Aspatria railway station

Opened by the Maryport and Carlisle Railway in 1841 (although the line through to Carlisle was not completed until 1845), the station was once the junction for the branch line to Mealsgate. Passenger trains on this route began in 1866 but ceased in September 1930 and complete closure followed in 1952.[1]

The station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, and then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Railways.

The station signal box was the last surviving example built by the Maryport & Carlisle company prior to its closure and demolition in 1998.[2]

The station is unstaffed and has no ticket machine (though one is to be installed during 2019), so tickets must be purchased prior to travel or on the train (the main buildings are now in private residential use). Shelters are located on both platforms. Timetable posters, digital information screens and a telephone are provided to give train running information, whilst there is also public wifi access on offer. The platforms are linked by footbridge and there is step-free access to each one.[3]

Route 6: Cumbrian Coast Line and Windermere Line
Carlisle Dalston (Cumbria) Wigton Aspatria Maryport Flimby Workington Harrington Parton Whitehaven Corkickle St. Bees Nethertown Braystones Sellafield Seascale Drigg Ravenglass for Eskdale Bootle Silecroft Millom Green Road Foxfield Kirkby-in-Furness Askam Barrow-in-Furness Roose Dalton Ulverston Cark and Cartmel Kents Bank Grange-over-Sands Arnside Silverdale Carnforth Windermere Staveley Burneside Kendal Oxenholme Lake District Lancaster Preston Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Airport
Bootle, Braystones, Drigg, Flimby, Green Road, Kirkby-in-Furness, Nethertown, Parton and Silecroft are request stops.

There is generally an hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Whitehaven with most trains going onward to Barrow-in-Furness (no late evening service operates south of Whitehaven).[4] In the current (winter 2019-20) timetable, all scheduled stops are now mandatory rather than on request.

Train operator Northern introduced a regular through Sunday service to Barrow via the coast at the May 2018 timetable change - the first such service south of Whitehaven for more than 40 years. Services run approximately hourly from late morning until early evening, with later trains terminating at Whitehaven. This represents a major upgrade on the former infrequent service of four per day each way to/from Whitehaven only that previously operated.

• Listed buildings in Aspatria

• Marshall, J (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6
• 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• 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 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Station on navigable O.S. map

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aspatria railway station.

• Train times and station information for Aspatria railway station from National Rail
• The station, via Holme St Cuthbert History Group

• Thomas, Anne; Thomas, Bill (1996). Neil, Parkhouse (ed.). "J Harris - Sole owner". Archive. Witney: Lightmoor Press Association (9, 10 & 11). ISSN 1352-7991.

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Wigton		Northern Cumbrian Coast Line		Maryport
Historical railways
Brayton Line open, station closed		Maryport and Carlisle Railway Cumbrian Coast Line		Arkleby Line open, station closed
Disused railways
Baggrow Line and station closed		Maryport and Carlisle Railway Bolton Loop		Arkleby Line open, station closed