Sunderland
Location
Place	Sunderland
Local authority	Sunderland
Operations
Managed by	Northern Rail
Platforms in use	4
Annual Rail Passenger Usage
2004/05 *	0. Sunderland (, or /ˈsʌn(dlən/ is a City in Tyne and Wear, England. History The metropolitan borough was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of several districts of County Durham - Washington Northern Rail (often referred to simply as Northern) is a Train operating company that has operated local passenger services in the north of England 459 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Tyne and Wear (Nexus)
Zone	57
History
1879	Originally opened August 1879
1965	Modernised station buildings opened
2002	Conversions for heavy rail and Metro services
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Sunderland from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. In the United Kingdom, Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs are local government bodies which are responsible for Public transport within large urban areas The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (TWPTE using the brandname of Nexus is the Passenger Transport Executive for the metropolitan county of Tyne and Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. National Rail is a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC |} See also List of heritage railway stations See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of closed railway stations in Britain List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom Closed Stations Yealmpton See also List of heritage railway stations in the United Kingdom
UK Railways Portal

Reproduction of a contemporary print showing the interior of Sunderland Station soon after it was opened from 1879.

The south end of Sunderland Station in 1965.

Sunderland station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in Sunderland, north-east England. National Rail is a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC The Tyne and Wear Metro is a metro system serving stations in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside North Tyneside and Sunderland, Sunderland (, or /ˈsʌn(dlən/ is a City in Tyne and Wear, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is the only station in the country where both heavy rail and light rail services use the same platforms. For specific light rail systems many of which use the words "light rail" as part of their name see List of light-rail transit systems. Although the tracks are shared between Sunderland and Pelaw Metro Junction (a short distance south of Pelaw Metro station), Northern Rail trains do not call at any of the intermediate stations. Pelaw Metro station serves the Pelaw area of Gateshead, England. Northern Rail (often referred to simply as Northern) is a Train operating company that has operated local passenger services in the north of England

Earlier stations

The first railway passenger services to Sunderland were provided by the Durham & Sunderland Railway Company in 1836. The line approached from the south along the coast and the terminus was near South Dock, which was known as Town Moor station.

Undistinguished either in architecture, convenience or accommodation it was replaced 22 years later by Hendon station, half a mile to the south, at a point where the line had to be joined by the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway Company's line to Penshaw and Durham.

Meanwhile the Newcastle & Darlington Company had built their station at Fawcett Street, just south of the site of the present station.

In 1879, the North Eastern Railway Company opened a line from Ryhope Grange Junction, over the river to Monkwearmouth, and a new station was built on the present site. It opened on August Bank Holiday Monday of that year and both of the other stations at Hendon and Fawcett Street were closed.

The current station, officially known as - Sunderland Central - at that time, was known locally as the New station. Its platforms and lines lie in a cutting running north and south bounded by retaining walls to the east and west. Its single entrance and street-level buildings were at the North End, but a second entrance and associated buildings at the south were added five years later. The platform area was covered by an over-all semi-elliptical arched-rib roof which together with the North End buildings, was badly damaged by bombs in 1943.

In 1953, the old roof was replaced by umbrella-type roofing and the South End buildings were given an interim 'face-lift', the complete rebuilding being deferred to enable advantage to be taken of the site's potential for property development and to ensure compatibility with the town's proposals for the redevelopment of this central area.

The complete rebuilding of the station was accomplished by November 1965.

Buildings

The current station buildings, which opened after re-building work in November 1965, formed at that time part of a complete rebuilding scheme which involved almost the entire area of the station site which was decked over and developed at street level.

The buildings covered the south end of the station area and a two-storey block of 20 shops, which were built by City and Central Shops Limited, occupies the central area. The old station buildings at the North End, which were retained in use until the new properties were being developed, were closed and demolished. In that area British Railways provided new premises for parcels traffic and Post Office Mails, which were redeveloped with the alterations to the platforms for Metro train services in 2002, and Littlewood's Mail Order Stores Limited (now occupied by T J Hughes), developed a four-storey department store with a main frontage on to High Street West. T J Hughes is a discount department store company founded in 1912 in Liverpool, England.

