After completion of the Shildon tunnel, the BA&WR erected a permanent station on the current site, which opened to freight on 8 November 1843, and passengers on 30 January 1843.

[3][4] In July 1845 Parliament passed the Wear Valley Act, which allowed the extension of the BA&WR from a junction at Witton-le-Wear to Frosterley, and a small branch line across the river to Bishopley.

[3][4] The final extension of the Weardale Railway to Wearhead opened on 21 October 1895, with the NER having resited the station at Stanhope to provide a more suitable gradient for the heavy limestone trains.

Between Eastgate and Westgate at Cambo Keels, sidings were established to serve the Weardale Iron Company's Heights limestone quarry, which is still in operation today.

[citation needed] As elsewhere the UK, rail traffic in the area declined after World War II, with the Wearhead branch the first to lose its passenger trains in 1953.

The principal closures came in the 1960s mainly as a result of the Beeching cuts, with services to: Barnard Castle via West Auckland ending in June 1962; Durham in May 1964;[5] and Crook in March 1965.

[6] The station remained more or less intact (although increasingly forlorn and run-down) for more than 20 years thereafter, though by the early 1980s only the former platform 3 was in use[4] (along with the former Bishop Auckland East signal box).

Bishop Trains further developed the Ticket Office and now provide a booking service for coach trips and holidays, and more recently, rail charters.

Digital CIS displays have also been installed, as part of a scheme to provide these at all stations in the area (bar those at Teesside Airport and British Steel Redcar, which both now have no trains stopping.).

[15][16] Regular heritage trains were reintroduced in 2014, mainly using a Class 122 Bubble Car and initially only running between Wolsingham and Stanhope,[17] but later extended to Witton-le-Wear on 27 March 2016.