Redcar British Steel | |
Native Name: | British Steel Redcar |
Symbol Location: | gb |
Symbol: | rail |
Borough: | Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland |
Country: | England |
Coordinates: | 54.6098°N -1.1126°W |
Mapframe-Zoom: | 12 |
Grid Name: | Grid reference |
Owned: | National Rail |
Manager: | Northern Trains |
Platforms: | 2 |
Tracks: | 2 |
Status: | Services suspended |
Code: | RBS |
Classification: | DfT category F2 |
Original: | British Rail (Eastern Region) |
Years1: | 19 June 1978 |
Events1: | Opened |
Years2: | 14 December 2019 |
Events2: | Services suspended |
Mapframe: | yes |
Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Redcar British Steel (also known as British Steel Redcar) is a mothballed railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between and via . The station, situated NaNmiles 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.
The station was opened by British Rail on 19 June 1978. 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, which was closed and replaced by the current station.[1]
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.[2] In the 2017–18 period it was named the least used station in Britain, with only forty entries and exits, surpassing .[3]
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.[4] This "least-used" status was highlighted in Geoff Marshall's video about the station.[5]
Arriva Rail North suspended services from the station on 14 December 2019,[6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
At the time of suspension, the station was served by four trains per day. Heading east, two trains per day operated to, which commenced at Hexham via Hartlepool (morning) and (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, Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter