Cumbrian Coast Line

Not to be confused with Cambrian Line.

Cumbrian Coast Line
Ravenglass station
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Cumbria, North West England
Termini	Barrow-in-Furness Carlisle
Stations	26
Services	1
Operation
Opened	1844
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Northern Rail
Rolling stock	Class 153 "Super Sprinter" Class 156 "Super Sprinter"
Technical
Line length	85.50 mi (137.60 km)
No. of tracks	Mainly double-tracked, three sections of single track.
Track gauge	Standard Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Cumbrian Coast Line

Legend West Coast Main Line to Glasgow and Edinburgh Carlisle Cummersdale Dalston WCML to London Euston Curthwaite Solway Junction Railway Wigton former line to Silloth Ledgate High Blaithwaite Mealsgate Brayton Baggrow Aspatria Bullgill Maryport & Carlisle Railway Dearham Bridge branch to Brigham Maryport Flimby Siddick Junction Cleator and Workington Calva Jcn Junction Railway Workington North to Great Broughton Cockermouth and Workington Railway River Derwent Steel Works Cleator and Workington Workington Junction Railway Harrington to Distington Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway Parton Whitehaven Corkickle Preston Street Whitehaven, Cleator St Bees and Egremont Railway Nethertown Braystones Cleator and Furness Railway River Ehen Sellafield Sellafield reactor sidings River Calder Seascale Drigg River Irt River Mite Ravenglass for Eskdale Ravenglass and River Esk Eskdale Railway Eskmeals Monks Moors Halt Bootle Coniston Railway Silecroft Green Road Millom Foxfield Hodbarrow River Duddon Kirkby-in-Furness Former line to mines Askam-in-Furness at Sandscale Furness Line Barrow-in-Furness Dalton Furness Abbey Roose Barrow Docks Power Station Rampside Roa Island

The Cumbrian Coast Line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues (as the Furness Line) via Ulverston and Grange-over-Sands to Carnforth, where it connects with the West Coast Main Line.

History

The Cumbrian Coast Line is an amalgamation of a series of earlier routes:

• Carlisle to Maryport, Maryport and Carlisle Railway^[1] opened 1845
• Maryport to Whitehaven, Whitehaven Junction Railway^[2] (acquired by London and North Western Railway 1866)
• Whitehaven to Kirkby-in-Furness, Whitehaven and Furness Railway^[3] (acquired by Furness Railway 1865)
• Kirkby-in-Furness to Barrow-in-Furness, Furness Railway^[4] opened 1844

All the above constituents were absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.

Towns and villages along the route

• Carlisle
• Dalston
• Wigton
• Aspatria
• Maryport
• Flimby
• Workington
• Harrington
• Parton
• Whitehaven
• Corkickle
• St Bees
• Nethertown
• Braystones
• Sellafield
• Seascale
• Drigg
• Ravenglass
  • Connection for the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (La'al Ratty)
• Bootle
• Silecroft
• Millom
• Green Road
• Foxfield
• Kirkby-in-Furness
• Askam-in-Furness
• Barrow-in-Furness

Services

Train services are operated by Northern Rail. Services stop at all stations, although many are request stops, with the exceptions of Netherstown and Braystones, which are served by four trains a day in each direction.

In the December 2011 - May 2012 timetable,^[5] the following trains operate on weekdays:

• Southbound - 19 trains per day
  • Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness - 8 trains per day, of which 1 continues to Lancaster and 1 to Preston
  • Carlisle to Whitehaven - 4 trains per day, of which 1 begins in Newcastle
  • Millom to Barrow-in-Furness - 3 trains per day, of which 1 continues to Preston
  • Maryport to Lancaster - 1 train per day
  • Whitehaven to Barrow-in-Furness - 1 train per day
  • Sellafield to Lancaster- 1 train per day

• Northbound - 19 trains per day
  • Barrow-in-Furness to Carlisle - 10 trains per day, of which 1 begins in Lancaster and 2 in Preston
  • Whitehaven to Carlisle - 4 trains per day
  • Barrow-in-Furness to Millom - 3 trains per day, of which 1 begins in Lancaster
  • Barrow-in-Furness to Sellafield - 1 train per day
  • Whitehaven to Workington - 1 train per day

Services are slightly altered on Saturdays. On Sundays there is no service between Barrow and Whitehaven, with three trains in each direction between Whitehaven and Carlisle.

