The station was opened by the Great North of England Railway on 30 March 1841. Eleven years later the Leeds Northern Railway's line from Leeds to Stockton passed through the town, but did not initially connect with the main line. Instead trains called at nearby Northallerton Town station near where it passed beneath the line to Darlington. By 1854 the GNoE and the LN had become part of the North Eastern Railway which began running through trains on the LN route via Thirsk. These rejoined the line towards Eaglescliffe on a new link from the main line at High Junction that opened in 1856. The original LN route southwards towards Melmerby was then operated as a branch line until 1901, when the NER connected it to the main line via another junction at the southern end of the station and used it as the primary route from West Yorkshire to Teesside.
The Wensleydale branch line to Bedale, Leyburn and Hawes opened in stages between 1848 and 1878. It joined the main line immediately north of the station and its trains used a bay at the northern end of the northbound island platform. Passenger trains on the branch were withdrawn from 26 April 1954,[3] although it remains open for occasional MoD trains to Redmire and heritage trains operated by the Wensleydale Railway. The old down passenger loop platform and Hawes bay were removed in the early 1970s and there is no direct route to the branch from the station as its junction faces north; trains must access it by means of a reversing siding off the northbound main line. The defunct south to west curve will need to be reinstated and a new platform constructed before Wensleydale trains can run to and from the station. The link to Leeming Bar was by bus until late 2014 until a temporary terminus was constructed approximately one mile (1.6 km) away.
Services were withdrawn on the line towards Ripon on 6 March 1967,[3] after the route was earmarked for closure in the Beeching Report. The line north-eastwards towards Stockton had lost its local passenger services by this time, but it was retained for freight traffic to and from Teesside and occasional longer distance passenger trains. It now carries a regular service to and from Middlesbrough.
Future
In plans published in 2020, Network Rail unveiled a proposal to provide two fast lines through the station and to move both platforms outwards with new loops. There are other possible variations including the installation of a grade-separated junction north of the station, to allow trains to access the Middlesbrough line without conflicting with trains heading south, and even a proposal to move the station south of the town so that it can be furnished with platforms that have access to all lines.[4]
Facilities
The station is staffed, its ticket hall opens from 05:30 each day (except Sundays, when it opens at 08:45) until 20:00. Self-service ticket machines are available for the collecting advance purchase/pre-paid tickets. Toilets and a newsagents are provided on the concourse, along with heated waiting rooms on both platforms. Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, timetable posters, customer help points and automated announcements.[5]
The station has step-free access to both platforms via ramps from a subway, however, some wheelchair users have struggled with the steepness of the ramps.[6] In May 2021, work began on a project to replace the ramps with lifts to improve accessibility.[7] The project was completed at the end of March 2022.[8][9]
Services
TransPennine Express is the main train operator at the station: on weekdays and Saturdays the company serves Northallerton with two trains an hour each way. In the southbound direction, trains generally run to Manchester Victoria via York, Leeds and Huddersfield, with one train then continuing to Manchester Airport via the Ordsall Chord and one train continuing to Liverpool Lime Street via Newton-Le-Willows.
Northbound, there is one train per hour to Saltburn via Middlesbrough, as well as one train per hour to Newcastle.[10]
London North Eastern Railway serves the station with trains between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley; these call at Northallerton on an approximately two-hourly basis for most of the day.[11] In February 2017, the platforms were extended to accommodate Azuma trains which are longer than the East Coast electrics.[12]
All Grand Central services between London King's Cross and Sunderland stop at Northallerton (five services per day each way).[13]
CrossCountry services between Newcastle, Birmingham and beyond pass through but do not call at the station.
Electrification
Electrification of the railway through the station was carried out by British Rail, with completion by 1991.[14][15]
Accidents and incidents
On 28 August 1979, a Kings Cross to Edinburgh Service (1S28) was derailed just south of the station.[16] The train completely left the tracks, but stayed upright and came to a halt 1,800 feet (550 m) north of where it hit the trailing points that caused the derailment. Although the complement of passengers was in excess of 440, only one person was kept in hospital overnight. The leading power car of the High Speed Train (E43110) had a seized front axle because of a gearbox failure and confusion over maintenance schedules and it caused an out of gauge wheelset that derailed on the points.[17]
^Haigh, Phillip (15 July 2020). "NR plans more platforms and tracks for North East railway". Rail Magazine. No. 909. Peterborough: Bauer Media. pp. 30–32. ISSN0953-4563.
