Day trip shows off Teesside Airport Station

Oct 27 2009 by Neil McKay, The Journal

A GROUP of trainspotters doubled the annual number of passengers at a “ghost station” on a historic railway line in the North East.

Teesside Airport Station, on the Darlington to Stockton railway, is one of the least used in the country.

Even the airport it serves changed its name to Durham Tees Valley Airport four years ago.

Only two trains a week stop at the rail halt – one each way on a Saturday – and in 12 months from 2007 to 2008 only 52 people used it.

But that number was equalled in a single day on Saturday when 26 hardy passengers bought return tickets, boarding the 10.20am train at Darlington for the eight-minute journey at the weekend.

Just over three hours later, after a long lunch and tour of the airport, they caught the 1.41pm back to Darlington.

Alex Nelson, station master at the independent Chester-le-Street station and the man behind the odyssey, said the excursion was not as pointless as it may sound.

“We wanted to draw attention to this rail halt which is still called Teesside Airport even though the airport is now called Durham Tees Valley and has been for the past four years.