Lancaster railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lancaster
Location
Place	Lancashire
Local authority	City of Lancaster
Operations
Station code	LAN
Managed by	Virgin Trains
Platforms in use	5
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Passenger Usage
2004/05 **	1.270 million
History
Key dates	Opened 1846 Remodelled 1902
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Lancaster.   * 2002/03 Disclaimer  ** 2004/05 Disclaimer
UK Rail Portal

Lancaster railway station (formerly known as Lancaster Castle railway station) is a railway station that serves the city of Lancaster in Lancashire. It is one of the principal stations on the West Coast Main Line.

Lancaster railway station has five platforms currently in use.

• Platform 1 - north facing bay platform
• Platform 2 - north facing bay platform
• Platform 3 - through platform for trains to the north
• Platform 4 - through platform for trains to the south
• Platform 5 - bidirectional through platform

In addition, there are two central through lines for non-stop passenger trains and freight traffic. There was previously a Platform 6, and although the platform face remains, the track has been removed.

Lancaster is served by several train operators.

• Virgin Trains operate express trains from London Euston to Carlisle, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley using new Pendolino trains, and from Scotland to the South-West and the South Coast using new Virgin Voyagers. These services normally use platforms 3 and 4.
• TransPennine Express operate regional express services using Class 185 units, from Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness via the Furness Line, and to Windermere via the Windermere Branch Line. These services also use platforms 3 and 4.
• Northern Rail operate local services, along the Furness Line to Barrow-in-Furness, the Morecambe Branch Line to Morecambe and Heysham and the Airedale Line to Skipton and Leeds. These services are operated using diesel multiple units of Classes 142, 150, 153 and 156, and normally use platforms 1, 2 and 5.

[edit] History

Formerly known as Lancaster Castle Station in order to distinguish it from Lancaster Green Ayre Station on the Wennington-Morecambe line, Lancaster station was officially opened on the 21st September 1846. The first public service ran into the station on the 17th December the same year. The station was built as the Southern terminus of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway after the initial route for the line - following the Lancaster Canal and crossing the River Lune from Ladies Walk to Skerton - were changed in favour of a cheaper route west of the city.

The station was remodelled in 1902 when additional lines and platforms were added and further station buildings constructed. The new buildings were styled mock-Elizabethan with the intention of mirroring the battlements of the near by Lancaster Castle. Platforms 5 and 6 were electrified in 1908 to serve the now-closed Midland Railway route to Morecambe and Heysham. This line closed in January 1966 and the overhead line equipment was removed.

The track layout in the station area was rationalised in 1973 when control of the signalling was transferred to the new Preston Power Signal Box. This included the removal of the track from Platform 6, although this platform had seen no regular use for some time prior to this. The West Coast Main Line through Lancaster was electrified in 1974, and regular electric passenger services recommenced at the station on 7th May 1974.

[edit] Services

West Coast Main Line

Legend Edinburgh Waverley for ECML Haymarket Glasgow Central     for SPT Network Motherwell for SPT Network Carstairs for SPT Network Carstairs South Junction Lockerbie Carlisle for Tyne Valley Line,    Cumbrian Coast Line and    Glasgow South Western Line Penrith Oxenholme Lake District     for Windermere Line Lancaster Preston Wigan North Western Bolton Warrington Bank Quay Liverpool Lime Street Runcorn Weaver Junction Manchester Piccadilly Stockport Cheadle Hulme Junction Crewe North Junction Crewe Stoke-on-Trent Stone Junction Norton Bridge Junction Stafford Colwich Junction Lichfield Trent Valley Wolverhampton Tamworth Birmingham New Street Nuneaton Coventry Rugby for Birmingham Loop Northampton Milton Keynes Central Watford Junction London Euston

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Preston		TransPennine Express TransPennine North West		Carnforth or Oxenholme Lake District
Terminus		Northern Rail Furness Line		Carnforth
Terminus		Northern Rail Airedale Line		Carnforth
Terminus		Northern Rail Morecambe Branch Line		Bare Lane
Preston		Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line		Oxenholme Lake District
Disused Railways
Terminus		North Western Railway		Lancaster Green Ayre
Terminus		Glasson Dock Branch Line		Conder Green
Terminus		Furness Line		Hest Bank
Galgate		West Coast Main Line		Hest Bank

[edit] External links

• Train times and station information for Lancaster railway station from National Rail
• Street map and aerial photo of Lancaster railway station from Multimap.com