Widdrington railway station explained

Widdrington
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Widdrington Station, Northumberland
Country:England
Coordinates:55.2411°N -1.6162°W
Map Type:United Kingdom Northumberland
Grid Name:Grid reference
Owned:Network Rail
Manager:Northern Trains
Platforms:2
Code:WDD
Classification:DfT category F2
Original:Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pregroup:North Eastern Railway
Postgroup:
Years:1 July 1847
Events:Opened
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Widdrington is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between and . The station, situated 23miles north of Newcastle, serves the villages of Stobswood and Widdrington Station in Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The station was opened by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway on 1 July 1847.[1]

An average of 3 or 4 stopping services each way per day ran between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley via Berwick-upon-Tweed until the late 1980s. Following the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, these services were curtailed at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Services were further reduced to their current level by British Rail in May 1991, due to a shortage of rolling stock.[2]

The local rail user group, SENRUG, has been campaigning to improve service levels at the station, and at neighbouring Pegswood, since September 2016.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has only basic amenities, consisting of a waiting shelter and timetable poster boards on both platforms, along with a public telephone on the southbound platform. Tickets must be purchased prior to travel or on the train. The old station buildings survive, but are now privately occupied. Step-free access is available to both platforms via the level crossing at the north end of the station.[3]

Services

Northern Trains

As of the December 2021 timetable change, the station is served by one train per day (excluding Sunday) towards Chathill, and two trains towards Newcastle via Morpeth. At present, all services are operated by Northern Trains.[4]

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

TransPennine Express

In September 2021, TransPennine Express announced that they were seeking approval to have most of the services on their new five return trains weekday semi-fast Newcastle to Edinburgh return trains call at Widdrington.[5] As the procedure required for the operator to be recognised as meeting the safety and operational requirements necessary for calling at Widdrington were ongoing at the time of the announcement, it is possible that the service will start calling at this station at some point after its planned commencement in December 2021.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Quick, Michael E.. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. 2009. 978-0-901461-57-5. 4th. Oxford. 457. 612226077.
  2. BR National Rail Timetable May 1991 Edition, Table 47
  3. Web site: Station facilities for Widdrington. 2021-06-20. National Rail.
  4. Web site: 12 December 2021. Train times: Alnmouth and Morpeth to Newcastle and Metrocentre. dead. 27 November 2021. Northern Trains. 3 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211103023441/https://d11vpqhghel6qd.cloudfront.net/images/timetables/bucket2/alnmouth-and-morpeth-to-newcastle-and-metrocentre-4885-r1wewt.pdf.
  5. Web site: 3 September 2021. TransPennine Express announces new rail services for Northumberland. 3 September 2021. International Railway Reviews.