Aspatria railway station

Aspatria

Location in Allerdale, Cumbria

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Aspatria

Location in Cumbria, England

Show map of Cumbria

Aspatria
General information
Location	Aspatria, Cumberland England
Coordinates	54°45′33″N3°19′53″W / 54.7592673°N 3.3312585°W / 54.7592673; -3.3312585
Grid reference	NY143412
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	ASP
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	Maryport and Carlisle Railway
Pre-grouping	Maryport and Carlisle Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
12 April 1841	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	21,026
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Aspatria railway station is a railway station serving the town of Aspatria in Cumbria, England. It is on the Cumbrian Coast Line, which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The station was opened by the Maryport and Carlisle Railway on 12 April 1841, although the line heading north-east to Wigton was not completed until 1845.

The station was once the junction for the branch line to Mealsgate. Passenger trains on this line began on 2 April 1866, but ceased on 22 September 1930. Complete closure of the line followed on 1 December 1952. ^[1]

The station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, and then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Railways.

The station signal box was the last surviving example built by the Maryport and Carlisle company, prior to its closure and demolition in 1998. ^[2]

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has no ticket machine (though one is to be installed during 2019), so tickets must be purchased prior to travel or on the train (the main buildings are now in private residential use). Shelters are located on both platforms. Timetable posters, digital information screens and a telephone are provided to give train running information, whilst there is also public wifi access on offer. The platforms are linked by footbridge and there is step-free access to each one. ^[3]

Services

Northern Trains Route 6
v t e
Cumbrian Coast, Furness and Windermere Lines
Carlisle Dalston Wigton Aspatria Maryport Flimby Workington Harrington Parton Whitehaven Corkickle St Bees Nethertown Braystones Sellafield Seascale Drigg Ravenglass for Eskdale Bootle Silecroft Millom Green Road Foxfield Kirkby-in-Furness Askam Barrow-in-Furness Roose Dalton Ulverston Cark & Cartmel Kents Bank Grange-over-Sands Arnside Silverdale Carnforth Windermere Staveley Burneside Kendal Oxenholme Lake District Lancaster Preston Wigan North Western Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Mauldeth Road Burnage East Didsbury Gatley Heald Green Manchester Airport
Bootle, Braystones, Drigg, Flimby, Green Road, Kirkby-in-Furness, Nethertown, Parton and Silecroft are request stops.

Following the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by an hourly service between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, with some trains continuing to Lancaster. During the evening, the station is served by an hourly service between Carlisle and Whitehaven. All services are operated by Northern Trains. ^[4]

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

In May 2018, Northern introduced a Sunday service between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness, the first Sunday service to operate south of Whitehaven for over 40 years. ^{[5] [6]}

On 5 February 2024 Northern was criticised for continuing to mispronounce the station name, six months after its announcements had been re-recorded. The name was still being announced "As-spat-ria" rather than "As-spay-tria". The company said it was aiming to complete the roll-out of its updates by the "summer". ^[7]

See also

• Cumbria portal

• Listed buildings in Aspatria

References

1. "Cumbria Railways - The Bolton Loop Maryport and Carlisle Railway". www.cumbria-railways.co.uk.
2. "Aspatria Signal Box". Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
3. Aspatria station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 20 December 2016
4. "Train times: Carlisle to Preston and Manchester via Cumbrian Coast and Windermere to Manchester Airport" (PDF). Northern Trains . 16 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
5. "Cumbria's west coast rail services reinstated after 40 years". BBC News . 20 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
6. Baldwin, Beth. "Long-awaited train service connecting Barrow and Millom returns after 40 years". Whitehaven News . Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
7. "Northern yet to fix Aspatria mispronunciation". 5 February 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN   978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC   228266687.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC   22311137.
• Marshall, J. (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN   0-7153-8003-6
• Station on navigable Ordnance Survey map

Further reading

• Thomas, Anne; Thomas, Bill (1996). Neil, Parkhouse (ed.). "J Harris - Sole owner". Archive (9, 10 & 11). Witney: Lightmoor Press Association. ISSN   1352-7991.

External links

• Media related to Aspatria railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Train times and station information for Aspatria railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Wigton		Northern Trains Cumbrian Coast Line		Maryport
	Historical railways
Brayton		Maryport and Carlisle Railway		Arkleby
	Disused railways
Baggrow		Maryport and Carlisle Railway		Arkleby