As at November 1965, following the withdrawal of local stopping train services on the lines to West Hartlepool, Durham and South Shields, passenger trains were concentrated on one island platform with access to the concourse area by a dual 'one-direction' stairway. The second island platform was given over to the working of parcels traffic as a new parcels office premises was to be built at the North End and brought into use. Prior to this the parcels traffic was being dealt with at Monkwearmouth.

Also at that time, the revised station working enabled the running lines and sidings at the South End of the station to be simplified. The consequent reduction in permanent way (i. e. railway track) released areas of land at track level which was available for the erection of support for further street level development between Athenaeum Street and Holmside bridges and also on the south side of Holmeside.

At the time that the modernised buildings opened from 4 November 1965, train services from Sunderland included a half hourly service each weekday to and from Newcastle, and an hourly service to and from West Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, with additional trains at peak periods. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. There were also then through morning trains to London and to Liverpool, and a sleeping car service to London every night of the week. Good connections were available from Newcastle with all parts of the country.

Refurbishment of the station

Work started on refurbishing Sunderland station in January 2008. Article on the Nexus site The refurbishment of the station should make it brighter and cleaner, unlike the current dark and damp station, which doesn't give Sunderland credit from passengers arriving from London (and York etc. ) via Grand Central.

Layout

Since 2002 when the station was remodelled to accommodate Metro services the layout has been unique in the Great Britain. The station has a large central island platform with each side split into two numbered platforms. Northern Rail services call at platforms 1 and 4 at the northern end, while platforms 2 and 3 at the southern end are for Metro services.

Key to diagram

The track layout at Sunderland station

• Black lines: Track shared by Metro and mainline services, electrified at 1500 V DC overhead.
• Green lines: Track used by Metro services only, electrified at 1500 V DC overhead.
• Blue lines: Track used by mainline services only, not electrified.
• Grey area: covered station shed.
• Maroon area: Platforms.
• Platform 1: Southbound mainline services.
• Platform 2: Southbound Metro services.
• Platform 3: Northbound Metro services.
• Platform 4: Northbound mainline services.
• A: Towards Newcastle
• B: From Newcastle
• C: From South Hylton
• D: To South Hylton
• E: Electrified siding
• F: Non-electrified siding
• G: From Middlesbrough
• H: Towards Middlesbrough

Metro services

Sunderland
Metro train departing Sunderland towards South Hylton.
Location
Place	Sunderland City Centre
Local authority	Sunderland
Fare zone information
Network Zone	57
Metro Zone	C
Metro since	2002-03-31
Tyne and Wear Metro List of Tyne and Wear Metro stations

Metro services run at a peak of eight per hour calling at all stations. Sunderland (, or /ˈsʌn(dlən/ is a City in Tyne and Wear, England. History The metropolitan borough was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of several districts of County Durham - Washington See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor The Tyne and Wear Metro is a metro system serving stations in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside North Tyneside and Sunderland, The following is a list of Tyne and Wear Metro stations Purpose-built stations The following stations were built specifically for the Tyne and Wear Metro system To the south, services run to South Hylton along the alignment of the Sunderland to Durham mainline that fell to the Beeching Axe in the 1960s. South Hylton Metro station serves the suburb of South Hylton on the banks of the River Wear. Durham (ˈdʌrəm in RP, locally ˈdʏrəm is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham, England The Beeching Axe is an informal name for the British Government 's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system The first station is Park Lane, which provides a direct interchange with the bus and coach station. Park Lane Interchange' in Sunderland is the second-busiest bus station in the United Kingdom, after Victoria Coach Station in London

Northbound the first station is St Peter's which is a couple of hundred yards south of the long closed Monkwearmouth station that is now a museum. St Peter's Metro Station on the Tyne and Wear Metro is the nearest one to the University of Sunderland 's St Peter's Campus Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. Monkwearmouth Station Museum is the former railway station in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, England

The track is shared with mainline trains as far as Pelaw Metro Junction, just south of Pelaw Metro station. Pelaw Metro station serves the Pelaw area of Gateshead, England. The former mainline stations at Brockley Whins, East Boldon, Seaburn are now served only by the Metro. Brockley Whins Metro station is on the Tyne and Wear Metro Green Line East Boldon Metro station serves the East Boldon area of South Tyneside, England. Seaburn Metro station was a former National Rail station converted for use by the Tyne and Wear Metro upon the opening of the Sunderland extension In addition new stations at Fellgate, the Stadium of Light, and St Peter's were constructed. Fellgate Metro station serves the Fellgate area of Jarrow, in South Tyneside, England. The Stadium of Light is a football Stadium in Sunderland, North East England which opened in 1997.

