Windermere railway station
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
Windermere  |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| End of the line at Windermere Railway Station. | |
| Location | |
| Place | Windermere |
| Local authority | South Lakeland |
| Operations | |
| Station code | WDM |
| Managed by | First TransPennine Express |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2004/05 * | 0.252 million |
| 2005/06 * |  0.246 million |
| 2006/07 * |  0.277 million |
| 2007/08 * | 0.302 million |
| 2008/09 * | 0.303 million |
| 2009/10 * | 0.333 million |
| History | |
| Opened 1847 | |
| 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 estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Windermere from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. | |
Windermere railway station is the railway station that serves Windermere in Cumbria, England. It is just south of the A591, about 15 min walk or a short bus ride from the lake. The station is located behind a branch of the Booths supermarket chain, which occupies the site of the original station building, in front of the Lakeland store. It is the terminus of the former Kendal and Windermere Railway single-track Windermere Branch Line, with a single platform (much longer than the trains usually seen here today) serving one terminal track.
The railway cottages, built for railway executives in 1849, were designed by the famous architect Augustus Pugin. One of the fireplaces is a copy of one of his in the Palace of Westminster. A typical example is Old Codgers Cottage, currently used as a holiday home. The owners have researched its history to find that it was inhabited by the head Drayman for the railway company at the time of the 1861 census.
The selection of the town of Birthwaite as the location of the station serving the lake was what led to it taking the name Windermere, even though it is not on the water (nowadays it has essentially grown together with Bowness-on-Windermere, which touches the lake).
Contents |
[edit] Layout
The station was at one time bigger than this, with four platforms and an overall roof.[1] Three tracks were taken out of use when the branch was reduced to a one-train operated single line in 1973 as an economy measure. The single track was cut back to a new truncated station in 1986 following the demolition of the trainshed and the building of a supermarket, which incorporates the facade and canopy of the original station. The Booths supermarket has also been designed to mimic the appearance of the original trainshed.
[edit] Current Services
First TransPennine Express run Class 185 diesel multiple units along the line, which runs through Staveley, Burneside, and Kendal, and then interchanges with Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line services at Oxenholme Lake District. A couple of services per day then run to Manchester Airport, while a few continue beyond Oxenholme but only as far as Lancaster or Preston.[2]
The station is also a hub for Stagecoach bus services connecting Windermere with Coniston, Grasmere, Keswick, and other destinations in Cumbria. Both Stagecoach and the local council also run regular buses through the town to Bowness Pier; Stagecoach buses are open-top double-decker buses running along principal streets. The local council's minibuses run around the outskirts of town.
[edit] Future Services
The nature of the Oxenholme to Windermere line would make it difficult to run additional services on the line. [3] However, Network Rail are looking at the possibility of an infill electrification project to allow direct electric services to operate between Manchester and Windermere after electrification of the Deansgate-Bolton-Leyland line.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Vaughn, p.115
- ^ http://www.tpexpress.co.uk/train-timetables/timetables.htm
- ^ http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/west%20coast%20main%20line/westcoastmainlinerus.pdf
- ^ http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/west%20coast%20main%20line/westcoastmainlinerus.pdf
[edit] See also
- Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere (the towns)
- Windermere (the lake)
- National Rail
- Stagecoach Group
[edit] References
- Vaughn, J.A.M (1980), Modern Branch Line Album, Ian Allen Publishing Ltd (Shepperton, Surrey). ISBN 0 7110 1030 7
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Windermere railway station from National Rail
- TransPennine Express
- [1]
- Stagecoach North West
- Buses from the station
- Buses to the station
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First TransPennine Express | Terminus |
Coordinates: 54°22′48″N 2°54′11″W / 54.380°N 2.903°W
