Ulverston railway station

Ulverston railway station is a Grade II listed[1] railway station that serves the town of Ulverston in Cumbria, England.

Ulverston
Location
Place	Ulverston
Local authority	South Lakeland
Grid reference	SD284778
Operations
Station code	ULV
Managed by	Northern
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	0.268 million
2015/16	0.270 million
2016/17	0.302 million
2017/18	0.307 million
2018/19	0.280 million
History
Key dates	Opened 1857 (1857)
Listed status
Listed feature	Ulverston Railway Station including Nightclub Premises
Listing grade	Grade II listed
Entry number	1270170[1]
Added to list	24 June 1974
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ulverston from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

It is located on the Furness Line from Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster. It is operated by Northern, who replaced former manager First TransPennine Express at the beginning of April 2016.

The station is owned by Network Rail and is served by local services operated by Northern from Lancaster to Barrow-in-Furness (with some continuing to Sellafield or Carlisle via the Cumbrian Coast Line) and by semi-fast services from Preston and Manchester Airport. From December 2018, these will operate on an improved frequency (eight through trains to/from Manchester Airport per day instead of the current four).[2]

The current buildings are architecturally noteworthy and date from 1873, when they were rebuilt as befitting one of the main stations of the Furness Railway. The clock tower and glass awnings and supporting decorative ironwork, now extensively restored and repainted, are particularly fine. The passenger waiting room retains many period features.

History

The Furness Railway's line from Barrow & Dalton-in-Furness was the first railway to serve the town, being completed on 7 June 1854.[3] Three years later the Ulverston and Lancaster Railway opened the line southwards to Carnforth via Arnside and built a new through station on the current site, which opened on 26 August 1857,[4] leaving the old FR terminus to be used as a goods depot. The Furness Railway then took over the Ulverston & Lancaster company in 1862.

The unusual platform layout (where the northbound line has a face on both sides) is a legacy of the station's former role as the interchange for the branch line to Lakeside, which diverged from the main line at Plumpton Junction a few miles to the south before heading north-eastwards through Greenodd & Haverthwaite, to its terminus at Lakeside on the southern shore of Windermere. The island platform allowed easy cross-platform interchange for those passengers travelling from the south changing onto the connecting service to Lakeside whilst those wishing to exit the station could do so by alighting on the opposite side platform. Today only platforms one and three are used.

The branch opened on 1 June 1869[5] and was well-patronised from the outset in the summer months by tourists, who could make a convenient transfer to the Windermere steamboats at Lakeside. The line was much quieter in winter though and year-round services ended in the autumn of 1938 - passenger trains thereafter running only during the summer. This continued until 6 September 1965,[6] when the line fell victim to the Beeching Axe. Its northern end was subsequently reopened on 2 May 1973[7]> as the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway but the remainder was lifted in the early seventies and the trackbed used for improvements to the A590 road (over which passengers must continue their journey if heading to Lakeside today).

Facilities

The station is fully staffed throughout the week (except in the late evening); the booking office and waiting room is located in the main building on platform 1 and a ticket machine is also available in this building.[8]

In 2007 new digital information screens were installed allowing passengers to see the status and timing of their train. These screens spent most of the New Year and Christmas period of 2007 and 2008 showing a Christmas message. These signs showed these messages until at least mid February 2008 but are now fully operational. Help points and an automated P.A system are also provided. The platforms are linked by a subway, but there is no step-free access to either platform.[8]

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.

There is normally one train per hour in each direction to Barrow and Lancaster on Monday to Saturday daytimes (with some peak period extras) [9]). A few through trains each day beyond Barrow to Carlisle via Whitehaven and one to Millom (connections for Cumbrian Coast stations are available at Barrow at other times). Southbound, a number of services continue through to Preston and Manchester Airport. A similar service operates on Sundays, with through trains to Carlisle now running (since the summer 2018 timetable change - the first time such trains have operated since 1976).

See also

• Listed buildings in Ulverston

Notes

1. Historic England, "Ulverston Railway Station including Nightclub Premises (1270170)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 January 2017
2. Northern Franchise Improvements - DfTDepartment for Transport; Retrieved 25 April 2016
3. History of the Furness Railway Accessed 2008-08-29
4. Butt 1995, p. 237.
5. Butt 1995, p. 109.
6. Butt 1995, p. 252.
7. Butt 1995, p. 115.
8. Ulverston Station Information National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 25 November 2016
9. GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 82

References

• 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.

External links

• Train times and station information for Ulverston railway station from National Rail

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Dalton		Northern Trains Furness Line		Cark and Cartmel
Barrow-in-Furness		Northern Trains Barrow-in-Furness - Manchester Airport		Cark and Cartmel (limited service)
Dalton (limited service)				Grange-over-Sands
Disused railways
Greenodd		Furness Railway Ulverston to Lakeside Line		Terminus