Whitehaven railway station

Whitehaven railway station is a railway station serving the coastal town of Whitehaven 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.

Whitehaven
General information
Location	Whitehaven, Borough of Copeland England
Coordinates	54°33′12″N 3°35′14″W
Grid reference	NX974188
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2 (1 bay platform)
Other information
Station code	WTH
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Whitehaven Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Furness Railway London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
19 March 1847	Opened as Whitehaven
20 December 1874	Resited and renamed Whitehaven Bransty
6 May 1968	Renamed Whitehaven
Passengers
2018/19	0.221 million
2019/20	0.270 million
2020/21	67,378
2021/22	0.221 million
2022/23	0.241 million
Location Whitehaven Location in Copeland, Cumbria Whitehaven Location in Cumbria, England
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

A 1904 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Whitehaven (FR in blue; LNWR in red)

The first station at Whitehaven was opened on 19 March 1847 by the Whitehaven Junction Railway (WJR) as the terminus of their line from Maryport. This station lay to the south of the present station, with the main entrance on Bransty Row (at grid reference NX974186).

On the southern side of the town, the first section of the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway (W&FJR) opened on 1 June 1849 from a terminus at Whitehaven (Preston Street) to Ravenglass, but there was no connection between this line and the WJR suitable for passenger trains. In between the two stations stood the town centre, and to the east of that Hospital Hill, so a tunnel 1,333 yards (1,219 m) long was built beneath the latter, being completed in July 1852. In 1854, the W&FJR passenger trains began using the WJR station at Whitehaven (Preston Street becoming a goods-only station). In 1865, the W&FJR was absorbed by the Furness Railway (FR), and in 1866, the WJR was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).

The LNWR station (formerly WJR) was replaced on 20 December 1874 by a new one named Whitehaven Bransty; it was jointly owned by the LNWR and the FR. This station had its name simplified to Whitehaven on 6 May 1968. The original buildings were demolished and replaced by a modern single-story ticket hall in the mid-1980s. The former goods yard site beyond and behind platform one is now occupied by a supermarket.

The station formerly had four operational platforms, but today only two remain in use (the former platforms three and four having lost their tracks when the layout was simplified and the buildings replaced). The double line from Parton becomes single opposite the station signal box (which still bears the original station name Whitehaven Bransty) and then splits into two - one runs into platform one (a bay used by most terminating services from Carlisle) and the other runs into platform two, which is the through line to Sellafield, Millom and Barrow. Trains heading south must collect a token for the single line section to St Bees from a machine on the platform (with the co-operation of the signaller) before they can proceed. Conversely trains from Barrow must surrender the token upon arrival, the driver returning it to the machine before departing for Workington. Only then can the signaller allow another train to enter the single line section.

Facilities

The ticket office is open six days per week (closed evenings and Sundays) and there is also a ticket machine available. Digital display screens, a P.A. system and information posters provide train running information. Step-free access is available through the main building to both platforms.

Services

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

There is generally an hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Barrow-in-Furness (no late evening service operates south of here). A few through trains operate to/from Lancaster via the Furness line.

Train operator Northern introduced a regular Sunday through 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 mid-morning until early evening, with later trains starting and terminating here. This represents a major upgrade on the former infrequent service of four per day each way to/from Whitehaven only that previously operated.

A Sunday service over the whole length of the Coastal route operated on a one-off basis on Sunday 27 September 2009 (the first time a revenue earning passenger Sunday service operated south of Whitehaven since May 1976) to celebrate the ACoRP Community Rail Festival. An improved Sunday service has been introduced as part of the current Northern franchise.

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. CN 8983.
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
• Joy, D. Cumbrian Coast Railways. Dalesman Publishing 1968.
• Joy, D. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume XIV: The Lake Counties. David and Charles 1983. ISBN 0-946537-02-X
• Quayle, H. Whitehaven - The Railways and Waggonways of a Unique Cumberland Port. Cumbrian Railways Association 2006. ISBN 978-0-9540232-5-6
• Rush, Robert W. (1973). The Furness Railway 1843-1923. The Oakwood Library of Railway History. Lingfield: Oakwood Press. OL35.

External links

• Media related to Whitehaven railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Train times and station information for Whitehaven railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Parton		Northern Trains Cumbrian Coast line		Corkickle
	Historical railways
Parton		London and North Western Railway Whitehaven Junction Railway		Terminus
Terminus		Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway		Corkickle