Morpeth railway station

Morpeth
Morpeth railway station buildings
Location
Place	Morpeth
Local authority	Northumberland
Coordinates	55°09′44″N 1°40′58″W / 55.1622°N 1.6829°W / 55.1622; -1.6829Coordinates: 55°09′44″N 1°40′58″W / 55.1622°N 1.6829°W / 55.1622; -1.6829
Operations
Station code	MPT
Managed by	Northern Rail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	0.164 million
2005/06 *	0.177 million
2006/07 *	0.189 million
2007/08 *	0.206 million
2008/09 *	0.227 million
2009/10 *	0.229 million
History
Opened 1 March 1847[1] (1 March 1847[1])
History
Original company	Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
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 Morpeth from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Morpeth railway station is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line in Northumberland, northern England, serving the town of Morpeth.

History

The station was opened by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway on 1 March 1847.^[1] It was designed by Benjamin Green, in the Scottish Baronial style and retains its original station buildings.

A severe ninety degree curve in the line of the railway immediately to the south of the station has been the site of four serious rail accidents, two of them fatal.

Blyth and Tyne Railway

Another station was opened by the Blyth and Tyne Railway on 1 April 1858 and closed 24 May 1880.^[2] This was a terminus station that was also used by North British Railway trains from the west from Scots Gap^[3] from the opening of their line in 1862 until 1874. The B&T line to Bedlington lost its passenger trains in April 1950 (although occasional summer services between Scotland and the North Eastern coastal resorts continued operating over it until the 1960s), but it remains in use for freight and may have its passenger trains restored in the future (as an extension of the current local stopping service) - the South East Northumberland Rail User Group is currently campaigning for this.^[4] Passenger trains over the old NBR line from Scots Gap and Reedsmouth/Rothbury ended in September 1952^[5] and it closed completely in 1966 - few traces of this route now remain.

Services

Morpeth station is irregularly served by East Coast intercity trains running to London and Edinburgh. Northern Rail operates a regular local service between Newcastle and Morpeth - two of these continue on to Alnmouth and Chathill. Since December 2005 a few Cross Country services operated by Virgin Trains have stopped here, which are now run by CrossCountry as of November 2007.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Newcastle		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Alnmouth
		East Coast East Coast Main Line
Cramlington		Northern Rail East Coast Main Line		Terminus or Pegswood
	Historical railways
Stannington Line open; Station closed		North Eastern Railway Newcastle and Berwick Railway		Pegswood Line and Station open
Meldon Line and Station closed		North British Railway Wansbeck Railway		Terminus
Terminus		North Eastern Railway Blyth and Tyne Railway		Hepscott Line open; Station closed

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Butt (1995), page 163
2. ^ "Northumbrian Railways; Blyth and Tyne stations". Northumbrian-railways.co.uk. http://www.northumbrian-railways.co.uk/index.php?page=blyth-tyne-branch. Retrieved 2009-03-29. 
3. ^ "SENRUG // South East Northumberland Rail User Group: Morpeth 'Then & Now'". Senrug.co.uk. http://www.senrug.co.uk/morpeth-then-now-. Retrieved 2009-03-29. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "''Reopening The Ashington, Blythe & Tyne Railway Line''". Senrug.co.uk. http://www.senrug.co.uk/re-open-ashington-blyth-tyne-line-to-passengers. Retrieved 2009-03-29. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Body (1989), p.126

Sources

• Body, G. (1989). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2: Northern operating area (1st ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0072-1. OCLC 59892452. 

• 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 (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687. 
• Morpeth Station on navigable 1947 OS map
• RAILSCOT on Newcastle and Berwick Railway
• RAILSCOT on Wansbeck Railway
• RAILSCOT on Morpeth Branch (Blyth and Tyne Railway)
• Morpeth Station history page from the South East Northumberland Rail User Group
• Buses from the station
• Buses to the station