Morpeth railway station

Morpeth railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the town of Morpeth, Northumberland. It is 285 miles 6 chains (458.8 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated between Cramlington to the south and Pegswood to the north. Its three-letter station code is MPT.

Morpeth
Morpeth in 2007
Location
Place	Morpeth
Local authority	County of Northumberland
Coordinates	55.1622°N 1.6829°W / 55.1622; -1.6829
Grid reference	NZ202853
Operations
Station code	MPT
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.335 million
2015/16	0.357 million
2016/17	0.382 million
2017/18	0.418 million
2018/19	0.475 million
– Interchange	1,130
History
Original company	Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
1 March 1847 (1847-03-01)[1]	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Morpeth from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station is managed by Northern Trains with services provided by Northern Trains, CrossCountry, LNER and TransPennine Express.

History

Morpeth station was opened by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway on 1 March 1847.[1] It was designed by Benjamin Green in the Scottish Baronial style and retains its original station buildings.

A severe ninety degree curve in the line of the railway immediately to the south of the station has been the site of four serious rail accidents, two of them fatal.

Blyth and Tyne Railway

Another station was opened by the Blyth and Tyne Railway on 1 April 1858 and closed 24 May 1880.[2] This was a terminus station that was also used by North British Railway trains from the west from Scotsgap.[3] From the opening of their line in 1862 until 1872.[4] The B&T line to Bedlington lost its passenger trains in April 1950 (although occasional summer services between Scotland and the North Eastern coastal resorts continued operating over it until the 1960s), but it remains in use for freight and may have its passenger trains restored in the future (as an extension of the current local stopping service) - the South East Northumberland Rail User Group is currently campaigning for this.[5] The current local service from Newcastle that terminates here uses the connection onto the B&T line north of the station to reverse and layover clear of the main line between trips.

Passenger trains over the old NBR line from Scotsgap, Reedsmouth and Rothbury ended in September 1952[6] and it closed completely in 1966 - few traces of this route now remain.

Facilities

In December 2011, a self-service FastTicket machine was installed by Northern Rail for use outside the hours of operation of the ticket office (06:40 -12:40, Mondays to Saturdays only). Pre-purchased tickets can now also be collected from Morpeth. The ticket office is located on the eastern side of the line in the main station building, which also has a taxi office and toilets. The opposite (northbound) platform has a waiting shelter and the two are linked by a subway with lifts for wheelchair and mobility impaired users.[7] Train running information is supplied via timetable posters and digital display screens.[8]

A £2.4 million redevelopment of the station was approved in October 2016 and was started in October 2018 - this will see the main buildings refurbished and the portico entrance modernised to incorporate a cafeteria, expanded ticket office and upgraded toilets. 5,382 square feet (500 m²) of office space would also be created for local small businesses. The project is being led by Greater Morpeth Development Trust and Northumberland County Council, with financial support from the Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail, Northern and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.[9]

Services

Northern Trains

Northern Trains Route 1: East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line to Edinburgh Chathill Alnmouth Acklington Widdrington Pegswood Morpeth Cramlington Manors Durham Coast Line to Middlesbrough Newcastle Tyne Valley Line to Carlisle East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross

Monday to Saturdays: There is a regular hourly service to Newcastle. Most trains start or terminate here though there are two trains per day which operate to/from Chathill in the morning and evening peaks. Nearly all trains continue via the Tyne Valley line to and from Carlisle since the May 2019 timetable change. On Sundays, a two-hourly service operates to/from here to the MetroCentre with no service to/from Chathill.[10]

LNER

London North Eastern Railway routes
Inverness Aviemore Kingussie Pitlochry Perth Gleneagles Stirling Falkirk Grahamston Aberdeen Stonehaven Montrose Arbroath Dundee Leuchars Kirkcaldy Inverkeithing Glasgow Central Motherwell Haymarket Edinburgh Waverley Dunbar Berwick-upon-Tweed Alnmouth Morpeth Sunderland Newcastle Durham Darlington Northallerton York Leeds Skipton Keighley Bradford Forster Square Shipley Harrogate Horsforth Leeds Wakefield Westgate Hull Brough Selby Doncaster Retford Lincoln Newark North Gate Grantham Peterborough Stevenage London King's Cross

LNER provide a limited service: There are seven trains per day northbound to Edinburgh Waverley (one of which extends to Aberdeen) and seven trains per day southbound; five go to London King's Cross, one terminates at Leeds and one only goes as far as Newcastle.

CrossCountry

A small number of CrossCountry services stop here as well as those of LNER - five each way on weekdays and Saturdays, plus three on Sundays in the December 2018 timetable. Southbound, these run to Birmingham New Street and then onward to the south west of England.[11]

TransPennine Express

In December 2019, TransPennine Express began operating an hourly service between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh Waverley with Class 802s and run non-stop to Edinburgh after calling at Morpeth.[12]

Future

In May 2016, the Office of Rail and Road granted operating rights to new operator East Coast Trains to operate services from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley via Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth. This service is projected to start operating in 2021.[13][14][15]

References

Notes

1. Butt 1995, p. 163
2. "Northumbrian Railways; Blyth and Tyne stations". Northumbrian-railways.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
3. "SENRUG // South East Northumberland Rail User Group: Morpeth 'Then & Now'". Senrug.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
4. Disused Stations - Morpeth B & T www.disused-stations.org.uk; Retrieved 2013-12-04
5. "Re-open Ashington Blyth Tyne Line". Senrug.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
6. Body (1989), p.126
7. Morpeth station facilities National Rail Enquiries
8. Morpeth station in 2015 Thomas, J Geograph.org.uk; Retrieved 6 February 2017
9. "Full steam ahead for £1.7m redevelopment of Morpeth Railway Station" Muncaster, Michael Chronicle Live news article 2 November 2016; Retrieved 6 February 2017
10. Table 48 National Rail timetable, May 2019
11. Table 51 National Rail timetable, December 2018
12. December 2019 Timetable Changes TransPennine Express
13. Applications for the East Coast Main Line Office of Rail and Road 12 May 2016
14. First Group to run Edinburgh to London budget rail service BBC News 12 May 2016
15. VTEC and FirstGroup granted East Coast Main Line paths Railway Gazette International 12 May 2016

Sources

• Body, G. (1989). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2: Northern operating area (1st ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0072-1. OCLC 59892452.

• 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 (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.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

• Morpeth Station on navigable 1947 OS map
• RAILSCOT on Newcastle and Berwick Railway
• RAILSCOT on Wansbeck Railway
• RAILSCOT on Morpeth Branch (Blyth and Tyne Railway)
• Morpeth Station history page from the South East Northumberland Rail User Group

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Newcastle		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Alnmouth
		London North Eastern Railway London-Edinburgh
Cramlington		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line		Pegswood
Newcastle		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Alnmouth or Edinburgh Waverley
	Future Services
Newcastle		East Coast Trains East Coast Main Line London – Edinburgh		Edinburgh Waverley
	Historical railways
Stannington Line open; Station closed		North Eastern Railway Newcastle and Berwick Railway		Pegswood Line and Station open
Meldon Line and Station closed		North British Railway Wansbeck Railway		Terminus
Terminus		North Eastern Railway Blyth and Tyne Railway		Hepscott Line open; Station closed