment in the site. Having a station does no harm in helping encourage this, even if work (ie a shuttle bus/moving of station!) would be required to make it more integrated into the airport itself. In the event of the airport being closed and housing being built, then having a small station that could be served by local stopper trains from Darlington - Teeside will do no harm.

If costs were to spiral, then closure would make more sense but in the mean time a once-weekly service keeps it ticking over.

 

[Kite159]

How much do they charge for a passenger to use it?

 

[ainsworth74]

What Teesside Airport station or Teesside Airport itself? The station obviously varies depending on where you've come from but a Day Return from Darlington will set you back £4.20. Using the airport will cost you, I believe, £6.

 

[Kite159]

I meant the airport itself.

The station, they should do a Norton Bridge on it and have a permanent rail replacement taxi available for any passengers wanting to make use of the station

 

[PaxVobiscum]

I'm guessing the long term plan, starts with 400 houses, wind down the flights before eventually building on the rest of the Airport. Which strangely enough makes the case for the airport station being kept open stronger.

I think that's a wonderful concept - an airport effectively replaced by a railway station - it would be worthy of a bid for Arts Council funding as an installation causing us to question our perception of our need for space and realisation of the transitory nature and ultimate futility of planning of use of space in the rural landscape. :roll:

 

[causton]

I meant the airport itself.

The station, they should do a Norton Bridge on it and have a permanent rail replacement taxi available for any passengers wanting to make use of the station

How much will that cost? If it's more than keeping the station open (a bag of salt and another copy of a timetable alteration poster seems to be the total cost from when I was there) why bother paying a taxi company?

...And how much revenue will they then lose from people travelling to it for the fun of it on a Sunday morning?