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.
Aspatria  | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Location | Aspatria, Cumberland England |
| Coordinates | 54°45′33″N 3°19′53″W / 54.7592673°N 3.3312585°W |
| Grid reference | NY143412 |
| Owned by | Network Rail |
| Managed by | Northern Trains |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Tracks | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | ASP |
| Classification | DfT category F2 |
| History | |
| Original company | Maryport and Carlisle Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Maryport and Carlisle Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region) |
| Key dates | |
| 12 April 1841 | Opened |
| Passengers | |
| 2018/19 |  21,026 |
| 2019/20 |  29,096 |
| 2020/21 | 9,968 |
| 2021/22 | 25,962 |
| 2022/23 | 27,878 |
| Location | |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
History edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
References edit
- ^ "Cumbria Railways - The Bolton Loop Maryport and Carlisle Railway". www.cumbria-railways.co.uk.
- ^ "Aspatria Signal Box". Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ Aspatria station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 20 December 2016
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Cumbria's west coast rail services reinstated after 40 years". BBC News. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Baldwin, Beth. "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.
- ^ "Northern yet to fix Aspatria mispronunciation". 5 February 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
Sources edit
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
- Marshall, J. (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6
- Station on navigable Ordnance Survey map
Further reading edit
External links edit
Media related to Aspatria railway station at Wikimedia Commons- Train times and station information for Aspatria railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station |  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 | ||