The 1882 station was closed on the same day that its replacement opened. It survived intact, but derelict for many years thereafter. It has since been demolished to allow the down (eastbound) line through the site to be realigned.[1]
In July 1984, British Rail opened the current station to the west, as the previous station was inconveniently sited in a heavily industrialised area, and in the way of a planned new dockside access road.[2]
The closure of the earlier station was closely followed by nearby Cargo Fleet on 22 January 1990,[3] and Grangetown on 25 November 1991.[4][5]
In October 2024 part of the station was closed due to the footbridge becoming unsafe for passengers, resulting in Saltburn-bound trains (eastbound) not stopping at South Bank.[6] Replacement buses have been laid on to accommodate passengers to and from the station.[7]
Tees Valley Metro
Transit diagram showcasing all discussed or mentioned ideas for the Tees Valley Metro.
Starting in 2006, South Bank was mentioned within the Tees Valley Metro scheme. This was a plan to upgrade the Tees Valley Line and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North East of England. In the initial phases the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments with new additional infrastructure and rollingstock. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions.[8][9][10][11]
As part of the scheme, South Bank station would have received improved service to Darlington (1–2 to 4 trains per hour) and new rollingstock.[8]
However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis, the project was ultimately shelved.[12] Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in the future which may affect South Bank.[13]
Facilities
Station facilities here have recently been improved as part of the Tees Valley Metro project. The package for this station included new fully lit waiting shelters, renewed station signage and the installation of CCTV. The long-line Public Address system (PA) has been renewed and upgraded with pre-recorded train announcements.
The station usage estimates of 2014 and 2015 also make note of the fact that the service improvement has increased the patronage substantially enough to be in the top ten most percentage increase of passenger numbers across the whole of the United Kingdom.[14][15]
^ 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.
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