Aspatria railway station

Aspatria
National Rail
General information
LocationAspatria, Cumberland
England
Coordinates54°45′33″N 3°19′53″W / 54.7592673°N 3.3312585°W / 54.7592673; -3.3312585
Grid referenceNY143412
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeASP
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyMaryport and Carlisle Railway
Pre-groupingMaryport and Carlisle Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
12 April 1841Opened
Passengers
2019/20Increase 29,096
2020/21Decrease 9,968
2021/22Increase 25,962
2022/23Increase 27,878
2023/24Increase 28,040
Location
Aspatria is located in the former Allerdale Borough
Aspatria
Aspatria
Location in Allerdale, Cumbria
Aspatria is located in Cumbria
Aspatria
Aspatria
Location in Cumbria, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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

History

The station was opened by the Maryport and Carlisle Railway on 12 April 1841, although the line heading north-east to Wigton was not completed until 1845.

The station was once the junction for the branch line to Mealsgate. Passenger trains on this line began on 2 April 1866, but ceased on 22 September 1930. Complete closure of the line followed on 1 December 1952.[1]

The station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, and then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Railways.

The station signal box was the last surviving example built by the Maryport and Carlisle company, prior to its closure and demolition in 1998.[2]

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has no ticket machine (though one is to be installed during 2019), so tickets must be purchased prior to travel or on the train (the main buildings are now in private residential use). Shelters are located on both platforms. Timetable posters, digital information screens and a telephone are provided to give train running information, whilst there is also public wifi access on offer. The platforms are linked by footbridge and there is step-free access to each one.[3]

Services

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

Following the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by an hourly service between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, with some trains continuing to Lancaster. During the evening, the station is served by an hourly service between Carlisle and Whitehaven. All services are operated by Northern Trains.[4]

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

In May 2018, Northern introduced a Sunday service between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness, the first Sunday service to operate south of Whitehaven for over 40 years.[5][6]

On 5 February 2024 Northern was criticised for continuing to mispronounce the station name, six months after its announcements had been re-recorded. The name was still being announced "As-spat-ria" rather than "As-spay-tria". The company said it was aiming to complete the roll-out of its updates by the "summer".[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cumbria Railways - The Bolton Loop Maryport and Carlisle Railway". www.cumbria-railways.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Aspatria Signal Box". Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  3. ^ Aspatria station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 20 December 2016
  4. ^ "Train times: Carlisle to Preston and Manchester via Cumbrian Coast and Windermere to Manchester Airport" (PDF). Northern Trains. 16 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Cumbria's west coast rail services reinstated after 40 years". BBC News. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  6. ^ Baldwin, Beth (21 May 2018). "Long-awaited train service connecting Barrow and Millom returns after 40 years". Whitehaven News. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Northern yet to fix Aspatria mispronunciation". 5 February 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

Sources

Further reading

  • Thomas, Anne; Thomas, Bill (1996). Neil, Parkhouse (ed.). "J Harris - Sole owner". Archive (9, 10 & 11). Witney: Lightmoor Press Association. ISSN 1352-7991.
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Wigton   Northern Trains
Cumbrian Coast Line
  Maryport
  Historical railways  
Brayton   Maryport and Carlisle Railway   Arkleby
Disused railways
Baggrow   Maryport and Carlisle Railway   Arkleby