Teesside Airport station to lose 1 platform and Bridge

[markindurham]

With those usage figures (130,000 last year - about 400 people a day!) it sounds like the *airport* should close (as well as the station).

What purpose does it serve? Could its flights not be directed to other airports? How can it be viable?

It's in a bad location really, equidistant from both Newcastle and Leeds-Bradford airports. Once British Midland pulled out, I think that the writing was on the wall. It's a shame, because it could have had potential to be so much more than it is. It's home to various flying clubs, of course, and the aircraft of Flight Refuelling Ltd who are used as part of the RAF training facilities, amongst other things. It also hosts the CAA Fire Training School, and is blessed with a main runway of decent length.

However, it's owned by Peel Ports, who aren't bothered about a lack of usage, I suspect. Indeed, they may even be very happy. Think how much cash could be raised by selling the site for housing...

 

[Bletchleyite]

With those usage figures (130,000 last year - about 400 people a day!) it sounds like the *airport* should close (as well as the station).

What purpose does it serve? Could its flights not be directed to other airports? How can it be viable?

Don't know - but airports do close from time to time.

 

[Muzer]

NSEFAN and I visited this station today. We walked from Dinsdale; most of the route had pavement, though when we got to the industrial estate surrounding the airport itself we had to walk on the roads.. To those walking note that you have to enter the station from the airport side; the A road side has no entrance. While we were wondering if it was possible to cut through further north, in the end we did a large dog leg via the roads around the airport, as we weren't sure we wouldn't run into a dead end. We did have a quick look from the "other side" to see if it looked possible but I'm afraid the answer was inconclusive, so if you don't have time to waste trying potentially impossible routes, it's probably worth doing the dog leg.

While there is no eastbound service, the far platform IS still open, with no signs or barriers or any indication that you shouldn't be there. There ARE danger notices telling you not to wait on the footbridge, as others have said. When we were on it it didn't feel particularly rickety but that could be thanks to the scaffolding. There were a few places where the wooden boards were rotted quite substantially on the footbridge. What was in worse condition was the far platform itself, which had larger rot holes and felt a little precarious in places though it does still seem to be safe for now (most of the rot is still superficial).

We did try using the payphone quite comprehensively, attempting to receive calls (it didn't audibly ring, and you couldn't hear anything when you picked it up, though you could hang up and the person who phoned you would hear that you'd hung up), and make calls to a variety of numbers (normal, 0800, and something like "**2" which according to an old photograph I found when a certain sticker on the phone was in better condition, used to dial Northern Rail customer services). All were listed as being "blocked" on the phone's display, which claimed to only work with emergency numbers.

We also met a nice journalist there who gave a brief interview.

There are some decent photographs to get both of and from the footbridge and far platform. In addition, the only waiting shelter is on the far platform, and it was quite chilly when we were there; it isn't particularly shielded a location. For these reasons I would recommend anybody who wants to visit the station at some stage do so sooner rather than later, before they get around to closing the footbridge!

 

[ainsworth74]

We did have a quick look from the "other side" to see if it looked possible but I'm afraid the answer was inconclusive, so if you don't have time to waste trying potentially impossible routes, it's probably worth doing the dog leg.

There is no access from the A road side. Well, unless you want to climb over the fence...

 

[Muzer]

There is no access from the A road side. Well, unless you want to climb over the fence...

I meant we were trying to see if it was possible to cut through the airport's surrounding industrial estate coming out near the field where there's a car boot sale, rather than walking all the way down to near the airport and then back up again. We didn't figure out if that was possible or not.

 

[alistairlees]

Teesside Airport's station is to lose 1 platform its footbridge in a bid to save money

Somebody may have said this already, and I will no doubt enrage a few people, but isn't the proposal closing one platform too few, rather than one platform too many?

 

[ainsworth74]

I meant we were trying to see if it was possible to cut through the airport's surrounding industrial estate coming out near the field where there's a car boot sale, rather than walking all the way down to near the airport and then back up again. We didn't figure out if that was possible or not.

Aha! I understand and I also don't know the answer to that!

Somebody may have said this already, and I will no doubt enrage a few people, but isn't the proposal closing one platform too few, rather than one platform too many?

Most assuredly. Once they take the footbridge down then should just continue on and take down the whole station. I mean seeing as they're there they may as well!

