A PLAN to reopen the disused former through platform 1 (now numbered 3) at Hartlepool station is being pushed forward by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen in time for the Tall Ships event in 2023.
Mr Houcen also wants a second station entrance on the reopened platform for easier access to the marina. £1.5m of feasibility study funding was signed off last year but the project, with a new footbridge and signalling alterations, would cost more than £20m.
The station currently has one through platform which is used by up and down trains and a seldom-used bay platform.
With 630,000 passengers annually, the station is believed to be the busiest single platform station in the country.