Barrow-in-Furness railway station serves the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, England. It lies on the Cumbrian Coast and Furness Lines, south-west of and north-west of . It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The present station was formerly known as Barrow Central and, at one time, it was a terminus for British Rail's InterCity services. From October 1947 until May 1983, these included sleeper services to and from . A sleeper service in the London direction only was reintroduced briefly between May 1987 and May 1990.

The original Barrow station of 1846 had been a wooden building at Rabbit Hill, near to the site of the present St. George's Square. It was eventually replaced in 1863 by a new brick building close by, which had been designed by the Lancaster architect Edward Paley, and which latterly came to be known as Cambridge Hall.

On 1 June 1882, the town's principal station was transferred to its present site below Abbey Road, following the construction of a new loop line. It had to be almost entirely rebuilt in the late 1950s, after World War II, having largely been destroyed by enemy bombing on 7 May 1941.

From 1907 to 1941, the Furness Railway steam locomotive, Coppernob, was preserved in a special glass case outside the station. It was subsequently transferred away for additional security and is now in the National Railway Museum at York.

Facilities

The station has the following facilities:

  • Platform 1 contains the entrance to the station; it has a waiting area, ticket & information office, and toilets, along with a café.
  • Between platforms 2 and 3 is an indoor waiting area, with live departures indicator, a vending machine and speakers. There are offices for staff and British Transport Police.
  • Electronic information signs have been installed, along with improved CCTV after several incidents on the station. Ramps have been provided for access and this is continuing with provision of better access to platforms 2 and 3
  • There is a car park with 61 spaces, along with bicycle racks and storage.

Layout

Platforms

The platforms are generally used as follows:

  1. for through trains from and Lancaster to Carlisle; also for trains to/from Preston and
  2. for services heading south to Lancaster or Preston, and local trains arriving from and ; it can also be used by northbound departures
  3. a bay platform that can only be used by northbound trains to Millom and Carlisle; it was formerly a through line for southbound trains until the late 1960s.

Depot

A light maintenance depot is situated immediately north of the station. In 2023, the depot was upgraded with a new 75-metre service road and steel canopy. Following the upgrade, three carriages can be serviced and fuelled simultaneously.

Services

Northern Trains operates the following general off-peak service pattern in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd):

  • 1 tph to , via , and
  • 10 tpd to , via , and
  • 1 tpd to , via Preston and Lancaster
  • 5 tpd to Preston, via Lancaster
  • 8 tpd to Lancaster.

One service per day operates to/from Sellafield, specifically for workers at the nuclear plant.

In the Railway Series books by the Rev. W Awdry, and the adapted television series Thomas & Friends, Barrow Central is the mainland terminus for the Fat Controller's North Western Railway. It is connected to the fictional Island of Sodor by a bridge to Vickerstown or, as it is known in the books, Vicarstown.

References