Jump to content

Carnforth railway station

Coordinates: 54°07′47″N 2°46′17″W / 54.1296244°N 2.7714886°W / 54.1296244; -2.7714886
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carnforth
National Rail
General information
LocationCarnforth, City of Lancaster
England
Coordinates54°07′47″N 2°46′17″W / 54.1296244°N 2.7714886°W / 54.1296244; -2.7714886
Grid referenceSD496706
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks4
Other information
Station codeCNF
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original company
Pre-grouping
Post-grouping
Key dates
22 September 1846L&CR: Opened as Carnforth–Yealand
6 June 1857U&LR: Opened as Carnforth
1 February 1864L&CR: Renamed Carnforth
2 August 1880L&CR and U&LR stations combined
1 May 1970West Coast Main Line platforms closed
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.167 million
2019/20Increase 0.189 million
2020/21Decrease 51,772
 Interchange  1,987
2021/22Increase 0.151 million
 Interchange Increase 11,282
2022/23Increase 0.162 million
 Interchange Increase 15,713
Location
Carnforth is located in the City of Lancaster district
Carnforth
Carnforth
Carnforth is located in Lancashire
Carnforth
Carnforth
Location in Lancashire, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Carnforth is a railway station on the Bentham and Furness Lines, 6 miles (10 km) north of Lancaster, England, which serves the market town of Carnforth, Lancashire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

[edit]

Carnforth railway station was opened on 22 September 1846 by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&CR). It had a single platform and was a second-class station. It became a junction on 6 June 1857, when the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway arrived from the north-west. The station served as the line's southern terminus. The Furness Railway took over the U&LR in 1862, and became the second major company operating to Carnforth.

The station was enlarged during the 1870s. In 1880, it began receiving trains from the Midland Railway, following the commissioning of a south-to-east direct curve to the Furness and Midland Joint Railway – creating a triangular junction.

The L&CR was taken over by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), with the station operated under a joint management by the Furness Railway and LNWR – the Midland Railway having running powers into the station. Station personnel wore a uniform with the initials CJS for Carnforth: Joint Station. The Furness Railway erected a distinctive stone-built signal box to the north-west of the station in 1882, used until 1903, and this survives preserved as a grade II listed building.[1]

A major rebuilding project, including a 300-yard long platform (currently used by northbound services), started in 1938 with government funding. With the opening of the new Platform on 3 July 1939, it brought the number of platforms in use to six. In 1942, the government approved the rebuilding of Carnforth MPD into a major regional railway depot – the work being completed in 1944.

The film Brief Encounter was partly filmed at the station in February 1945. The station clock became a powerful icon through repeated use in the film.

Withdrawal of West Coast Main Line services

[edit]

The West Coast Main Line (WCML) platforms were closed in May 1970, following the withdrawal of local stopping passenger services between Lancaster and Carlisle two years earlier. The platform walls facing the fast lines were demolished, cut back and fenced off before the commissioning of 25 kV overhead electrification in 1974. This made Carnforth a secondary line station, even though it is situated on the main line, as WCML trains cannot call.

In 2011, Network Rail rejected proposals to reopen the mainline platforms, stating that there would be too few passengers to justify slowing down mainline trains.[2] Only the former platforms 4 (the original Furness Railway through platform) and 6 (the LMS 1939 platform) remain in use (now renumbered 1 and 2); the old 'Midland bay' (No 5), which once catered for services on the Furness and Midland Joint Railway (between Carnforth and Skipton) has had its track removed.

Responsibility for the signalling at the station is divided between Preston PSB (main line) and the surviving manual ex-Furness Railway signal box at Carnforth Station Junction, sited just past the junction between the Barrow and Leeds lines. This has acted as the 'fringe' box to the PSB since the main line was resignalled in 1972/3. Two other boxes (F&M Junction and East Junction) were closed and demolished when the northern side of the triangle (avoiding the station) was decommissioned in 1998.

Refurbishment

[edit]

After lying in a semi-derelict state for many years, the station buildings were refurbished between 2000 and 2003 and returned to commercial use. An award-winning Heritage Centre including a small railway museum and the "Brief Encounter" refreshment room, a number of shops and a travel/ticket office occupy the buildings.

The outer half of the non-operational up main (southbound) platform is in use as the access route to the subway, the active platforms and tea room. Since the privatisation of British Rail, the station has been operated by First North Western (1997-2004), First TransPennine Express (2004-2016), Arriva Rail North (2016 to 2020) and Northern Trains (2020-Present)

Facilities

[edit]

The booking office is staffed part-time (six days per week, closed Sundays and public holidays). It is run by an independent retailer on behalf of the local authority but sells a full range of National Rail tickets.[3] Both platforms have waiting rooms and step-free access (by the aforementioned subway ramps) from the station entrance, whilst train running information is provided by automated PA announcements, timetable posters and digital information screens.

There is also a micropub called The Snug which was the first of its kind to be set up in the North West and has been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.[4] They host an annual beer festival inside the Heritage Centre in mid-to-late November.

To the west of the station lies Carnforth MPD, which is also the headquarters of West Coast Railways.

Services

[edit]

Bentham Line

[edit]
Northern Trains
Route 7
Settle & Carlisle
& Bentham lines
Carlisle
Armathwaite
Lazonby & Kirkoswald
Langwathby
Appleby
Kirkby Stephen
Garsdale
Dent
Ribblehead
Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Settle
Heysham Port
ferry/water interchange
Morecambe
Bare Lane
Lancaster
Carnforth
Wennington
Bentham
Clapham
Giggleswick
Long Preston
Hellifield
Gargrave
Skipton
Keighley
Bingley
Shipley
Leeds

As of the May 2023 timetable change, eight trains per day (five on Sunday) operate between Lancaster and Leeds via Skipton. Most run to and from Morecambe, though the first service of the day originates from Bradford Forster Square and terminates here (running empty to Lancaster to take up its return working).[5]

Rolling stock used: Class 150 Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

Furness Line

[edit]
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
Heritage railway
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 Metrolink
Manchester Oxford Road
Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Airport
Manchester Metrolink Airport interchange
Braystones & Nethertown
are request stops.

As of the May 2023 timetable change, eleven trains per day (seven on Sunday) operate between Manchester Airport and Barrow-in-Furness, with an hourly service running between Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness. Some trains continue to Carlisle via Whitehaven.[6]

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 195 Civity

Morecambe Branch Line

[edit]

A single early morning direct service to Morecambe (departing from Carnforth at 05:32), using the north curve at Hest Bank, operates on weekdays and Saturday. It is a parliamentary train, providing a statutory minimum service over this stretch of railway.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Historic England. "Carnforth Station Junction Signal Box (Grade II) (1078212)". National Heritage List for England.
  2. ^ Johnston, Howard (10 August 2011). "Regional News". Rail. Peterborough. p. 24.
  3. ^ Carnforth Station Details National Rail Enquiries station page; Retrieved 25 November 2016
  4. ^ "The Snug Micropub".
  5. ^ Table 35 National Rail timetable, May 2023
  6. ^ Table 100 National Rail timetable, May 2023
[edit]
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Wennington   Northern Trains
Bentham Line
  Lancaster
Silverdale   Northern Trains
Furness Line
  Lancaster
Reversal   Northern Trains
Morecambe Branch Line
  Lancaster
    Bare Lane
  Historical railways  
Silverdale   Furness Railway
Ulverston and Lancaster Railway
  Bolton-le-Sands
Borwick   Furness and Midland Joint Railway   Bolton-le-Sands
Burton and Holme   Lancaster and Carlisle Railway   Bolton-le-Sands