On 4 August 1879, the North Eastern Railway opened a line from Ryhope Grange Junction over the River Wear to Monkwearmouth, and a new station was built on the present site, to the designs of architect William Peachey. Both Fawcett Street and Hendon were closed on the same date. The new station served passengers of both the North Eastern Railway and Londonderry (Seaham to Sunderland) Railway, until the Marquis of Londonderry sold the Sunderland–Seaham route to the former under the North Eastern Railway Act 1900. This, in turn, allowed the North Eastern Railway to extend the line along the coast to create a new through route to West Hartlepool, which opened in 1905.

The current station, known as Sunderland Central until 5 May 1969, has tracks which lie in a cutting running north and south, bounded by retaining walls to the east and west. The platform area was previously covered by an overall semi-elliptical arched-rib roof, which together with the buildings at the station’s north end, suffered significant damage following an air raid in March 1943. In 1953, the roof was replaced by umbrella-type roofing, and the buildings at the southern end of the station were given an interim facelift. The complete rebuilding of the station was deferred, in order to enable advantage to be taken of the site’s potential for property development, as well as to ensure compatibility with the town’s proposals for the redevelopment of the surrounding area.

Following the Beeching Axe, and subsequent withdrawal of local stopping train services to Durham, West Hartlepool and South Shields, passenger trains were concentrated on a single island platform, with access to the concourse area by a dual one-direction stairway. At the time of reopening, services consisted of a half-hourly service each weekday to Newcastle Central and an hourly service to and from Middlesbrough via (West) Hartlepool, with additional trains at peak periods.