Station code WTH DfT category E Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference NX974188 Managed by Northern 2011/12 0.254 million | |
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Similar Corkickle railway station, St Bees railway station, Sellafield railway station, Braystones railway station, Workington railway station | ||
Whitehaven railway station serves the town of Whitehaven in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line 39 miles (63 km) south west of Carlisle.
Contents
It is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services.
History
The first station at Whitehaven was opened on 19 March 1847 by the Whitehaven Junction Railway (WJR) as the terminus of their line from Maryport. This station lay to the south of the present station, with the main entrance on Bransty Row (at grid reference NX974186).
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, so 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 (Preston Street becoming a goods-only station). 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).
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. 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 today only two remain in use (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) and 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 returning it to the machine before departing for Workington. Only then can the signaller allow another train to enter the single line section.
Facilities
The ticket office is open six days per week (closed evenings and Sundays) and there is also a ticket machine available. Digital display screens, a P.A system and information posters provide train running information. Step-free access is available through the main building to both platforms.
Service
Following the December 2008 timetable changes, there have been modest improvements to the weekday service from the station. There is an hourly service northwards to Carlisle for much of the day (with one or two longer gaps in the late afternoon) and also southwards to Barrow-in-Furness from the morning business peak until early evening (eleven trains per day in total). Three of the latter continue via the Furness Line to Lancaster on weekdays (plus one extra on Saturdays only). There is no late evening service to Carlisle, although there is one service that runs as far as Workington on weekdays only. One train from the Carlisle direction runs through from Newcastle, but there is currently no corresponding service in the opposite direction.
On Sundays, four trains a day run to and from Carlisle (up from three prior to the December 2013 timetable change) but there is no service to Barrow.
A Sunday service over the whole length of the Coastal route operated on a one-off basis on Sunday 27 September 2009 (first time a revenue earning passenger service has operated south of Whitehaven since May 1976) to celebrate the ACoRP Community Rail Festival. If the Sunday service was a success, Northern hoped to gain funding to operate a Barrow-Carlisle Sunday service during the summer months from 2010; however this has not as yet (summer 2015) taken place. The new Northern franchise agreement (awarded to Arriva Rail North & due to come into effect in April 2016) does though include provision for a Sunday service over the full length of the route, as well as for a revamped & improved weekday timetable featuring six additional trains in each direction.