Carlisle railway station

Carlisle
Carlisle Citadel
Location
Place	Carlisle
Local authority	City of Carlisle
Coordinates	54°53′28″N 2°56′02″W / 54.891°N 2.934°W / 54.891; -2.934Coordinates: 54°53′28″N 2°56′02″W / 54.891°N 2.934°W / 54.891; -2.934
Grid reference	NY401555
Operations
Station code	CAR
Managed by	Virgin Trains
Owned by	Network Rail
Number of platforms	8
DfT category	B
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	1.170 million
2005/06	1.297 million
2006/07	1.366 million
2007/08	1.470 million
2008/09	1.710 million
2009/10	1.617 million
2010/11	1.741 million
2011/12	1.787 million
- Interchange	0.326 million
2012/13	1.770 million
- Interchange	0.320 million
2013/14	1.815 million
- Interchange	0.327 million
2014/15	1.909 million
- Interchange	0.351 million
History
Original company	Caledonian Railway/Lancaster and Carlisle Railway joint
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway/London and North Western Railway joint
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 September 1847	Opened as Carlisle Citadel
1875	Extended
(after 1948)	Renamed Carlisle
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Carlisle from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station serving the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying 102 miles (164 km) south of Glasgow Central, and 299 miles (481 km) north of London Euston. It is also the northern terminus of the celebrated Settle and Carlisle Line – notionally (and historically) a continuation of the Midland Main Line from Leeds, Sheffield and ultimately London St Pancras. It is a Grade II* listed building.^[1]

History

The station was built in 1847, in a neo-Tudor style to the designs of William Tite.^[2] It was then one of a number of stations in the city – the others were at Crown Street (Maryport & Carlisle Railway) and London Road (Newcastle and Carlisle Railway) – but had become the main one by 1851; it was expanded and extended in 1875–76, with the arrival of the Midland Railway (who became the seventh different company to serve it).

The Beeching Axe saw two significant rail closures including the former North British Railway lines to Silloth (closed on 7 September 1964) and Edinburgh via Galashiels (the Waverley Line, closed on 6 January 1969). The closure programme also claimed the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway and Portpatrick Railway (the "Port Road") in 1965, resulting in a significant mileage increase via the Glasgow South Western Line & Ayr to reach Stranraer Harbour and thus Northern Ireland.

The layout has though undergone few changes of any significance other than the singling of the ex-NER Tyne Valley route down to London Road Junction as part of the 1972–73 re-signalling scheme associated with WCML electrification.

A 1912 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Carlisle (shown here as CITADEL STATION)

Rail network in the Carlisle area
Legend
Caledonian Railway Main Line West Coast Main Line Northbound Waverley Route to Edinburgh Glasgow, Dumfries & Carlisle Rly Glasgow South Western Line to Gretna Green   Gretna Junction Scotland England Gretna Longtown Longtown MOD Depot Floriston Lyneside Harker Rockcliffe Kingmoor Marshalling Yard Brunthill Stainton Carlisle and Port Carlisle Railway and Dock Company Etterby Junction Port Carlisle Junction Carlisle Kingmoor TMD Willowholme Junction Port Carlisle Branch Junction Caldew Junction Carlisle Citadel Carlisle South Junction Rome Street Junction London Road Junction Currock Junction Upperby Junction Maryport and Carlisle Railway Cumbrian Coast Line Upperby TMD to Barrow-in-Furness    Upperby Bridge Junction Brisco Carlisle London Road Wreay Petteril Bridge Junction Lancaster and Carlisle Railway West Coast Main Line Southbound Settle and Carlisle Line to Settle Newcastle and Carlisle Railway to Newcastle

Accidents and incidents

• On 6 June 1961, a light engine and a freight train collided under the Caldewgate road bridge.^[3]
• On 1 May 1984, a runaway freight train destroyed the River Caldew bridge at Dentonholme, leading to the permanent closure of the goods line.^[4]

