Teesside Airport.

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It does seem likely a High Speed line to Newcastle would justify a Tessside Interchange station and the logical location would be between Darlington and Middlesbrough where HS crosses the existing railway line.

My bet though would be for it to be a little further west, between Dinsdale and Darlington adjacent to the A66 Darlington bypass.

Whilst discussing the time period in which such a High Speed line could be constructed, one must be very careful to remember the current situation of Tees-side Airport and its road and rail connections.

There is somewhat of a very long time period gap between such aspirational High Speed matters and the current transportation status quo.

 

[HSTEd]

The railway will still be there, as will the road.
And given the cost of closing the station compared to simply maintaining the Parliamentary service, it will likely still be in position in the future.

 

[najaB]

The railway will still be there, as will the road.
And given the cost of closing the station compared to simply maintaining the Parliamentary service, it will likely still be in position in the future.

There's no doubt that the road to the airport (which has rapidly declining passenger numbers) will be there, and the railway that passes the airport (which has rapidly declining passenger numbers) will still be there...

 

[HowardGWR]

Just read the whole blog entry - gripping stuff! :P

A taster:

He's the only person 'on the net' who knows what Diamond Geezer looks like, as they met up for an adventure at one stage.

Actually, I think I do know, as there was a rail enthusiast's photo where he was opined to be in it. Must annoy him hugely.

 

[Darandio]

and the railway that passes the airport with the rapidly declining passenger numbers will still be there...

Presumably you meant the airport itself, with declining passenger numbers rather than the railway?

 

[TBY-Paul]

It does seem likely a High Speed line to Newcastle would justify a Tessside Interchange station and the logical location would be between Darlington and Middlesbrough where HS crosses the existing railway line.

My bet though would be for it to be a little further west, between Dinsdale and Darlington adjacent to the A66 Darlington bypass.

Please, Please, No, If the High Speed line does ever come north to Teesside I hope they put the station somewhere useful to all area's.

Personally, somewhere parallel to the line that goes from Eaglescliffe to Stockton would do the trick, It would benefit area's both North(Hartlepool,Durham Coast etc) and South (Tees Valley Line, Yarm,Etc) of the River Tees.

 

[najaB]

Presumably you meant the airport itself, with declining passenger numbers rather than the railway?

Yup, that's what I meant.

 

[Altnabreac]

Please, Please, No, If the High Speed line does ever come north to Teesside I hope they put the station somewhere useful to all area's.

Personally, somewhere parallel to the line that goes from Eaglescliffe to Stockton would do the trick, It would benefit area's both North(Hartlepool,Durham Coast etc) and South (Tees Valley Line, Yarm,Etc) of the River Tees.

I'm assuming the Leamside corridor will be used south from Pelaw (albeit with a new viaduct over the Wear). A new Wearside Interchange station would be somewhere near Nissan.

At the southern end the HS2 Phase 2 route options report showed various options North from Leeds and they all joined the ECML in the Northallerton area.

Once you have those two ends you are looking to join Ferryhill and Northallerton and it's obvious you'll be using a more westerly alignment that is closer to Darlington than Stockton.

 

[TBY-Paul]

I'm assuming the Leamside corridor will be used south from Pelaw (albeit with a new viaduct over the Wear). A new Wearside Interchange station would be somewhere near Nissan.

At the southern end the HS2 Phase 2 route options report showed various options North from Leeds and they all joined the ECML in the Northallerton area.

Once you have those two ends you are looking to join Ferryhill and Northallerton and it's obvious you'll be using a more westerly alignment that is closer to Darlington than Stockton.

HS2 is supposed to be a new line. It's a golden opportunity to connect Teesside to the main network.

A line from Northallerton could follow the A19 to Teesside as far as Yarm. A Teesside Station Between Eaglescliffe and Stockton would create connections along 4 routes. Towards Darlington, Towards Middlesbrough, Towards Yarm, Towards Hartlepool and If the Stillington line/Leamside were Upgraded/reinstated you could have connection's to other areas of South Durham. A Station near Darlington would just leave the same connections you have now which in all truth are very poor.

A station near Middlesbrough would not be of benefit to areas north of the river, were as, a Station nearer to Stockton would
It's unfortunate that the River Tees is sometimes a barrier to greater economic development, and seeing as there's been no more talk of a "Teesside Tunnel" since the 70's, Stockton/Eaglescliffe would be the best area to provide the greatest benefit.

 

[TrickyHex]

HS2 is supposed to be a new line. It's a golden opportunity to connect Teesside to the main network.

I agree. Teesside suffers from railway history and geography whereby Darlington which is probably a quarter of the size of the Teesside metropolitan area gets to be on the main line and acts as the railhead for area. If, and i suspect it is a big if, HS2 gets to be built to the NE, this is a chance to put things right.

As always, the devil will be in the detail in terms of finding the right spot for the station with all the necessary road and rail connectivity.

 

[edwin_m]

He's the only person 'on the net' who knows what Diamond Geezer looks like, as they met up for an adventure at one stage.

Totally off-topic but he posted on his 50th birthday blog entry that someone recognised him and commented on the blog.

 

[TBY-Paul]

I've Just been reading that "Tees Valley Air show" is being re-introduced on Sunday 29th August. It's 20+ years since the last time they held an Air show at Teesside Airport. It used to be quite popular with crowd numbers in the thousands. I wonder if the Station will get extra calls That Day. I would imagine rail travel would prove popular, even if it was just for the day. Subject to the right sort of advertising of course.