The station was opened in 1838 along with this section of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway and is thought to be the work of the line's resident engineer John Blackmore. It became a junction in 1852, when a branch line south to the town of Alston was opened. Though reduced to unstaffed halt status in 1967, it has retained its water tower, water crane, main buildings, signal box and original wooden shelters; several of these are Grade II listed. The 1901-built signal box was taken out of use in 1993 when the station was re-signalled with colour lights, but it remains in use as staff office accommodation. The track layout had previously been reduced and simplified since the demise of the branch and closure of the coal depot in the late 1970s. The former booking office and waiting room now houses the localtourist information office.
Facilities
The station is unstaffed. There is an automatic ticket machine on the eastbound platform. Train running information is offered via digital display screens, timetable posters and telephone. Step-free access is available to both platforms.
Services
Until the summer 2019 timetable change, there was a basic hourly service in each direction, eastbound to Newcastle and westbound to Carlisle. From 20 May 2019 though, an additional service each hour in both directions has been introduced on weekdays and certain trains extended north of Newcastle to/from. The evening and Sunday service pattern remains broadly unchanged.
Alston branch line
The station was also formerly the terminus of the Alston to Haltwhistle Railway, a branch line of the Newcastle to Carlisle. Originally built to access the mines around Alston, this line never fulfilled its economic potential and it was closed in 1976 following the completion of an improved road between the two towns. The track was lifted the following year after a preservation attempt by the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society proved unsuccessful. The society did eventually succeed in buying part of the line and built the South Tynedale Railway, a narrow-gauge heritage railway running from Alston, along the former trackbed as far as Lintley Halt and to Slaggyford by Easter 2017. The path of the line follows the Pennine Way for some of its route, and was mentioned by Alfred Wainwright in his Pennine Way Companion.
