Sign up at Middlesbrough station for platform that doesn’t exist

Signage is up at Middlesbrough railway station directing people to platform three.

But the new platform doesn’t yet exist, and won’t for at least two more years, as the expected completion date has been pushed back once again, this time to 2028.

A third platform at Middlesbrough station has been a long-time ambition and is set to increase capacity and reliability for the region’s trains.

Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) documents from years gone by show there was previously a target to see the third platform up and running by the end of 2022.

Physical work on the new infrastructure now isn’t expected to start until 2027.

Connections to the capital should increase when work is done. There is currently one Middlesbrough to London train per day on weekdays, in each direction. The LNER train to London leaves Middlesbrough at 7.35am and arrives into Kings Cross at 10.39am. The return journey departs London at 6.45pm and terminates at Middlesbrough at 9.47pm. Both journeys take marginally over three hours.

TVCA transport documents from early 2024 highlight the potential of increasing services to/from London from one a day to one every two hours. TVCA say that more direct services to London remain a “key aim”, while LNER said that along with a third platform, additional services would require the introduction of new trains, along with government and rail industry approval on a new timetable.

The timetable for the completion of platform three works has gradually shifted from December 2022 to where it is now, at some point in 2028. When TVCA’s transport committee were meant in September 2025, it was the ambition to see the project delivery get underway this month and be completed in May 2027. 

TVCA has confirmed that design work for the project has been ongoing for some months, adding that the combined authority is working through the costs and the project programme with Network Rail. 

The majority of funding for the platform three project has come from a pot of government money (previously called CRSTS2, now known as Transport for City Regions – TCR) that was earmarked, almost entirely, for the financial years 2027/28-2031/32. 

With the timing of this funding window, the combined authority was asked how dates recently pinned as the target for completion fitted with not being to access much of the money until 2027. TVCA confirmed that they have received “clarity” from the government that they will be able to consolidate their transport funding into one pot from April 2026, which is set to provide “more flexibility” on the project’s timeline and funding.

A TVCA spokesman said: “More direct services to London remains a key aim. Works to platform three will boost capacity on the entire Tees Valley rail network, provide freight benefits and open the door to more services both to and from Middlesbrough, our region and nationwide.”