Redcar British Steel railway station

Redcar British Steel (also known as British Steel Redcar) is a mothballed railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 5+3⁄4 miles (9 km) east of Middlesbrough, served the Teesside Steelworks, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. At the time of the suspension of services, the station was owned by Network Rail and managed by Arriva Rail North.

Redcar British Steel British Steel Redcar
General information
Location	Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland England
Coordinates	54°36′35″N 1°06′45″W
Grid reference	NZ573241
Owned by	National Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Status	Services suspended
Station code	RBS
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	British Rail (Eastern Region)
Key dates
19 June 1978	Opened
14 December 2019	Services suspended
Passengers
2015/16	740
2016/17	50
2017/18	40
2018/19	360
2019/20	1,060[a]
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station was opened by British Rail on 19 June 1978.^[1] It is situated on a re-sited portion of route that was commissioned to allow the previous alignment to be used for an expansion of the Teesside Steelworks. This included a station at Warrenby Halt, which was closed and replaced by the current station.^[2]

In the 2014–15 period, the Office of Rail and Road recorded a total of 1,570 entries and exits. In 2015, the majority of the Teesside Steelworks closed, resulting in a drop in passenger usage of the station.

In the 2016–17 period the entries and exits dropped to fifty, making it the fourth-least-used station in Britain.^[3] In the 2017–18 period it was named the least used station in Britain, with only forty entries and exits, surpassing Barry Links.^[4]

The station saw a significant increase in passengers in the 2018–19 and 2019–20 periods, with 360 and 1,060 entries and exits respectively; the reason for the increase was thought likely to be its "least-used" status.^[5] This "least-used" status was highlighted in Geoff Marshall's video about the station.^[6]

Arriva Rail North suspended services from the station on 14 December 2019,^[7] and as of February 2024, services had not resumed. However, work to regenerate the site of the former Teesside Steelworks is being undertaken by South Tees Development Corporation, which aims to redevelop the station and improve services.^[8]

Facilities

At the time of the suspension of services the station had two platforms, both of which had very basic amenities. There was a waiting shelter on each platform, as well as timetable posters. There was no step-free access between platforms, which could be accessed only by a metal footbridge.^[9]

Services

Northern Trains Route 3
v t e
Tees Valley line
Bishop Auckland       Shildon Newton Aycliffe Heighington North Road Darlington Dinsdale Allens West Eaglescliffe Thornaby Middlesbrough South Bank Redcar Central Redcar East Longbeck Marske Saltburn

At the time of suspension, the station was served by four trains per day. Heading east, two trains per day operated to Saltburn, which commenced at Hexham via Hartlepool (morning) and Bishop Auckland (afternoon) respectively. Heading west, two trains per day operated to Bishop Auckland, both of which commenced at Saltburn. All services were operated by Arriva Rail North.

Rolling stock used: Class 142 Pacer,^[b] Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
	Historical railways
Redcar Central		Arriva Rail North Tees Valley Line		South Bank
Redcar Central		British Rail (Eastern Region) Tees Valley Line		Grangetown

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
2. Delplanque, Paul (14 November 2008). "The Village That Disappeared". Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough). Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
3. "Loneliest station has biggest rise in use". BBC News. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
4. "Redcar British Steel station 'least used' in Britain". BBC News. 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
5. "Least used railway station Redcar British Steel gets visitor boost". BBC News. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
6. "Redcar British Steel – Least Used Station in Britain 2018". YouTube. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
7. "Rail service launch hailed 'huge step forward'". BBC News. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
8. "Redcar SSI site regeneration plan 'may create 20,000 jobs'". BBC News. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
9. "Redcar British Steel Station Train Tickets, Departures and Timetables". Northern Trains. Retrieved 6 June 2021.

Notes

1. Services were permanently suspended starting 14 December 2019
2. The Class 142 Pacer was used at the time of the station's closure, but now no longer operates on the Tees Valley Line.

External links

• Train times and station information for Redcar British Steel railway station from National Rail
• Media related to British Steel Redcar railway station at Wikimedia Commons