• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Tee-side Airport, any point?

Status
Not open for further replies.

heart-of-wessex

Established Member
Joined
11 Jun 2005
Messages
3,008
Location
Trowbridge
I was looking at my Timetables and saw in the NRT, Tee-side was limited stop? this being the last TT there was none stopping there, the current has one a day each way M-F i believe, is there really any point?? its a bit *r*p for an airport if you ask me, thats like saying 'the HEX runs, but only the 0800 in the morning, 0900 return then bog off home'

cheers,
J
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Craig

Established Member
Joined
15 Jun 2005
Messages
3,958
Location
Newcastle
It's a minimum service, there's no point stopping any more trains there as the new terminal was built at the opposite end of the runway to the station.

There is a also a direct rail link bus service from Darlington to the terminal, apparently that isn't that well used either.
 

morgantyreman

Member
Joined
1 Jun 2006
Messages
141
Location
Leeds
I lived in middlesbrough and theres a few bus services to the airport
20- middlesbrough-stockton-yarm-teeside airport ( between the airoprt and yarm theres almost enough people to fill a minibus, yet they still use 40ft plaxton dafs.
87 darlington- teeside airport ( about the same not many people)
all in all most people use cars and taxis to get to the airport as the train station is right the other side of the airport runway
 

AJP

Member
Joined
30 Sep 2005
Messages
1,148
Location
Doncaster

Teeside ;)

When I have have the bus at Darlington station there has been about 2 people on it :lol:

From what I understand the airport isnt exactly Heathrow :lol:
 

heart-of-wessex

Established Member
Joined
11 Jun 2005
Messages
3,008
Location
Trowbridge
sorry i thought the station name had a - in it thats all, sorry.

I did pass it, stopped as well (but for a signal i think anyway, wasnt timetabled to unload/load), as theres no real life about i thought there could be passengers for the airport, but if its moved..

Still why were there no trains listed in last seasons NRT (unless i missed one by accident) and if no-one uses it, it may as well see the end..
 

158809

Member
Joined
16 Jul 2006
Messages
127
Location
Kent
morgantyreman said:
I lived in middlesbrough and theres a few bus services to the airport
20- middlesbrough-stockton-yarm-teeside airport ( between the airoprt and yarm theres almost enough people to fill a minibus, yet they still use 40ft plaxton dafs.
87 darlington- teeside airport ( about the same not many people)
all in all most people use cars and taxis to get to the airport as the train station is right the other side of the airport runway

Service 20 -
They no longer run plaxton dafs on that route. And there actualy called a Plaxton presige. they now run a mixture of Optare metroriders and Plaxton pointer bodied MPDS

87 - Dont think this runs anymore. They have brught out a new "Sky express service (no 737) running from darlingotn rail stn - town hall - airport. They run Plaxton bodied MPDS on this rote. Some pics are here
http://www.elliottwaters4475.fotopic.net/p30276438.html
http://www.elliottwaters4475.fotopic.net/p30276436.html
http://www.elliottwaters4475.fotopic.net/p30276434.html
http://www.elliottwaters4475.fotopic.net/p29865797.html

Teeside airport station is a pointless station yes, and it should be buldozed or brought back into use but whats the point of having that station when yu can just as easily get off at Darlington and bard the Sky express? Its free for airline passangers. Just yu have to provide proof (airline tickets, boarding crad) that are valid 24 hrs before/after your flight! Snazzy aint it? :p
 

evil_hippo

Member
Joined
9 Jun 2005
Messages
772
Location
Lewisham
There still is an 87, to Serve Middleton St. George and all that.

It is ridiculous to run buses additional to what already exists when trains can serve a station as part of the existing service. The railway station needs to be done up and some kind of link, a moving walkway or something, built between the station and the terminal.
 

Bonemaster

Member
Joined
16 Jan 2006
Messages
323
Location
Coventry
If a railway station serves no purpose as this one does at the wrong end of the railway line has such a limited service, and the likelyhood of passenger numbers increasing is minimal and the station does not serve its purpose then the stark reality is that it should close and either a better location found for a new station, new rail link, or sadly bustitution, stations like this serve no real purpose other than to slow down other peoples journeys as the service from the station is unusable
 

158809

Member
Joined
16 Jul 2006
Messages
127
Location
Kent
You carnt move teeside Airport station to anywhere hats nearer than where it is currently! And, the Sky express is nearly always full. And 40ft long plaxton dafs on the teeside airport routes are history! And obviously Teeside Airport station isnt cared for or the airport couldnt give a toss about its existance that they didnt change the name of the station when the airport changed its name! Teeside Airport is now known "Durham Teesvalley International Airport". And there doing it up! If they wanted to they could of put station improvments on its list but it obviously didnt! :glasses7:
 