On 12 December 2005 the Yellow and Green Lines of the Metro swaped routes between Pelaw and South Shields / Sunderland and South Hylton, meaning that there is a direct rail link between Sunderland and Newcastle Airport for the first time. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne. Newcastle Airport is located in Newcastle upon Tyne, about 6 Miles (11 km) north-west of the city centre

Mainline services

The current regional operator Northern Rail provides an off-peak service of one train per hour between Sunderland and Newcastle in both directions, with many trains also running to the MetroCentre shopping centre, Hexham, Carlisle and Middlesbrough. Northern Rail (often referred to simply as Northern) is a Train operating company that has operated local passenger services in the north of England MetroCentre is the second most visited shopping centre in the UK attracting 24 million visitor a year In terms of retail area it's regarded as the largest Mall in the Hexham New South Wales|Hexham (constituency Hexham is a Market town in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne. Carlisle (pronounced CARLYLE(emphasis on the first syllable is a City in northern England the largest settlement in Cumbria. Middlesbrough ( IPA ( Received pronunciation) is a Town in the Tees Valley sub-region of the North East of England

The service to Newcastle Central Station is now considered an express service, calling only at Heworth, which is also served by the Metro, but the lines are segregated at this point. Newcastle Central railway station is the mainline railway station in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Heworth station is a suburban interchange between Bus, Northern Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro services The former stopping service (which called at Seaburn, East Boldon and Brockley Whins) is now provided only by the Metro. Seaburn is a suburb and seaside resort in the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. East Boldon Metro station serves the East Boldon area of South Tyneside, England. Brockley Whins Metro station is on the Tyne and Wear Metro Green Line

In January 2006 new operator Grand Central was granted permission to run four trains per day from Sunderland to London Kings Cross via Eaglescliffe (for Middlesbrough), Northallerton, Thirsk and York. Background Grand Central operate three return trips per day between the north-east of England and the capital city London along the East Coast Main Line King's Cross station is a major railway terminus opened in 1852 Eaglescliffe railway station serves the town of Eaglescliffe in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. Northallerton railway station serves the town of Northallerton in North Yorkshire, England. Thirsk railway station serves the town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire, England. This article is about a railway station in England For the similarly named subway station in Brooklyn, New York City, see York Street (IND Sixth Avenue Grand Central began running services on 18 December 2007. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Future developments

It is possible that the Leamside line may be re-opened. History The line opened in 1839 and was formed from the original lines of the Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway and the Durham Junction Railway This starts at the Pelaw Junction on the Sunderland to Newcastle line and runs through to the Tursdale junction just north of Ferryhill, County Durham. Ferryhill is a Town in south-central County Durham, England with a population of around 10000 people The Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and the Regions has expressed concern at the delays in determining the future of this line [1]. The former Sunderland to Durham line joined this line approximately two miles west of the current Metro terminal at South Hylton, so any re-opening could also involve extension of the Metro.

Electrification

The Tyne and Wear Metro uses overhead electrification at 1500 volts DC. This is incompatible with UK mainline electrification, which uses 25,000 volts AC. Additionally the reconstruction of the station to allow the Metro services to call here now means that Mark IV coaches, now cannot call at the station, even if diesel hauled, as they are out-of-gauge. British Rail 's fourth and final design of passenger carriages was designated Mark 4, designed for use in InterCity 225 sets on the newly-electrified With railways a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge

External links

• Metro times (Nexus)

• Train times and station information for Sunderland station from National Rail
• Annotated aerial view of Sunderland station
• News on the Nexus site about the station refurbishment project

Preceding station		Tyne and Wear Metro		Following station
St Peter's toward Airport		Green line		Park Lane toward South Hylton
National Rail
Seaham		Northern Rail Durham Coast		Heworth
Hartlepool		Grand Central (London-Sunderland)		Terminus