Whitehaven railway station

Last updated

Location map Borough of Copeland.svg
Red pog.svg
Whitehaven
Location in Copeland, Cumbria
Cumbria UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Whitehaven
Location in Cumbria, England
Whitehaven
National Rail logo.svg
Barrow bound DMU waiting to depart Whitehaven Station (geograph 6306361).jpg
General information
Location Whitehaven, Cumberland
England
Coordinates 54°33′12″N3°35′14″W / 54.5532204°N 3.5871793°W / 54.5532204; -3.5871793
Grid reference NX974188
Owned by Network Rail
Managed by Northern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2 (1 bay platform)
Other information
Station codeWTH
Classification DfT category E
History
Original company Whitehaven Junction Railway
Pre-grouping Furness Railway
London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
19 March 1847Opened as Whitehaven
20 December 1874Resited and renamed Whitehaven Bransty
6 May 1968Renamed Whitehaven
Passengers
2019/20Increase2.svg 0.270 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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

Contents

History

A 1904 Railway Clearing House junction diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Whitehaven (FR in blue; LNWR in red) Cleator Moor, Parton, Rowrah & Whitehaven RJD 075.jpg
A 1904 Railway Clearing House junction diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Whitehaven (FR in blue; LNWR in red)

The first station at Whitehaven was opened on 19 March 1847 by the Whitehaven Junction Railway (WJR), [1] as the terminus of their line from Maryport. [2] This station lay to the south of the present station, with the main entrance on Bransty Row. [nb 1]

On the southern side of the town, the first section of the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway (W&FJR) opened on 1 June 1849 from a terminus at Whitehaven (Preston Street) to Ravenglass, but there was no connection between this line and the WJR suitable for passenger trains. In between the two stations stood the town centre and, to the east of that, Hospital Hill; a tunnel 1,333 yards (1,219 m) long was built beneath the latter, being completed in July 1852. In 1854, the W&FJR passenger trains began using the WJR station at Whitehaven, with Preston Street becoming a goods-only station. [3] In 1865, the W&FJR was absorbed by the Furness Railway (FR) and, in 1866, the WJR was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). [2]

The LNWR station (formerly WJR) was replaced on 20 December 1874 by a new one named Whitehaven Bransty; it was jointly owned by the LNWR and the FR. This station had its name simplified to Whitehaven on 6 May 1968. [1] The original buildings were demolished and replaced by a modern single-story ticket hall in the mid-1980s. The former goods yard site beyond and behind platform one is now occupied by a supermarket.

The station formerly had four operational platforms, but only two remain in use today (the former platforms three and four having lost their tracks when the layout was simplified and the buildings replaced). The double line from Parton becomes single opposite the station signal box, which still bears the original station name Whitehaven Bransty; it then splits into two: one runs into platform one (a bay used by most terminating services from Carlisle) and the other runs into platform two, which is the through line to Sellafield, Millom and Barrow. Trains heading south must collect a token for the single line section to St Bees from a machine on the platform (with the co-operation of the signaller) before they can proceed. Conversely, trains from Barrow must surrender the token upon arrival; the driver returns it to the machine before departing for Workington; only then can the signaller allow another train to enter the single line section.

A Sunday service over the whole length of the Coastal route operated on a one-off basis on Sunday 27 September 2009; the first time a revenue earning passenger Sunday service operated south of Whitehaven since May 1976. This celebrated the ACoRP Community Rail Festival. An improved Sunday service has been introduced as part of the current Northern franchise. [4]

Facilities

The ticket office is open six days per week and is closed evenings and Sundays; there is also a ticket machine available. Digital display screens, a passenger announcement system and information posters provide train running information. Step-free access is available through the main building to both platforms. [5]

Services

Northern Trains
Route 6
Cumbrian Coast, Furness
& Windermere lines
BSicon KHSTa.svg
Carlisle
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Dalston
BSicon HST.svg
Wigton
BSicon HST.svg
Aspatria
BSicon HST.svg
Maryport
BSicon HST.svg
Flimby
BSicon HST.svg
Workington
BSicon HST.svg
Harrington
BSicon HST.svg
Parton
BSicon HST.svg
Whitehaven
BSicon HST.svg
Corkickle
BSicon HST.svg
St Bees
BSicon pHST.svg
Nethertown
BSicon pHST.svg
Braystones
BSicon HST.svg
Sellafield
BSicon HST.svg
Seascale
BSicon HST.svg
Drigg
BSicon INT.svg
Ravenglass
BSicon lDAMPF.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Bootle
BSicon HST.svg
Silecroft
BSicon HST.svg
Millom
BSicon HST.svg
Green Road
BSicon HST.svg
Foxfield
BSicon HST.svg
Kirkby-in-Furness
BSicon HST.svg
Askam
BSicon HST.svg
Barrow-in-Furness
BSicon HST.svg
Roose
BSicon HST.svg
Dalton
BSicon HST.svg
Ulverston
BSicon HST.svg
Cark & Cartmel
BSicon HST.svg
Kents Bank
BSicon HST.svg
Grange-over-Sands
BSicon HST.svg
Arnside
BSicon HST.svg
Silverdale
BSicon HST.svg
Carnforth
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon KHSTa.svg
Windermere
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Staveley
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Burneside
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Kendal
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Oxenholme Lake District
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BSicon BS2r.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Lancaster
BSicon HST.svg
Preston
BSicon HST.svg
Chorley
BSicon HST.svg
Bolton
BSicon INT.svg
Deansgate
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BSicon HST.svg
Manchester Oxford Road
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Manchester Piccadilly
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Manchester Airport
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Braystones & Nethertown
are request stops.

Northern Trains operates a generally hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Barrow-in-Furness; no late evening service operates south of here. A few through trains operate to/from Lancaster via the Furness line. [6]

Northern Rail introduced a regular Sunday through service to Barrow via the coast at the May 2018 timetable change - the first such service south of Whitehaven for more than 40 years. Services run approximately hourly from mid-morning until early evening, with later trains starting and terminating here. This represented a major upgrade on the previous infrequent service of four per day each way to/from Whitehaven only. [7] [8]

Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Parton   Northern Trains
Cumbrian Coast Line
  Corkickle
 Historical railways 
Parton   London and North Western Railway
Whitehaven Junction Railway
 Terminus
Terminus  Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway   Corkickle

Notes

  1. The grid reference of the former site at Bransty Row is:grid reference NX974186

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Butt 1995 , p. 248
  2. 1 2 Awdry 1990 , p. 110
  3. Rush 1973 , p. 34
  4. "Northern Franchise Improvements". Department for Transport. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  5. "Whitehaven station facilities". National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  6. "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  7. "August News". Copeland Rail Users Group. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  8. Table 100 National Rail timetable, December 2016

Sources

  • Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. CN 8983.
  • Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  • Joy, D. Cumbrian Coast Railways. Dalesman Publishing 1968.
  • Joy, D. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume XIV: The Lake Counties. David and Charles 1983. ISBN   0-946537-02-X
  • Quayle, H. Whitehaven - The Railways and Waggonways of a Unique Cumberland Port. Cumbrian Railways Association 2006. ISBN   978-0-9540232-5-6
  • Rush, Robert W. (1973). The Furness Railway 1843-1923. The Oakwood Library of Railway History. Lingfield: Oakwood Press. OL35.