Markinch

Member
Joined
21 Aug 2007
Messages
19
Location
Markinch (Rìoghachd Fìobha - Brenhiniaeth Ffeiff)
Birmingham International isn't exactly near the terminal buildings either - but there is a dedicated connecting service. Heathrow has its own line, as does Stansted, Gatwick's on the main line, Newcastle's on the Metro, Prestwick's on the main line, Manchester has its own line, both Edinburgh and Glasgow may be getting rail links (now somewhat in jeopardy). Surely Teesside/Durham Tees Valley should have a decent train service, e.g. hourly, with dedicated connection to the terminal.
 

william

Established Member
Joined
13 Jul 2007
Messages
1,439
Location
UK
Teeside Airport has not always had the flights and passenger numbers it has today. I may be wrong, but I can seem to recall a time (@15-20 years ago) when only infrequent national flights operated from there. Now obviously it wouldnt make sense to travel by train to the airport for a national flight and thus the station has always been poorly served. However, with the growth of airlines and airline traffic, many more exotic flights are now on offer from the renamed Durham Tees Valley International Airport. More services to the airport station may well now be justified, but why not?. My guess is cost. Why spend millions upgrading the station which is served by infrequent and slow trains, when buses can provide a quicker and cheaper service for less cost. Besides it isnt really the most congested area in the country. It also remains a fact that the airport is still relatively small compared to its neighbour Newcastle. Also growth has tailed off lately, perhaps if huge growth was forecast then the outcome of the decision of whether or not to upgrade the station may have been a different one?
 

Mojo

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
7 Aug 2005
Messages
20,382
Location
0035
is this the most diused station in the UK?

The least used station is Gainsborough Central [1] or Shippea Hill, Cambs.

[1] Due to the way group stations work, there is suspicion in some circles that usage here may actually be higher.

Tees-side Airport is 10th least used.
 

me123

Established Member
Joined
9 Jul 2007
Messages
8,510
The other stations between Dundee and Montrose (of which there are many) must be low down in the list. Only a few services a day from Edinburgh run to Carnoustie stopping at all stations past Dundee.
 
T

Tom

Guest
I've got these for the bottom 30:

GAINSBOROUGH CENTRAL
BARRY LINKS
SHIPPEA HILL
BUCKENHAM
BREICH
DORKING WEST
HEATHROW EXP 4
TEES-SIDE AIRPORT
COOMBE (CORNWALL)
PONTEFRACT BAGHILL
SUGAR LOAF (SUNDAYS
GOLF STREET CARNOUST
PILNING
DUNSTON
FALLS OF CRUACHAN
LAKENHEATH
CLIFTON
UPPER TYNDRUM
KIRTON LINDSEY
HELENSBURGH UPPER
STANLOW & THORNTON
CHAPELTON
THORNE SOUTH
KILDONAN
ALTNABREAC
HUBBERTS BRIDGE
NEW CLEE
SCOTSCALDER
RAUCEBY
DORCHESTER WEST

in that order (least usage at top)

... fwiw, this is the TOP 30:

WATERLOO LONDON
VICTORIA LONDON
LIVERPOOL STREET LON
LONDON BRIDGE
GLASGOW CENTRAL
CHARING CROSS LONDON
EUSTON LONDON PART O
PADDINGTON LONDON
MANCHESTER PICCADILL
KING'S CROSS LONDON
CANNON STREET LONDON
BIRMINGHAM NEW STREE
LEEDS
FENCHURCH STREET LON
EAST CROYDON
EDINBURGH WAVERLEY
LIVERPOOL LIME STREE
READING
CLAPHAM JUNCTION LON
WIMBLEDON
BRIGHTON
KINGS CROSS THAMESLI
GATWICK AIRPORT COMM
CARDIFF CENTRAL
BLACKFRIARS LONDON
VAUXHALL LONDON
STRATFORD
RICHMOND
MOORGATE
MARYLEBONE LONDON
 

Humberside

Member
Joined
10 Sep 2006
Messages
162
Location
Barton Upon Humber
Arent those numbers not 100% accurate because 'all stations' tickets to a particular town are attributed to only one station (such as in Dorchester or Thorne)
 

Mojo

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
7 Aug 2005
Messages
20,382
Location
0035
For London, it counts the most reasonable journey, so Slough to London Terminals would be allocated to Paddington.

For other stations, the major group station is used, but some tickets can also be bought to specific stations (eg: Birmingham Sn Hl to Birmingham M St). Hence my comment about Gainsborough Ctrl.
 

william

Established Member
Joined
13 Jul 2007
Messages
1,439
Location
UK
Chathill, Northumberland.

