Detailed new images show future vision for historic Darlington station

New photo-realistic pictures have been released to show what the inside of Darlington station will look like for passengers once its multi-million-pound revamp is complete.

Work is well underway on the £140m project to transform rail travel across the North East through a major regeneration of the East Coast Main Line railway station.

The huge project involves carefully blending the old with the new – with a fully accessible footbridge being built over tracks inside the Victorian station to take passengers through an opening in the historic roof over to two modern platforms, brand new concourse building and multi-storey car park.

Network Rail has unveiled the detailed architects’ impressions to show how the new interior staircases, lifts and footbridge will fit in with their Grade II listed surroundings.

The new visualisations, created by the project’s design team AECOM, show how their designs respect the original station features and architecture, while making it fit for 21st century travel.

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.

“We’d like to thank people for their continued patience while we carry out these transformational upgrades at Darlington. We’ll continue to work closely with station operator LNER to make people’s journeys as smooth as possible during construction.”

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.

“We look forward to these detailed images becoming a reality in the near future, as the project’s phased delivery continues while minimising disruption to passengers.”

The £140m upgrade to Darlington station is a partnership project between Network Rail, Tees Valley Combined Authority, station operator LNER, Darlington Borough Council and the Department for Transport.

Steve Wilson, LNER head of stations, said: “It’s great to see these new images which demonstrate how the project will give Darlington a station it can be proud of.“The latest visualisations help bring things to life and further demonstrate the scale of this exciting transformation.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, said: “Darlington deserves a modern station to keep up with its rising status and we’ve led the way in making this project a reality.

"These latest images show a walkway which combines the best of the old and the new – and it will link the vibrant new entrance hall and two crucial new platforms to the wider station.

“We’re helping to create thousands of new job opportunities in the town and across the wider region. This project really is vital to cut journey times, and to ensure we get more services both here and further afield to improve access to these well-paid jobs.”

The major upgrades at Darlington station are being delivered across two main work sites:

• Work site one has seen Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) invest £36m to build a new station concourse building and multi-storey car park to the East of the Grade II listed station. This work is nearing completion ready to be handed over by TVCA’s contractor Wilmott Dixon in the coming months to Network Rail which will then take on the fit out.

• Work site two involves a £98m investment by Network Rail and the Department for Transport to build two new platforms, new track, railway layout, and signalling systems to improve rail connectivity and performance across the North East, along with a fully accessible link bridge from the existing station building to the new Phase One concourse building.