Bentham railway station
Bentham | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Craven |
| Managed by | Northern |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | BEN |
| History | |
| Original company | "Little" North Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 June 1850 | Opened as Bentham[1] |
| 1 November 1851 | Renamed Bentham High[1] |
| 1 May 1876 | Renamed Bentham[1] |
Bentham railway station serves the small town of High Bentham in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Leeds to Morecambe Line, between Wennington and Clapham, 19 miles (31 km) east of Lancaster. It is the nearest station to Ingleton, North Yorkshire.
History
The station was opened on 2 May 1850 by the "little" North Western Railway, later taken over by the Midland Railway.[2] During part of the 19th century, it was known as Bentham High[3] as the neighbouring settlement of Low Bentham also had its own station (although this only lasted for three years, being closed to passenger traffic in 1853).
The station building (built in 1955/56 after the original Midland structure was demolished by British Railways) is now privately owned,[4] the station having been reduced to unstaffed halt status in October 1970.[5] It has had its own community volunteer support group (The Friends of Bentham Station) since September 2011, which is based in the aforementioned building on the eastbound platform and has support from various local organisations (such as the route's Rail User Group, Craven District Council & the Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe Line Community Rail Partnership).
Facilities
A long-line P.A system is provided, along with digital information screens on both platforms to provide train running information. The station is not DDA-compliant, as both platforms can only be reached via staircases from the overbridge at the eastern end of the station.[6]
Services
All services are operated by Northern. There are five services each way on weekdays and Saturdays. Westbound, trains run to Wennington, Carnforth, Lancaster and Morecambe (including one through train to Heysham Port), whilst trains in the other direction run to Clapham, Giggleswick, Skipton and Leeds.[7] Connections for Bradford Forster Square are available at Shipley, although through trains do operate occasionally if the line to Leeds is closed for engineering work.
On Sundays there are now four services in each direction throughout the year - prior to the May 2011 timetable change the two morning services from Leeds and their corresponding return workings ran only during the summer months. The new Northern franchise that began April 2016 will see further service and rolling stock improvements implemented. These include the addition of two extra weekday and one Sunday train each way (likely in December 2017), timetable alterations to give better journey opportunities for commuters to both Leeds and Lancaster[8] and the removal of "Pacer" DMUs from the route by 2019.
Notes
- ^ a b c Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- ^ Bairstow, p. 96
- ^ Dewick, map 24
- ^ Bairstow, p. 9
- ^ A Brief History of Bentham StationFriends of Bentham Station; Retrieved 4 December 2013
- ^ Bentham Station Taylor, Ian Geograph.org; Retrieved 22 November 2016
- ^ GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 42
- ^ Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT
References
- Bairstow, M. (2000), The 'Little' North Western Railway, Martin Bairstow, Leeds, ISBN 1-871944-21-X
- Dewick, T. (2002), Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, ISBN 0-7110-2798-6
External links
- Train times and station information for Bentham railway station from National Rail
- Friends of Bentham Station - Station support group's Home Page
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clapham | Northern Leeds to Morecambe Line |
Wennington | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Clapham | Midland Railway "Little" North Western Railway |
Low Bentham | ||
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