Layout and services

Station frontage

Long-distance services are operated by Virgin Trains, with the main routes being London Euston–Glasgow Central and Scotland–Birmingham New Street. Caledonian Sleeper passengers from/to London Euston may also alight/board here. Northern Rail operate local stopping services to Newcastle Central via the Tyne Valley Line, to Barrow-in-Furness via the Cumbrian Coast Line, and to Leeds via the scenic Settle–Carlisle Line. Abellio ScotRail also operate services to Glasgow Central via Dumfries and Kilmarnock. There are 8 platforms at the station in total – 3 through and 5 bays, organised as follows (from west to east):

• Platform 1: Relief West Coast Main Line platform (bi-directional) and occasional Caledonian Sleeper
• Platform 2: Cumbrian Coast Line bay
• Platform 3: West Coast Main Line north-bound platform (bi-directional)
• Platform 4: West Coast Main Line south-bound platform (bi-directional)
• Platform 5: Tyne Valley Line bay
• Platform 6: Carlisle to Leeds Line bay
• Platform 7: Scottish services to various destinations between Carlisle and Glasgow via the Glasgow South Western Line.*
• Platform 8: Early morning services to Scotland.

There are stabling roads between Platforms 3 and 4 in the train shed, and a loop around Platform 1. There are several electrified sidings to the west of Platform 1. There are substantial buildings on both the western island and the main up platform on the east side, with the main station buffet on the former and the travel centre/ticket office and shop on the latter. Both main platforms have waiting rooms and toilets and are linked by a fully accessible footbridge.

Freight trains formerly used a goods line to the west to bypass the station, but this was closed in 1984 after a runaway rake of container wagons derailed at high speed on the River Caldew bridge at Dentonholme, damaging it beyond economic repair.^[4] Nearly all freight services (apart from those running directly from the Cumbrian Coast Line toward the Tyne Valley Line or the Settle–Carlisle Line, or vice versa) now have to use one of the main platform lines when passing through the station, which can cause congestion at peak times.

2008

Service frequencies on each route varied – on Mondays to Saturdays there were trains every one or two hours to London and at least every hour to Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. First TransPennine Express operated seven trains per day to Manchester Airport and there was a basic hourly service to both Newcastle and Whitehaven but a less frequent one to Glasgow via Kilmarnock (eight trains per day), to Leeds (six trains per day M–F, seven SO) and to Barrow-in-Furness (seven).

On Sundays the service was hourly on the WCML (every two hours to all main destinations apart from Manchester) and to Newcastle but infrequent on the other routes (three trains to Leeds and Whitehaven, two to Kilmarnock and another two to Dumfries only). There were two summer-only DalesRail afternoon trains to Preston via Clitheroe but no service to Barrow.

The Up 'Caledonian' leaving Carlisle in 1960

2009

Service frequencies on the West Coast Main Line improved somewhat following the introduction of the new VHF timetable by Virgin Trains. From Mondays to Saturdays there were now trains every hour to London for much of the day (although one service from Euston no longer stopped here, running non-stop between Preston and Glasgow) and at least every hour to Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. First TransPennine Express operated seven trains per day to Manchester Airport and there was a basic hourly service to both Newcastle and Whitehaven but a less frequent one to Glasgow via Kilmarnock (eight trains per day), to Leeds (seven per day Mon–Sat since the May 2011 timetable alterations) and to Barrow-in-Furness (eight).

On Sundays the service was hourly on the WCML (every two hours to all main destinations apart from Manchester) and to Newcastle but infrequent on the other routes (three trains to Leeds and Whitehaven, two to Kilmarnock and another two to Dumfries only). There were two summer-only DalesRail afternoon trains to Preston via Clitheroe but no service to Barrow.

2014–15

The following trains call at Carlisle:

Virgin Trains

Provide two trains per hour to London Euston for most of the day with one service going via Birmingham. One train per hour runs to Glasgow Central and an additional service runs every two hours to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central (alternating).^[5]

First TransPennine Express

Provide an hourly service to Manchester Airport and a two-hourly service to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central (alternating).

