Line-up of steam locomotives (left-to-right: an A2/3, A3 and a B1) at Doncaster station in August 1953Down Express, headed by an A2/3, departing in April 1957A Deltic Class 55 locomotive no.55012 Crepello coupling to the Hull-London King's Cross train as trainspotters watch on, July 1977
It is a major passenger interchange between the main line, Cross Country Route and local services running across the North of England. It is also the point for which London North Eastern Railway services branching off to Leeds diverge from the main route continuing north towards Edinburgh.
History
The railway station was built in 1850 replacing a temporary structure constructed two years earlier, located some 450 yards (410 m) further south.[3][4] Between 1850 and 1873 the station had two main platforms, with loops to each platform diverting off the main running lines.[5] It was rebuilt in its present form in 1938, where the platform on the townside of the station (the eastern side) was converted into an island platform thereby creating a fourth through running line.[6] The station has had several slight modifications since that date - in 1976, a project to refurbish the passenger facilities was completed at a cost of £125,000, and in 2006, the new interchange and connection to Frenchgate Centre opened.[7][8] The station was evacuated and services on the East Coast Main Line stopped in March 1997 due to a bomb hoax called in by the IRA. Actual bombs were left at Wilmslow railway station in Cheshire on the same day.[9]
In May 2015, construction commenced on a new Platform 0 to the north-east of the station adjacent to the Frenchgate Centre on the site of the former cattle dock. It is used by terminating Northern Trains services to Hull, Beverley, Bridlington and Scarborough.[10] This allowed these services to operate independently of the East Coast Main Line.[11][12] It is joined to the rest of the station via a fully accessible overbridge.[13]
Platforms
The station has nine platforms on three islands. Platforms 1, 3, 4 and 8 can take through trains. Platforms 2 and 5 are south-facing bays; platforms 0, 6 and 7 are north facing bays. A first class lounge is available on platform 3A.
Platform 0 is used to take almost exclusively Northern Trains services to and from Hull, Beverley and Bridlington. The brand new platform opened on 12 December 2016.[14]
There were plans to add platforms 9 and 10 to cope with Eurostar trains but this project was cancelled when it was decided that Eurostar would not serve Britain outside the South East of England.
There are presently no ticket barriers in operation at this station; however, on race days at Doncaster Racecourse, manual ticket checks are in operation in the subway.
The station was refurbished in 2006 and is now directly connected to the Frenchgate Centre extension in Doncaster town centre. The station now has a new booking office for tickets and information, three new lifts, refurbished staircases and subway. There is a newsagent and some food outlets. More recently, interactive touch screens have been installed around the station by London North Eastern Railway services to provide information about local attractions, live departures and disruptions and station facilities. In addition, mobile phone charging points are now available on the concourse, touch screen and self-service ticketing machines have been installed across the concourse; the stairways to the subway have now been divided into two way systems to improve the flow of passengers during peak times.
In a route study by Network Rail, it was proposed that new platforms could be built on the western side of the station to meet expected demand in the future.[15]
In March 2019, it was revealed that there were plans, as part of the East Coast improvement programme in Control Period 6, to add an additional platform at Doncaster.[16]
On 9 August 1947, a passenger train was in a rear-end collision with another due to a signalman's error. 18 people were killed and 188 were injured.[17]
On 16 March 1951, a derailment occurred south of the station in which 14 passengers were killed and 12 seriously injured.
Services
Seven train operating companies call at Doncaster, which is the highest number of companies in the UK and is also equal in number only to Crewe, and Edinburgh Waverley in the UK. Their off-peak weekday service patterns are as follows:
^Jenkins, Russell; Tendler, Stewart (27 March 1997). "Security tightened as police warn of further attacks". The Times. No. 65848. p. 2. ISSN0140-0460.
^ abStations in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees are considered part of North East England, while stations in the unitary areas of York and North Yorkshire are considered part of Yorkshire and the Humber.
^Stations in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are considered part of Yorkshire and the Humber, while all other stations are considered part of the East Midlands.
