Barrow-in-Furness railway station

Barrow-in-Furness railway station is a railway station serving Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, England. It is the western terminus of the Furness Line to Lancaster and the southern terminus of the Cumbrian Coast Line to Carlisle, both of which connect to the West Coast Mainline. The station is owned by Network Rail and is operated by Northern, which provides all passenger train services.

Barrow-in-Furness
The station viewed from Abbey Road
Location
Place	Barrow-in-Furness
Local authority	Barrow-in-Furness
Coordinates	54.119°N 3.226°W / 54.119; -3.226
Grid reference	SD199699
Operations
Station code	BIF
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	3
DfT category	D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.650 million
2015/16	0.631 million
2016/17	0.653 million
2017/18	0.652 million
2018/19	0.626 million
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Barrow-in-Furness from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

Barrow Central from the south about 1910

The present station was formerly known as Barrow Central and at one time it was a terminus for British Rail long-distance or InterCity services. From October 1947 until May 1983 these included sleeper services to and from London Euston. A sleeper service in the London direction only was briefly reintroduced between May 1987 and May 1990.

The original Barrow station of 1846 had been a wooden building at Rabbit Hill, near the site of the present St. George's Square. It was eventually replaced in 1863 by a new brick building close by, which had been designed by the Lancaster architect Edward Paley, and which latterly came to be known as Cambridge Hall. On 1 June 1882, the town's principal station was transferred to its present site below Abbey Road, following the construction of a new loop line. It had to be almost entirely rebuilt in the late 1950s,[1] after World War II, having largely been destroyed by enemy bombing on 7 May 1941. From 1907–1941, the Furness Railway steam locomotive "Coppernob" was preserved in a special glass case outside the station. It was subsequently transferred away for additional security and is now in the National Railway Museum at York.

Services

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.

The World War I memorial found inside the station also shows damage from World War II bombing

Services to the north are provided on Monday-Saturday by Northern, with services approximately hourly during the day to Whitehaven and Carlisle. One train per day operates to Sellafield specifically for workers at Sellafield nuclear plant (BNFL). Evening trains run only as far as Millom. There are 19 northbound departures each weekday; 15 of these go to Carlisle, three to Millom and one to Sellafield. There are 20 arrivals from the Northern part of the line: 15 from Carlisle, three from Millom, one from Maryport and one from Sellafield. Some of these services continue along the Furness Line to Lancaster and Preston.[2]

To the south, there are stopping services to Lancaster (some go as far as Preston) and a few semi-fast services to Manchester Airport. These operate on a broadly hourly frequency, with a few peak extras throughout the week (including Sundays).[3]

An improved Northern service was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change, including evening and Sunday services over the line to Whitehaven and Carlisle. More trains to/from Preston & Manchester Airport are planned to follow when rolling stock becomes available.[4][5]

Layout

Platform 1, which contains the entrance to the station, is used primarily for Northern Rail through trains (from Lancaster/Preston to Carlisle) heading north, and trains heading to/arriving from Preston and Manchester Airport. The platform has a waiting area, the ticket office and information office and toilets, along with the cafe (run by Cafexpress), all of which have been recently renovated. In early 2012, the platform was also presented by pieces of artwork of the local area by the Mayor of Barrow and the Barrow and Furness MP.

Platform 2 is mainly used for Northern services heading south to Lancaster or Preston, and local trains arriving from Millom/Sellafield.

Platform 3 is a bay platform that can only be used by northbound trains to Millom and Carlisle. It is used several times each day.

In between Platforms 2 and 3 is an indoor waiting area, with live departures indicator, a vending machine and speakers. Further up and down the platform are printed timetables; the rest of the buildings contain offices for staff and British Transport Police.

There is a Northern train crew depot at the station and there are a number of sidings to the north used for servicing and stabling empty DMUs.

Recent renovations

The station has recently been renovated, with replacement of most of the old seating and waiting areas, and replacement of the ageing automatic doors within the station. Electronic information signs have been installed, along with improved CCTV after several incidents on the station. Ramps have been provided for access, and this is continuing with provision of better access to Platforms 2 and 3, which previously would have been accessible only via the very end of the platform. The station restaurant is also being upgraded.

In fiction

In the Railway Series books by the Rev. W Awdry, and the adapted television series Thomas & Friends, Barrow Central is the mainland terminus for the Fat Controller's or North Western Railway, and is connected to the fictional Island of Sodor by a bridge to Vickerstown or as it is known in the books Vicarstown.

Gallery

• 
  The station as it appeared between 1882 and 1941
• 
  The station immediately after World War II Luftwaffe bombing
• 
  The station in 1966
• 
  View towards Carlisle, June 1976
• 
  Looking along Platform 1 towards the bridge under Abbey Road
• 
  Main entrance to the station in October 2010

References

1. Railway Magazine March 1959 pp. 149-157 Dr M J Andrews: The Railways of Barrow
2. GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 100 (Network Rail)
3. GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 82 (Network Rail)
4. Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT Retrieved 25 April 2016
5. CRUG - August News Copeland Rail Users Group; Retrieved 4 August 2017

External links

• Train times and station information for Barrow-in-Furness railway station from National Rail

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Terminus		Northern Trains Furness Line		Roose
Askam		Northern Trains Cumbrian Coast Line		Terminus
Terminus		Northern Trains Barrow-in-Furness - Manchester Airport		Roose (limited service)
				Ulverston
	Historical railways
Island Road Line and station closed		Furness Railway		Roose Line and station open