Aspatria railway station

Aspatria railway station serves the town of Aspatria in Cumbria, England. The railway station is on part of the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line 20 miles (32 km) south west of Carlisle. The station is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services.

Aspatria
Location
Place	Aspatria
Local authority	Allerdale
Coordinates	54.759°N 3.332°W / 54.759; -3.332
Grid reference	NY143412
Operations
Station code	ASP
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	27,682
2015/16	26,842
2016/17	25,904
2017/18	22,420
2018/19	21,026
History
Key dates	Opened 12 April 1841 (12 April 1841)
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Aspatria from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Maryport and Carlisle Railway
West Coast Main Line to Glasgow and Edinburgh Carlisle Citadel West Coast Main Line to London Cummersdale Dalston Curthwaite Crofton private station Wigton Brookfield Aikbank Junction Leegate Solway Junction Rly Brayton High Blaithwaite Mealsgate Allhallows Colliery Baggrow Aspatria Arkleby (closed 1852) Bullgill Dearham Bridge Maryport Cumbrian Coast line Dearham Linefoot Linefoot Junction Cleator and Workington Junction Railway Dovenby Lodge Papcastle Cockermouth and Workington Railway Brigham Cockermouth and Workington Railway

History

Opened by the Maryport and Carlisle Railway in 1841 (although the line through to Carlisle was not completed until 1845), the station was once the junction for the branch line to Mealsgate. Passenger trains on this route began in 1866 but ceased in September 1930 and complete closure followed in 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 & 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]

Service

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

There is generally an hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Whitehaven with most trains going onward to Barrow-in-Furness (no late evening service operates south of Whitehaven).[4] In the current (winter 2019-20) timetable, all scheduled stops are now mandatory rather than on request.

Train operator Northern introduced a regular through Sunday service to Barrow via the coast at the May 2018 timetable change - the first such service south of Whitehaven for more than 40 years. Services run approximately hourly from late morning until early evening, with later trains terminating at Whitehaven. This represents a major upgrade on the former infrequent service of four per day each way to/from Whitehaven only that previously operated.

See also

• Listed buildings in Aspatria

Notes

1. The Bolton Loop
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. GB eNRT December 2019 Edition, Table 100

References

• Marshall, J (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6
• Butt, R. V. J. (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.
• 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.
• Station on navigable O.S. map

External links

• Train times and station information for Aspatria railway station from National Rail
• The station, via Holme St Cuthbert History Group

Further reading

• Thomas, Anne; Thomas, Bill (1996). Neil, Parkhouse (ed.). "J Harris - Sole owner". Archive. Witney: Lightmoor Press Association (9, 10 & 11). ISSN 1352-7991.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Wigton		Northern Cumbrian Coast Line		Maryport
Historical railways
Brayton Line open, station closed		Maryport and Carlisle Railway Cumbrian Coast Line		Arkleby Line open, station closed
Disused railways
Baggrow Line and station closed		Maryport and Carlisle Railway Bolton Loop		Arkleby Line open, station closed