Following the granting of planning permission work on the platforms and a 139-space car park at Horden, near Peterlee, is due to start in the next few weeks, A new access road, footpath and cycleway will also be installed as well as a footbridge to connect the 100m-long (330ft) platforms.
It is hoped the new station on South East View will be open to passengers in the spring of 2020.Trains will stop hourly in both directions and Durham County Council said forecasts predict up to 70,000 passengers a year could use the station. A public consultation on the plans in 2016 saw almost 1,400 responses, with 98.6% of people saying they would use the station if it was built.
The project is being developed by the council and Network Rail with funding coming from the council, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and a £4.4m government grant. Horden’s original station on the Durham coast line opened in 1905 but it was closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.