Wigton railway station

Wigton National Rail
Location
Place Wigton
Local authority Allerdale
Grid reference NY252488
Operations
Station code WGT
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Decrease 56,108
2013/14 Decrease 52,834
2014/15 Increase 54,382
2015/16 Decrease 52,438
2016/17 Decrease 49,124
History
Key dates Opened 1843 (1843)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wigton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Wigton railway station serves the town of Wigton in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a stop on the Cumbrian Coast Line, 11 miles (18 km) south west of Carlisle.

It is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services and is one of the mandatory stops on this part of the line (along with Maryport, Workington & Whitehaven). The two side platforms here are slightly offset and linked by a footbridge. Like most stations on the route, it is unstaffed (and has been so since 1969), so passengers must purchase their tickets from the conductor on board the train (as there are no ticket machines).[1] There are waiting shelters on both platforms, but the surviving station buildings are no longer in railway use. Step-free access is available to each platform, whilst train running information is provided by display screens, telephone and timetable posters.

History

It was opened by the Maryport and Carlisle Railway in 1843[2] following the completion of the route from Carlisle and would act as a temporary terminus until the section onwards to Aspatria was finished two years later. It subsequently become the junction station for the eastern end of the Bolton Loop line to Mealsgate from 1878. This portion of the route did not prove profitable and the one daily return passenger train operated over it was withdrawn by the M&C in 1921.[3]

Goods facilities at the station were withdrawn by British Rail in October 1970, though a private siding for the nearby plastics factory remains in place (this has however been disused for some years). The station signal box meanwhile is still operational and acts as a 'fringe' to Carlisle PSB.

Services

There is generally an hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Whitehaven with most trains going onward to Barrow-in-Furness (no late evening service operates south of Whitehaven).[4]

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

References

  1. ↑ Wigton station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 5 December 2016
  2. ↑ Old Cumbria Gazetteer - Wigton StationPortsmouth University; Retrieved 2013-10-17
  3. ↑ Cumbria Railways - The Bolton Loop www.cumbria-railways.co.uk; Retrieved 2013-10-17
  4. ↑ GB eNRT May 2018 Edition, Table 100
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern
Cumbrian Coast Line
Historical railways
Line open, station closed
Maryport and Carlisle Railway
Line open, station closed

Coordinates: 54°49′44″N 3°09′50″W / 54.829°N 3.164°W / 54.829; -3.164


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