Place Wennington Managed by Northern 2011/12 3,338 Number of platforms 2 Station code WNN | Grid reference SD616699 DfT category F2 2012/13 2,948 | |
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Address Lancaster LA2 8PB, United Kingdom Post-grouping London Midland and Scottish Railway Original company "Little" North Western Railway Similar Bentham railway station, Heysham Port railway st, Bare Lane railway station, Lazonby and Kirkoswal, Langwathby railway station | ||
Wennington railway station serves the village of Wennington in Lancashire, England. It is situated on the Leeds to Morecambe Line 15 3⁄4 miles (25 km) northeast of Lancaster and operated by Northern, who provide all passenger train services.
Contents
History
Originally opened by the "Little" North Western Railway in 1849 on their line between Skipton and Morecambe, the station was rebuilt & expanded in 1865 prior to the opening of the Furness and Midland Joint Railway from Carnforth in 1867. Thereafter it became a busy junction, with many passenger trains calling to detach through carriages for Carnforth from the main Morecambe portion if heading west or attaching them if heading east. A number of local services (mainly from the Carnforth line) also originated or terminated there.
Much of this activity ended with the withdrawal of local stopping trains on the Carnforth line in 1960 (though it remained in use for through services) and the closure of the Lancaster line to passengers in January 1966. The latter was then closed to all traffic the following year and subsequently lifted, although the abandoned trackbed can still be seen. The original station buildings have also been demolished and replaced by shelters, although the signal box remained in use as the last remaining block post on the line until 1988 - it was then closed & permanently "switched out" but wasn't formally abolished and removed until 2006.
The junction was the site of a derailment on 11 August 1880 in which eight people were killed.
Facilities
The station is unstaffed and has no ticket-buying facilities. Passengers therefore must purchase these on the train or in advance of their journey. Train running information is provided by telephone and information posters. Step-free access is only available for the eastbound platform, as the westbound one can only be reached by footbridge.
Services
From Monday to Saturday, there are five daily services to Lancaster (journey time 25mins) and to Skipton & Leeds (1hr20). All but the first of the daily westbound departures continue onwards to Morecambe.
On Sundays there are four services in each direction all year round since the May 2011 timetable change - prior to this the first two departures each way ran only during the summer months.