In the aftermath of the 2009 floods, an extra hourly service between Maryport and Workington operated stopping at all stations in between, including the temporary Workington North. These services were suspended in December 2010.

At Carlisle the lines connects to the: West Coast Mainline; the Settle-Carlisle Line; the Tyne Valley Line; the Glasgow South Western Line; and the Caledonian Sleeper service. At Barrow, there are connections to the Furness Line.

Due to restricted clearances on the northern section of this line, Class 150 and class 158 Diesel multiple units are barred from the route, therefore services are normally operated by Class 153 or Class 156 units. Although since 2006 Network Rail have eased clearance restrictions to allow Mark2, Mark3 coaching stock to operate the full route, although under strict instructions that all drop-light windows must be stewarded between Maryport-Carlisle. This has allowed many charter services to operate the full length of the Cumbrian Coast.

The Cumbrian Coast was given Community Rail status in 2008, and has an active Community Rail Partnership working hard to develop the route.

Route description

Network Rail's route NW 4033 runs for 183.9 km (114.3 mi) from Carnforth North Junction, near Carnforth, to Carlisle South Junction, near Carlisle, by way of Sellafield.

NW 4033	M-Ch	km
Carnforth North Junction	0-00	0.00
Carnforth	0-12	0.25
Carnforth Station Junction	0-19	0.40
Silverdale	3-36	5.55
Arnside	6-10	9.85
Grange-over-Sands	9-12	11.85
Kents Bank	11-08	14.75
Cark and Cartmel	13-29	21.50
Ulverston	19-09	30.75
Dalton	23-46	37.95
Dalton Junction	24-19	39.00
Roose	26-74	43.35
Salthouse Junction	27-38	44.20
Barrow-in-Furness	28-66	46.40
Park South Junction	32-57	52.65
Askam	34-64	56.00
Kirkby-in-Furness	38-00	61.15
Foxfield	40-21	64.80
Green Road	42-15	67.90
Millom	44-68	72.20
Silecroft	47-73	77.10
Bootle	53-18	85.65
Ravenglass	57-60	92.95
Drigg	59-59	96.15
Seascale	61-73	99.65
Sellafield	63-57	102.55
Braystones	65-57	105.75
Nethertown	67-13	108.10
St Bees	70-03	112.70
Corkickle	73-59	118.65
Whitehaven	74-47	120.05
Bransty Junction	74-54	120.15
Parton	75-79	122.30
Harrington	79-08	127.30
Workington	81-27	130.90
Workington North
Flimby	85-00	136.80
Maryport	86-64	139.70
Aspatria	94-36	152.00
Wigton	102-63	165.40
Dalston	110-06	177.15
Currock Junction	113-37	182.60
Carlisle South Junction	114-19	183.85

The following lines all previously connected to the Cumbrian Coast Line, but have mostly now been closed

• Silloth branch, from Aspatria
• Brigham branch, near Maryport
• Cleator and Workington Junction Railway, near Workington
• Cockermouth and Workington Railway, near Workington
• Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway, near Corkickle^[6]
• Cleator and Furness Railway, near Sellafield
• Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, at Ravenglass. This is a narrow gauge railway which still runs services for tourists, but there was formerly a standard gauge line from Ravenglass to Murthwaite for freight.
• Coniston Branch, near Foxfield
• Sandscale branch, at Barrow in Furness

References

1. ^ http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Maryport_and_Carlisle_Railway/frame.htm
2. ^ http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Whitehaven_Junction_Railway/frame.htm
3. ^ http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Whitehaven_and_Furness_Railway/frame.htm
4. ^ http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Furness_Railway/frame.htm
5. ^ "Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness". Northern Rail. http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/20111211/6.pdf. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Whitehaven_Cleator_and_Egremont_Railway/frame.htm

External links

• Network Rail: Rules of the Route and Rules of the Plan