Place Windermere Managed by Northern 2011/12 0.372 million Number of platforms 1 20 April 1847 Opened Station code WDM | Grid reference SD413986 DfT category E 2012/13 0.375 million Key dates Opened 1847 | |
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Address Lake District National Park, Windermere LA23 1AH, United Kingdom Original company Kendal and Windermere Railway Similar Oxenholme Lake District rai, Kendal railway station, Windermere, Orrest Head, The World of Beatrix Potter Attr | ||
Windermere railway station is the railway station that serves Windermere in Cumbria, England. It is just south of the A591, about 25 min walk or a short bus ride from the lake. The station is located behind a branch of the Booths supermarket chain, which occupies the site of the original station building, in front of the Lakeland store. It is the terminus of the former Kendal and Windermere Railway single-track Windermere Branch Line, with a single platform (much longer than the trains usually seen here today) serving one terminal track.
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The Terrace, a row of cottages, built for railway executives in 1849, are said to have been designed by the famous architect Augustus Pugin. One of the fireplaces is a copy of one of his in the Palace of Westminster.
The selection of the town of Birthwaite as the location of the station serving the lake was what led to it taking the name Windermere, even though it is not on the water (nowadays it has essentially grown together with Bowness-on-Windermere, which touches the lake).
Layout
The station was at one time bigger than this, with four platforms and an overall roof. Three tracks were taken out of use when the branch was reduced to a one-train operated single line in 1973 as an economy measure. The single track was cut back to a new truncated station in 1986 following the demolition of the trainshed and the building of a supermarket, which incorporates the facade and canopy of the original station. The Booths supermarket has also been designed to mimic the appearance of the original trainshed.
Current services
Northern run a mixture of Class 185 and class 156 diesel multiple units along the line, which runs through Staveley, Burneside, and Kendal, and then interchanges with Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line services at Oxenholme Lake District. A couple of services per day then run to Manchester Airport, while a few continue beyond Oxenholme but only as far as Lancaster or Preston. There is also a service to Blackpool North every weeknight and a daily service from Barrow-in-Furness. The station is also a hub for Stagecoach bus services connecting Windermere with Coniston, Grasmere, Keswick, Kendal and other destinations in Cumbria. Stagecoach also run regular buses through the town to the lake at Bowness-on-Windermere on the 599 route; these buses are open-top double-decker buses and run every 20 minutes in the summer. The 597 minibus service links the station with the housing estates and health centre three mornings a week.
Future services
The nature of the Oxenholme to Windermere line would make it difficult to run additional services on the line. However, Network Rail are looking at the possibility of an infill electrification project to allow direct electric services to operate between Manchester and Windermere after electrification of the Deansgate-Bolton-Leyland line and extra capacity on the line to allow new direct services to London Euston. This was confirmed in late 2014 - the £16 million scheme is due for completion in 2017. Under the new rail franchise agreements for the north of England awarded in December 2015, responsibility for operating the line passed from First TransPennine Express to Northern in April 2016.