Gypsy Lane railway station explained

Gypsy Lane
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Nunthorpe, Redcar and Cleveland
Country:England
Coordinates:54.5335°N -1.1806°W
Map Type:United Kingdom North Yorkshire
Grid Name:Grid reference
Owned:Network Rail
Manager:Northern Trains
Platforms:1
Tracks:1
Code:GYP
Classification:DfT category F2
Original:British Rail (Eastern Region)
Years:3 May 1976
Events:Opened
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Gypsy Lane is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between and via . The station, situated 4miles south-east of Middlesbrough, serves the suburb of Nunthorpe, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The station was opened on 3 May 1976 by the Eastern Region of British Railways,[1] at a cost of £24,000, and was expected to have a footfall of 150 passengers per day. The station was built in an area of increasing housing development, which at that time, was poorly served by public transport.[2]

Tees Valley Metro

Starting in 2006, Gypsy Lane 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.[3] [4] [5] [6]

As part of the scheme, Gypsy Lane station would have received improved service to Nunthorpe and Hartlepool, possibly a street-running link to Guisborough and the Headland, as well as new rollingstock.

However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis, the project was ultimately shelved.[7] Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in the future which may affect Gypsy Lane.[8]

Facilities

In 2013, the station was refurbished, with new and upgraded facilities, including a new fully lit waiting shelter, renewed station signage and the installation of CCTV.

In February 2016, an upgraded next train announcement audio and visual display was installed at the station, with a ticket machine being added in August 2019.

Services

Following the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by an hourly service between Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe, with two trains per day (excluding Sunday) continuing to Battersby, and six per day (four on Sunday) continuing to Whitby. Most trains continue to Newcastle via Hartlepool. All services are operated by Northern Trains.[9]

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

Notes and References

  1. Book: Bairstow . Martin . Railways around Whitby : Scarborough - Whitby - Saltburn, Malton - Goathland - Whitby, Esk Valley, Forge Valley and Gilling lines . 2008 . Martin Bairstow . Leeds . 978-1-871944-34-1 . 111.
  2. Dotchin . N. . Developments on the Esk Valley Line . Modern Railways . July 1976 . 33 . 334 . 261 . Ian Allan . London . 0026-8356.
  3. Web site: Tees valley Unlimited . 18 May 2010 . Tees Valley Metro: Phase 1 - Project Summary . Stockton-on-Tess Borough Council . PDF.
  4. Web site: Tees Valley Unlimited . April 2011 . Connecting the Tees Valley - Statement of Transport Ambition . 13 November 2024.
  5. Web site: LOWES . RON . PARKER . IAN . 18 September 2007 . Executive Report - Tees Valley Metro . 13 November 2024.
  6. News: 2006-11-09 . Metro system hope for Tees Valley . 2024-11-13 . en-GB.
  7. Web site: 2023-02-04 . When the Tees Valley was set to get its own £220m metro system and what went wrong . 2024-11-13 . The Northern Echo . en.
  8. Web site: 2024-01-27 . Tees Valley authority unanimously backs £1bn transport plan . 2024-11-13 . BBC News . en-GB.
  9. Web site: 16 May 2021. Train times: Middlesbrough to Whitby (Esk Valley Railway). dead. 8 May 2021. Northern Trains. 8 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210508083353/https://d11vpqhghel6qd.cloudfront.net/images/timetables/bucket2/middlesbrough-to-whitby-the-esk-valley-railway-4378-qs6agl.pdf.