Great Ayton railway station


Great Ayton railway station serves the village of Great Ayton in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Esk Valley Line and is operated by Northern Trains who provide all of the station's passenger services.

History

The North Eastern Railway built a short line to link with on the Middlesbrough and Guisborough Railway. This link line opened on 1 June 1864 but was used at first only for mineral trains. Passenger trains along the route began four years later, and a station at Great Ayton was opened on 1 April 1868.

Description

The station is on the single track rail line between and and there are only a few trains per day. The goods yard at the station closed down in July 1965 along with many other stations on the Esk Valley line. Until the 1950s, trains used to run from the station to Stokesley, Whitby Town and but only the latter two destinations are now served.
Next to Great Ayton station is the village garage and towing service. The station had, until 1934, a full station building complete with booking office and waiting room, this however was demolished to save costs. From the start of the May 2010 timetable Northern Rail began operating a service to and from Newcastle on a Sunday morning for holiday makers going to and from Whitby. The station has only one platform which is usually served by Northern Trains stopping services - these are usually composed of Class 156 Diesel Multiple Units. Five services each way are scheduled to call on weekdays & Saturdays and four each way on Sundays. Some of these run through to/from via the Durham Coast Line. Additional services were introduced at the December 2019 timetable change.
The Esk Valley line is the only rail connection to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and occasionally one can view locomotives going to and from the railway, information about moves can be obtained from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The best place to view trains at Great Ayton station is on the road bridge which overlooks the station. Further information about station facilities can be obtained from Northern Trains.