Workington North railway station explained

Workington North
Status:Disused
Borough:Workington, Allerdale
Country:England
Coordinates:54.6578°N -3.5563°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:2
Postgroup:Network Rail
Events:Opened[1]
Years1:8 October 2010
Events1:Closed
Map Type:United Kingdom Allerdale#Cumbria

Workington North railway station was a temporary railway station in Cumbria, United Kingdom, constructed following floods which cut all road access to Workington town centre from north of the River Derwent.[2] The station was located 1miles north of Workington station on the Cumbrian Coast Line.

Until the new station opened, the closest station north of the River Derwent was Flimby railway station, which saw its passenger numbers increase enormously after the floods. Flimby had seen as many passengers on 24 November 2009 as would usually use the station in a fortnight.[3] When the station first opened access to Workington by road from Northside involved a journey of 30miles because the bridges over the River Derwent for the A596 and A597 roads were destroyed or badly damaged by the flood.[4] The construction of a temporary road bridge over the Derwent made vehicular access easier but the railway station remained open until 8 October 2010, when the last train called.[5] [6]

Construction

Network Rail began construction of the new station during the night of 24/25 November 2009.[2] The station featured two platforms linked by a footbridge, a waiting room, and a gravel car park.[1] Network Rail agreed a two-year lease of land owned by Allerdale Borough Council off the A596 immediately north of St Helens Business Park, opposite Dunmail Park shopping centre.[7]

The structure used a scaffolding base covered by wooden planks with an anti-slip surfacing.[8] Construction work was undertaken "round the clock" in order to get the new station opened.[2] The southbound platform was completed on 26 November, and the northbound platform and footbridge were completed by 28 November.[9] The station opened on 30 November 2009, construction having taken six days.[1]

Prince Charles visited the station on 27 November 2009 to inspect the construction work being undertaken as part of a visit to the region.[10]

Once opened, the station was served by all existing trains and an additional hourly shuttle train (composed of a locomotive and at least three former inter-city mainline coaches) operated by Cumbrian-based Direct Rail Services (DRS) on behalf of Northern Rail—running northbound to Maryport and southbound to Workington.[1] [11] [12] This service started on 30 November 2009 and ran until 28 May 2010.[13] It was initially funded by the Department for Transport at a cost of £216,000. All services between Workington, Workington North, Flimby and Maryport were free of charge for this period.[14]

Services

All services from the station were operated by Northern Rail. All trains on the line in both directions would call additionally at the new station. There was generally an hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Whitehaven station with some trains going onwards to . On Sundays three trains per day went to Carlisle and Whitehaven stations.

References

External links

Videos from BBC News on the opening of the station

Notes and References

  1. News: Workington gets new rail station after Cumbria flood. BBC News. 30 November 2009. 30 November 2009. Colette. Hume.
  2. Web site: Network Rail to Build New Temporary Station to Help Workington Flood Victims. Network Rail. 24 November 2009. 29 September 2011. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110929042128/http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/content/detail.aspx?ReleaseID=4831&NewsAreaID=2&SearchCategoryID=5.
  3. Web site: Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledges to pay for temporary bridge. 25 November 2009. Times & Star.
  4. News: Rail station hope for the town cut in two . BBC News . 25 November 2009 . 24 November 2009.
  5. Web site: Workington North to close on 8th October. rail-news.com.
  6. Web site: Temporary Workington railway station will close next month. Times and Star.
  7. News: Cumbria poised for more flooding . BBC News . 24 November 2009.
  8. News: Building a train station in a week after Cumbria floods. BBC News. 25 November 2009.
  9. Web site: Workington North Temporary Station Progressing Well. Network Rail. 29 September 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110929042336/http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=4840&NewsAreaID=2&SearchCategoryID=2.
  10. Web site: Prince Charles hails Workington community spirit as inspirational. 27 November 2009. Times & Star.
  11. Web site: Free shuttle train between Workington and Maryport . Times & Star. 29 November 2009.
  12. Web site: New shuttle service on Cumbrian coast from Monday 30 November . Northern Rail. https://web.archive.org/web/20091203125602/http://www.northernrail.org/news/6301. live . 3 December 2009.
  13. Web site: Free Cumbria Floods Train Service to Finish Next Week . Carlisle Times and Star. 28 May 2010.
  14. Web site: New hourly train to help reunite Cumbrian community . 30 November 2009. Department for Transport.