Castlerock railway station

Castlerock railway station serves the villages of Castlerock, Articlave and their surrounding hamlets in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Walkers use the station to reach Mussenden Temple, Downhill Strand and Benone.

Castlerock
Castlerock station in 2009, prior to the line being singled.
LocationCastlerock
Northern Ireland
Coordinates55°9′55″N 6°47′13″W
Owned byNI Railways
Operated byNI Railways
Platforms1
Tracks1
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Key dates
1853Opened
1970New signalbox opened
2008Refurbished
2016Passing loop removed, signalbox closed

The station opened on 18 July 1853[1] and was built to a design by the architect Charles Lanyon. It comprised a single-storey red brick on the 'up' platform. There is a modern two storey addition to this in a similar style.[2]

As part of works to upgrade the Coleraine-Derry railway line, the passing loop at Castlerock station was discontinued and replaced with a new loop at Bellarena. The station signalbox - the last full-time mechanical signalbox on the NIR network, and the last to use block tokens - was subsequently closed on 2 November 2016.[3] The down platform, despite receiving a complete refurbishment two years prior, has now been taken out of service and the track lifted. All services calling at Castlerock now use the former up platform.

Service

Trains crossing at Castlerock in 2016. The down platform on the left has now been taken out of service and no longer has a running track.

Mondays to Saturdays there is an hourly service towards Londonderry or Belfast Great Victoria Street operated by Northern Ireland Railways.

On Sundays there are 6 trains in each direction.

Preceding station   Northern Ireland Railways   Following station
Coleraine   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Bellarena
  Historical railways  
Barmouth
Line open, station closed
  Londonderry and Coleraine Railway
Coleraine-Derry
  Downhill
Line open, station closed

References

  1. "Castlerock station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  2. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Department of the Environment. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
  3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-37857587


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