More than 1,100 tonnes of British Steel successfully installed on Darlington Station’s £150m project

More than 1,100 tonnes of British Steel have been successfully installed as Darlington Station’s huge overhaul takes shape.

The steel frame of the imposing new gateway and multi-storey car park on the east side of the station is now in place as part of the £150m project. Construction chiefs say the gateway project is running on time, despite the wet weather, with the whole project set to be complete in 2025.

Once finished, there will be secure parking for more than 600 cars with disabled bays and electric car charging points available. A striking walkway route will also be created via the roof arches of the old station.

Teams from Willmott Dixon are overseeing the work on the eastern gateway. Metal decking is now being installed on the gateway and car park with steel frame cladding to go up on the wider building skeleton in the coming weeks.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Darlington deserves a top-class station to mark its rise as a civil service and technological powerhouse.

“I’m delighted to see so much British Steel has gone up and its remarkable to see just how quickly the project is taking shape. Be it at Darlington, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, or the dozens of other stations in our region, we’re taking big strides to make much needed improvements across our region.

“Our rail network has been held back for far too long – and this cutting-edge interchange will cut journey times and provide Darlington with a station it can be proud of.”

Nick Corrigan, North East Director for Willmott Dixon, added: “We’re proud to be playing our part in shaping the future of Darlington and creating a transformational new gateway, built for the people of the Tees Valley by the people of Tees Valley. To date, we have invested £15.6m of our project spend with businesses right here in the Tees Valley and 85 per cent of the team on the project live within 10 miles of the site.”

The wider overhaul will include two new platforms on the Eastern side of the station to improve services on both the East Coast Main Line and the Tees Valley Line. The Network Rail work by contractors BAM is now underway.

Meanwhile, a new transport interchange providing short stay/drop off parking, spaces for cyclists and bus stops will also be provided for the station. The project is seeing Network Rail, LNER, the Department for Transport and Darlington Borough Council all play a role alongside main contractors BAM and Willmott Dixon.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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