Arnside is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between and . The station, situated from Carnforth, serves the village of Arnside in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains, who operate services at the station.
History The station was opened in August 1858 by the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway (a company later taken over by the Furness Railway).
A short branch line to Sandside and Hincaster Junction on the West Coast Main Line once diverged from the main line here, which carried a to Kendal local service from its opening in 1876 until 1942.Marshall, J (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, ; p.104 The branch was also used by mineral trains from County Durham to the Barrow-in-Furness area, allowing them to avoid having to reverse direction at the busy junction at Carnforth. Local freight traffic continued as far as Sandside until final closure of the line in 1972.
Arnside viaduct A short distance west of the station, the railway crosses the River Kent on an impressive 50-span viaduct that is some long.Visit Cumbria - Arnside station Accessed 28 October 2008 The current structure was opened in 1915, replacing the earlier viaduct from 1857. The historic structure underwent major repairs and refurbishment, including the complete replacement of the rail deck in 2011. The viaduct only carries the railway, but there has been a longstanding campaign to widen it for road vehicles.
Facilities Whilst one building remains at the station, it is not in railway use. Shelters are provided for passengers on both platforms, but the only link between them is via a footbridge with stairs (no step-free access). Digital information screens, customer help points, timetable posters and automated announcements provide train running details. As the station is unstaffed, tickets can only be bought from the ticket machine or on the train.
Passenger volume +Passenger volume at Arnside2004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–232023–242024–25Entries and exits89,18290,92892,774105,084102,314107,698115,862102,426110,032115,464114,090109,736110,610103,16896,348115,33828,764100,03491,330106,286119,618 The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
It is served by stopping trains between and Barrow, with some continuing to Sellafield or Carlisle via the Cumbrian Coast Line in the northbound direction, and by some through services southbound to and . There is one train per hour in each direction on weekdays, although the varying nature of the stopping patterns of each service means the timetable is irregular. On Sundays there is a train every hour each way.
Community rail The station, as with all others along the line, is part of Community Rail Cumbria, a Community rail scheme which supports the use and development of the line.
References
Bibliography
External links
Station on navigable Ordnance Survey map