Network Rail has revealed its future vision for Darlington station as it prepares to complete a multi-million-pound revamp.
New photo-realistic pictures have been released to show what the station will look like from the inside.
Work is well underway on the £140 million project to transform rail travel across the North East through a major regeneration of the East Coast Main Line railway station.
The project involves blending the station’s historic features with modern design, including a fully accessible footbridge built over the tracks, plus two modern platforms, a brand new concourse building and multi-storey car park.
The Victorian station was first built by Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1829, going through various replacements and upgrades throughout the century.
HS2 trains were planned to pass through the station, before the northern leg of the railway connecting Birmingham and Manchester was cancelled last year by former prime minister Rishi Sunak.
The visualisations have been created by the project’s design team AECOM.
Mark McIntosh, AECOM regional director for Architecture & Design, said: “Protecting and preserving Darlington station’s heritage is a really important part of this regeneration project. The beauty of the station’s original designs have been a constant source of inspiration for our designers.”
Network Rail, Tees Valley Combined Authority, station operator LNER, Darlington Borough Council and the Department for Transport are in partnership on the Project.
Last year Willmott Dixon landed a £30 million contract from Tees Valley Combined Authority to transform the entrance to the station as part of the masterplan, breaking ground on the project in June 2023.
Willmott Dixon’s work on the concourse building and multi-storey car park to the East of the Grade II listed station is nearing completion in the coming months.
Work site two sees a £98 million investment by Network Rail and the Department for Transport to build the new platforms, new track, railway layout, and signalling systems.
Luke Espin, Network Rail senior sponsor on the scheme, said: “While it’s great that work at Darlington is really ramping up, sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the hoardings and construction sites
”These new images do exactly that and we’re really excited to unveil them to passengers and local people so they can see what we’re all aiming towards in this £140m project to improve rail journeys for the future.”
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