 

[FQTV]

NSEFAN and I visited this station today. We walked from Dinsdale; most of the route had pavement, though when we got to the industrial estate surrounding the airport itself we had to walk on the roads.. To those walking note that you have to enter the station from the airport side; the A road side has no entrance. While we were wondering if it was possible to cut through further north, in the end we did a large dog leg via the roads around the airport, as we weren't sure we wouldn't run into a dead end. We did have a quick look from the "other side" to see if it looked possible but I'm afraid the answer was inconclusive, so if you don't have time to waste trying potentially impossible routes, it's probably worth doing the dog leg.

While there is no eastbound service, the far platform IS still open, with no signs or barriers or any indication that you shouldn't be there. There ARE danger notices telling you not to wait on the footbridge, as others have said. When we were on it it didn't feel particularly rickety but that could be thanks to the scaffolding. There were a few places where the wooden boards were rotted quite substantially on the footbridge. What was in worse condition was the far platform itself, which had larger rot holes and felt a little precarious in places though it does still seem to be safe for now (most of the rot is still superficial).

We did try using the payphone quite comprehensively, attempting to receive calls (it didn't audibly ring, and you couldn't hear anything when you picked it up, though you could hang up and the person who phoned you would hear that you'd hung up), and make calls to a variety of numbers (normal, 0800, and something like "**2" which according to an old photograph I found when a certain sticker on the phone was in better condition, used to dial Northern Rail customer services). All were listed as being "blocked" on the phone's display, which claimed to only work with emergency numbers.

We also met a nice journalist there who gave a brief interview.

There are some decent photographs to get both of and from the footbridge and far platform. In addition, the only waiting shelter is on the far platform, and it was quite chilly when we were there; it isn't particularly shielded a location. For these reasons I would recommend anybody who wants to visit the station at some stage do so sooner rather than later, before they get around to closing the footbridge!

Word of your endeavours has reached the colonies, it would appear:

The New York Times

TEESSIDE, England — As an aging train pulls into view, two men wait patiently in the biting cold, taking photos as the diesel-driven carriages grind slowly to a halt, before jumping quickly aboard.

It is not a good idea to miss the 2:56 p.m. service to Darlington: The next train will call here in precisely one week.

At England’s least popular railway station, here in Teesside, the only travelers these days are those attracted by the novelty and rarity of their journey, which lasts a maximum of 14 minutes.

“The more obscure it is, the more interesting it is for rail enthusiasts,” said one of the men, Henry Kennedy, from Southampton. Along with Murray Colpman, he had traveled hundreds of miles by train, then walked for 45 minutes, to reach this obscure transportation outpost in northeastern England.

It was not meant to be like this.

 

[Muzer]

...OK, I'm pretty speechless. Thanks for posting it!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed...amazed that the NYT thinks one train a week is notable...isn't that not unusual on Amtrak?

 

[thenorthern]

Indeed...amazed that the NYT thinks one train a week is notable...isn't that not unusual on Amtrak?

Depends on the part of the country but frequency levels tend to be less as you say.

Whats strange though is how easily it is for Amtrak to close a station and discontinue as service as for example in 1997 the Desert Wind was discontinued which meant Las Vegas was left without an Amtrak service which in the United Kingdom would be like stopping all services from a place like Wolverhampton.

 

[Muzer]

Depends on the part of the country but frequency levels tend to be less as you say.

Whats strange though is how easily it is for Amtrak to close a station and discontinue as service as for example in 1997 the Desert Wind was discontinued which meant Las Vegas was left without an Amtrak service which in the United Kingdom would be like stopping all services from a place like Wolverhampton.

Ah, the famous sin city of Wolverhampton

 

[thenorthern]

Ah, the famous sin city of Wolverhampton

I just used it as example as both Wolverhampton and and Las Vegas are both around 20th in the rankings of largest cities in their respective countries. But really though Las Vegas city has a population of about 630,000 which is larger than Sheffield and the Las Vegas urban area which includes the town of Paradise where many things associated with Las Vegas such as most the casinos are is more than 2 million which in real terms is about the size of the Birmingham Urban Area.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

...However, it's owned by Peel Ports, who aren't bothered about a lack of usage, I suspect. Indeed, they may even be very happy. Think how much cash could be raised by selling the site for housing...

That would at least give the station a purpose...