Abellio ScotRail

Provide fifteen daily departures (twenty on Saturdays and five on Sundays). A two-hourly service runs to Glasgow via Dumfries for most of the day (with one or two longer gaps during the day) with a few other service terminating at Dumfries. More trains run on Saturdays; Sunday sees five departures to Dumfries with two continuing to Glasgow via Kilmarnock.^[6]

Northern Rail

Northern Rail provide the following service:

• One train per hour to Whitehaven (ten of which extend to Barrow-in-Furness with three continuing to Lancaster and one to Preston; four trains per day to/from Whitehaven only on Sundays).^[7]
• One train per hour to Newcastle via Hexham (including Sundays).^[8]
• Seven trains per day to Leeds via Settle.^[9]

Since May 2013, there are now four trains to Leeds on Sundays (including one through to Nottingham) but only a single DalesRail service to Blackpool North via Preston. From 15 September 2013 the DalesRail direct service ceased for the winter, but the lunchtime service to Leeds now has a connection at Hellifield for stations along the Ribble Valley line to Blackburn, Preston and Blackpool North.

Another major change from the start of the 2013–14 timetable is the extension of most WCML Birmingham services through to London Euston.

Caledonian Sleeper

All Caledonian Sleeper services pass through Carlisle once a night except Saturdays (and engineering diversions) on their journey between London Euston and several Scottish destinations. Passengers may only board the London-bound service from Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley, or only alight services in the opposite direction. Services from/to London Euston to/from Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William run as a separate train that runs through Carlisle without a scheduled stop. Trains split and join at Carstairs rather than Carlisle.

Adverse Weather Disruption in Winter 2015-16

As of 1 February 2016, all services toward Glasgow & Edinburgh over the WCML are suspended due to flood-related damage to the River Clyde bridge at Lamington (caused by Storm Frank). A limited number of trains to & from Glasgow are being diverted via Dumfries, whilst most others are replaced by express coaches. Repair work was initially expected to take at least 4 weeks to complete and services are now not expected to restart over the structure until March 2016.^[10] This follows on from previous disruption caused by Storm Desmond on 5-6 December 2015 - flooding just north of the station at the bridge over the River Caldew led to a temporary suspension of services to and from Scotland and subsequent major delays to trains for more than two weeks.

Services towards Newcastle & Leeds are also being disrupted at the same time due to weather-related landslips near Corbridge and Armathwaite respectively. A replacement bus service ran between Hexham & Prudhoe whilst repairs were carried out on the Tyne Valley line.^[11] The line reopened to traffic on 8 February 2016. Services on the Settle line can still run, but as only one line is available between Cotehill and Culgaith & capacity is therefore restricted, an emergency timetable is in operation with extended journey times and some trains being replaced by buses.^[12]

The 'Royal Scot' entering Carlisle in 1960

References

Notes

Sources

• 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 1-8526-0508-1. 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 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137. 
• Jowett, Alan (1993). Jowett's Atlas of Railway Centres: of Great Britain showing their development from the earliest times up to and including the 1990s - Volume 1 (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0420-4. OCLC 30919645. 

• Historic England. "Details from image database (386689)". Images of England. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carlisle railway station.

• Train times and station information for Carlisle railway station from National Rail
• Buses from the station
• Buses to the station
• The Undercroft @ Carlisle Railway Station
• Winchester, Clarence, ed. (8 November 1935), "Carlisle Station", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 1303–1309 

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Haltwhistle		Abellio ScotRail Glasgow South Western Line		Gretna Green
Watford Junction		Caledonian Sleeper Lowland Caledonian Sleeper		Carstairs
Wetheral		Northern Rail Tyne Valley Line		Terminus
Armathwaite		Northern Rail Settle-Carlisle Line		Terminus
Terminus		Northern Rail Cumbrian Coast Line		Dalston
Penrith or Oxenholme		Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line		Lockerbie or Motherwell or Glasgow Central or Haymarket
Penrith or Oxenholme		First TransPennine Express TransPennine North West		Lockerbie or Haymarket
	Historical railways
Terminus		Caledonian Railway CR Main Line		Rockcliffe
Terminus		North British Railway Border Union Railway		Harker
Terminus		North British Railway Carlisle and Port Carlisle Railway and Dock Company		Kirkandrews
Terminus		Maryport and Carlisle Railway		Cummersdale Line open, station closed
Brisco		London and North Western Railway Lancaster and Carlisle Railway		Terminus
Scotby		Midland Railway Settle and Carlisle Line		Terminus
Scotby		North Eastern Railway Newcastle and Carlisle Railway		Terminus