Road and the A1 until a bypass was built (which was upgraded to motorway standard in the 1960s). The main East Coast railway line runs to the west of the town. Mainline trains used to stop at the town's long dismantled station. Birtley railway station was closed on 5 December 1955. The Station Hotel was closed in 1971, having been opened in 1868 or earlier. References Towns in Tyne and Wear Unparished areas in Tyne and Wear Former civil parishes in Tyne and Wear Gateshead Populated places disestablished in 2006