Durham is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley.

It is managed and served frequently by London North Eastern Railway (as a stop on the East Coast Main Line).

It was refurbished between 2006 and 2008 by the operator Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) and later National Express East Coast (NXEC), which included a new passenger lounge, toilets, travel centre, glazed waiting area, lifts and shops.

In 2017, all ticket barriers were removed as part of Virgin Trains East Coast's (VTEC) franchise commitment.

A Brompton Bicycle hire scheme was planned to open in 2018 - however since the demise of Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) the management of the station has since passed on to London North Eastern Railway (LNER).

[5] LNER serves Durham with one train per hour each way, southbound to London King's Cross via Darlington, York, Doncaster, Newark Northgate and Peterborough, and northbound to Edinburgh Waverley via Newcastle.

Southbound, trains run to Liverpool Lime Street via York, Leeds, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Manchester Victoria, Newton-le-Willows and Lea Green.