 

[Panceltic]

Why was the shuttle bus solution so unpopular? I mean, surely it didn't take more than 3 minutes from terminal to station. Or was it not synchronised with flight/train times on purpose?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Depends on the part of the country but frequency levels tend to be less as you say.

Whats strange though is how easily it is for Amtrak to close a station and discontinue as service as for example in 1997 the Desert Wind was discontinued which meant Las Vegas was left without an Amtrak service which in the United Kingdom would be like stopping all services from a place like Wolverhampton.

Because of its size, the US tends to see loss of air travel connections as equivalent to a UK station losing rail services.

 

[Muzer]

Why was the shuttle bus solution so unpopular? I mean, surely it didn't take more than 3 minutes from terminal to station. Or was it not synchronised with flight/train times on purpose?

Probably because many people would rather drive there than rely on public transport (or live in a place such that they have no other sensible option but to drive there), and given there aren't many people using it in total, this means it's a small fraction of an already small number of people wanting to use the train+bus.

 

[ainsworth74]

Probably because many people would rather drive there than rely on public transport (or live in a place such that they have no other sensible option but to drive there), and given there aren't many people using it in total, this means it's a small fraction of an already small number of people wanting to use the train+bus.

Plus by the time you've got you and your luggage to the station, loaded it onto the train, taken off the train, loaded it onto the shuttle bus, taken off the shuttle bus many people will probably start to form the view of "Sod it. Let's get a taxi, or drive or get someone else to give us a lift!".

 

[thenorthern]

Regarding the shuttle bus it's important to remember that in 1990 when the service levels were reduced it was before deregulation and no-frills airlines and passenger numbers at all airports were lower. It's also important to remember that at the time rail links to airports were rare as in 1990 Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Stansted, Prestwick, Luton and Southend didn't have the rail/metro links they have today.

 

[Kite159]

10 months on after platform 2 "closed" there is still access to it, although it does look the worse for wear:



How long before a random visitor has an accident by stepping on some of the more rotten parts and takes a fall when the wood gives way? Certainly that shelter shook when a HGV passed.

 

[Wtloild]

Ah, the famous sin city of Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton was a proposed location for one of Tony Blair's abortive Super-Casinos.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

How long before a random visitor has an accident by stepping on some of the more rotten parts and takes a fall when the wood gives way? Certainly that shelter shook when a HGV passed.

I suspect their legal team would argue that no-one has any business on Platform 2 since trains don't stop there!

I am surprised they have not blocked off the footbridge though.

 

[DPWH]

Couldn't they have closed/removed the footbridge and put in foot access to the closed platform from the road next to the platform?

 

[a_c_skinner]

It should simply be shut.

 

[Esker-pades]

It should simply be shut.

Or moved closer to the airport.

 

[a_c_skinner]

My comment could easily have applied to the airport which seems to have no worthwhile function for normal public transport. The station is probably as well placed as it might be, there certainly isn't a way to make it part of the airport as a hub in the way Manchester is.

As a Tees Valley parkway station, who knows?

 

[Journeyman]

Couldn't they have closed/removed the footbridge and put in foot access to the closed platform from the road next to the platform?

What's the point? The station is no use to man or beast as it is, they don't want to spend money on it.

 

[ainsworth74]

Or moved closer to the airport.

If you'll forgive me for quoting myself:

Okay so then we move the station! Well, the problem then becomes that we also need to move the line as there's no where on the existing alignment that is closer to the terminal. Okay then the next problem is that basically all the land closer to the airport is developed on with various industrial/commercial units. So either we have to compulsory purchase or dig a tunnel underneath it all. All of those options are going to be frightfully expensive and again, I remind you, that this airport was used by only 130,000 people last year.

The correct answer, as always, to Teesside Airport station is to close it. Anything else is a waste of time and money.

 

[Journeyman]

It should simply be shut.

Agreed. It's very inconveniently located and almost impossible to move closer to the airport.

My comment could easily have applied to the airport which seems to have no worthwhile function for normal public transport. The station is probably as well placed as it might be, there certainly isn't a way to make it part of the airport as a hub in the way Manchester is.

As a Tees Valley parkway station, who knows?

Yeah, the airport itself has certainly seen better days and has a rather uncertain future. Given how close Newcastle Airport is, with a much better range of destinations available, it's insane for the railway to even consider spending money on providing services here. The airport can't even support decent bus services these days.

 

[DarloRich]

Few of you seem to know why the airport is moribund. May I suggest some background reading?