The original Bank Top station, where the two routes met, was a modest affair; it was rebuilt in 1860 to accommodate the expanding levels of traffic on the main line.

The new station, with its broad island platform, was designed by T. E. Harrison, chief engineer, and William Bell, the architect of the NER.

[6] It soon became a busy interchange on the main East Coast route, thanks to its rail links to Richmond (opened in 1846), Barnard Castle and Penrith (1862/5) and the Tees Valley Line to Bishop Auckland (1842) and Saltburn (1861).

The lines to Penrith (closed in 1962), Barnard Castle (1964)[7] and Richmond (1969) have now gone, along with the bays at the northern end of the station which are now used for car parking.

It is also still possible to travel to Catterick Garrison and Richmond from here, by means of the Arriva North East-operated X26 and X27 buses, which have through National Rail ticketing arrangements.

The same company also operated the Sky Express bus service to Durham Tees Valley Airport from the station, but this was withdrawn in January 2009 due to declining demand.

The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions,[9][10][11] and there was suggestions to have the metro extend west to Bishop Auckland from Darlington.

To reduce the need for local services to cross the East Coast Main Line, two new eastern platforms would have been created.

[9] While unclear and never having concrete plans, street-running trams to Darlington town centre were also proposed in a future phase of the Metro.