Dunston, Tyne and Wear.

Witton Park. Co. Durham.

other underused stations
 

Max

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
5,455
Location
Cardiff
Maybe we should all make a dedicated effort to buy tickets to Gainsborough Central to get it off the bottom of the list :lol:;)

On a more serious note, I think the problem with Teeside Airport station is that the trains don't really go to many places. Middlesborough-Darlington-Bishop Auckland, and that's about it. And most people who live in Middlesborough would have to drive miles to the station, then pay to park, then get on a slow pacer with loads of luggage. Same with Darlington really. It simply isn't practical, and would probably end up taking far longer than driving, which to be frank defeats the point. In addition, there probably aren't big enough passenger numbers to warrant a regular train service.

You've got to remember also that the airport serves a fairly small market. Newcastle, North Yorkshire, Teeside and that's about it. And most of those areas either don't have a train service or would require at least one change to reach the airport, so you lose any time you made up.

Compare this to Manchester Airport - this serves a much larger market, stretching all the way over to Yorkshire, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Wales and Cheshire. And much of these areas either have fast direct services straight to the airport, or to Manchester Piccadilly where you can change for the airport very easily. Also, larger airports generally have much larger parking charges, and people tend to park for longer. For example, it cost me and my whole family less to travel down to Stansted by train than it would have done to park up for 10 days!
 

william

Established Member
Joined
13 Jul 2007
Messages
1,439
Location
UK
You've got to remember also that the airport serves a fairly small market. Newcastle, North Yorkshire, Teeside and that's about it
.

Newcastle Max? Was this a deliberate mistake. I dare say people from Teeside are more likely to travel to Newcastle than vice versa.

And have you forgot about Durham?

< gets all defensive lol.
 

Max

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
5,455
Location
Cardiff
.

Newcastle Max? Was this a deliberate mistake. I dare say people from Teeside are more likely to travel to Newcastle than vice versa.

And have you forgot about Durham?

< gets all defensive lol.

Not if there was a cheap flight from Teeside Airport that wasn't available from Newcastle! Isn't Newcastle mainly more expensive airlines, with Teeside taking the budgets?
 

william

Established Member
Joined
13 Jul 2007
Messages
1,439
Location
UK
I honestly dont know Max, but I would argue that Newcastle has its fair share of budget airlines. It is a much larger airport, dwarfing Teeside for both number of destinations and flights. Manchester has its share of budget airlines too. I have only flown once and that was from Manchester.

I agree though if Teeside was offering a cheaper flight than Newcastle, then yes, it would make sense to use Teeside. However, I think most people would use Newcastle, it sort of speaks for itself?
 

Max

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
5,455
Location
Cardiff
Exactly - that's why I said Teeside serves a fairly small market! And that's exactly why Newcastle Airport has good light rail public transport links ;)
 

158809

Member
Joined
16 Jul 2006
Messages
127
Location
Kent
Teesside Airport's proper name is Durham Tees Valley Airport, and yes, may serve quite a small market, which is the whole of Teesside, and much of County Durham,

Yes, the rail service isn't decent to the station, however there isn't the need, considering you can easily park your car in the airport itself, as its just had a huge facelift, and loads of extra car parking spaces, aswell as a direct bus link, from Darlington station, via Town Hall and onwards to Airport.

Airport station is a fair treck from the actual airport itself, and is situated in a in-practical location, to serve the actual airport itself, and would be much easier to get off at Dinsdale and walk!

Realy, if the station wants to prosper, then it needs re-locating further towards Dinsdale, and some form of bus link from the station itself, to the Airport. This would most likley incourage use of the station itself

And issue of parking at stations, most stations in Teessdale offer Free parking! Theres only realy TPE managed stations (Thornaby & Mboro) where you have to pay & display!

(As you can guess, I live fairly close to the Airport)
 

Humberside

Member
Joined
10 Sep 2006
Messages
162
Location
Barton Upon Humber
Not if there was a cheap flight from Teeside Airport that wasn't available from Newcastle!
Low Cost flights are available from Newcastle to all destinations served from Teeside/Durham Tees Valley by low cost airlines except Warsaw. Of course that doesn't mean flights to some destinations wouldn't be cheaper from Teeside than Newcastle

Isn't Newcastle mainly more expensive airlines, with Teeside taking the budgets?
Newcastle is a base for Easyjet and Jet 2, with some other low cost airlines also serving it. Does also have the more expensive, traditional airlines as well, as does Teeside/Durham Tees Valley
 

william

Established Member
Joined
13 Jul 2007
Messages
1,439
Location
UK
What about the stations between Knottingley and Goole, with only one train per day in each direction? Pilning is in the list.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top