Place High Bentham Station code BEN DfT category F2 Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SD667689 Managed by Northern 2011/12 25,014 | |
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Address Bentham, Lancaster LA2 7LJ, United Kingdom Original company "Little" North Western Railway Similar Giggleswick railway station, Horton‑in‑Ribblesdale railway station, Wennington railway station, Heysham Port railway st, Lazonby and Kirkoswal | ||
Bentham railway station serves the small town of High Bentham in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Leeds to Morecambe Line, between Wennington and Clapham, 19 miles (31 km) east of Lancaster. It is the nearest station to Ingleton, North Yorkshire.
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History
The station was opened on 1 June 1850 by the "little" North Western Railway, later taken over by the Midland Railway. During part of the 19th century, it was known as Bentham High as the neighbouring settlement of Low Bentham also had its own station (although this only lasted for three years, being closed to passenger traffic in 1853).
The station building (built in 1955/56 after the original Midland structure was demolished by British Railways) is now privately owned, the station having been reduced to unstaffed halt status in October 1970. It has had its own community volunteer support group (The Friends of Bentham Station) since September 2011, which is based in the aforementioned building on the eastbound platform and has support from various local organisations (such as the route's Rail User Group, Craven District Council & the Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe Line Community Rail Partnership).
Facilities
Timetable posters and digital information screens on both platforms provide train running information. The station is not DDA-compliant, as both platforms can only be reached via staircases from the overbridge at the eastern end of the station.
Services
All services are operated by Northern. There are five services each way on weekdays and Saturdays. Westbound, trains run to Wennington, Carnforth, Lancaster and Morecambe (including one through train to Heysham Port), whilst trains in the other direction run to Clapham, Giggleswick, Skipton and Leeds. Connections for Bradford Forster Square are available at Shipley, although through trains do operate occasionally if the line to Leeds is closed for engineering work.
On Sundays there are now four services in each direction throughout the year - prior to the May 2011 timetable change the two morning services from Leeds and their corresponding return workings ran only during the summer months. The new Northern franchise that began April 2016 will see further service and rolling stock improvements implemented. These include the addition of two extra weekday and one Sunday train each way (likely in December 2017), timetable alterations to give better journey opportunities for commuters to both Leeds and Lancaster and the removal of "Pacer" DMUs from the route by 2019.