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Morecambe railway station

Coordinates: 54°04′13″N 2°52′07″W / 54.0703282°N 2.8685482°W / 54.0703282; -2.8685482
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Morecambe
National Rail
General information
LocationMorecambe, City of Lancaster
England
Coordinates54°04′13″N 2°52′07″W / 54.0703282°N 2.8685482°W / 54.0703282; -2.8685482
Grid referenceSD432641
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks3 (1 bay platform)
Other information
Station codeMCM
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyRailtrack
Key dates
29 May 1994Opened
Passengers
2019/20Increase 0.208 million
2020/21Decrease 44,778
2021/22Increase 0.147 million
2022/23Increase 0.165 million
2023/24Decrease 0.164 million
Location
Morecambe is located in Morecambe
Morecambe
Morecambe
Morecambe is located in the City of Lancaster district
Morecambe
Morecambe
Morecambe is located in Lancashire
Morecambe
Morecambe
Location in Lancashire, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Morecambe is a railway station on the Morecambe Branch Line, which runs between Lancaster and Heysham Port. The station, situated 4 miles (6 km) west of Lancaster, serves the town of Morecambe in Lancashire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

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The current truncated two-platform station was opened on 29 May 1994, replacing the Midland Railway's earlier terminus, Morecambe Promenade, which was situated 400 m (440 yd) further west, closer to the town's seafront.

Morecambe, Lancaster
and Heysham Port
Bare Lane
Lancaster
Morecambe
ferry/water interchange Heysham Port

The old station building remains in use as a pub and restaurant, but its platforms have been demolished and the site is now occupied by a cinema and the Morecambe indoor market. That station was itself a replacement for the North Western Railway's original two-platform terminus at Northumberland Street, which opened in 1851 and closed in March 1907. It was located almost exactly on the same site as the current station and ticket office.

Facilities

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A diagram of the current track layout, which was heavily rationalised since the closure of Promenade station in 1994

Terminating passenger services usually run into platform 1; however, trains to/from Heysham must use the platform 2 line in order to reverse and gain access to the single track Heysham branch. The lines to platforms 1 and 2 connect 1.6 miles (2.6 km) away at a junction east of Bare Lane station. Services access the Heysham section by means of a ground frame at the junction, which is released by Preston signalling centre (which has supervised the branch since the closure of Bare Lane signal box in December 2012) and operated by the train crew.

The ticket office is staffed from the early morning until mid-afternoon, six days per week (closed Sundays). Passengers can purchase tickets or a permit to travel from a ticket vending machine at the station at other times. A waiting shelter is provided, along with a P.A system and digital information screens.[1] There is step-free access to the platform from the station entrance and ticket office.[2]

Services

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Northern Trains
Route 7
Settle & Carlisle
& Bentham lines
Carlisle
Armathwaite
Lazonby & Kirkoswald
Langwathby
Appleby
Kirkby Stephen
Garsdale
Dent
Ribblehead
Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Settle
Heysham Port
ferry/water interchange
Morecambe
Bare Lane
Lancaster
Carnforth
Wennington
Bentham
Clapham
Giggleswick
Long Preston
Hellifield
Gargrave
Skipton
Keighley
Bingley
Shipley
Leeds

Northern Trains operate the following services:[3]

The token direct trains to Carnforth that ran up until the summer 2019 timetable change (one early morning Lancaster - Morecambe - Windermere train, plus one weekday and three Sunday services to Leeds) have now been withdrawn. The Parliamentary train legal minimum service for the Bare Lane to Hest Bank North Junction chord is now provided by an early morning train from Lancaster, which runs via Carnforth (reverse) and the curve in question.[6]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Bare Lane   Northern Trains
Morecambe Branch Line
  Heysham Port
    Terminus

Future improvements

[edit]

Northern's franchise agreement (started on 1 April 2016) includes provision for additional trains on the Leeds route - three additional weekday services were introduced from May 2018 (with trains timed to improve commuting and leisure opportunities at either end of the route) and one additional train each way on Sundays (the additional trains however start/terminate at Lancaster).[7]

References

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  1. ^ Morecambe station Visit North West; Retrieved 1 December 2016
  2. ^ Morecambe station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 1 December 2016
  3. ^ "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  4. ^ Table 106 National Rail timetable, May 2023
  5. ^ Table 35 National Rail timetable, May 2023
  6. ^ Passenger trains over unusual lines 2019 website Archived 3 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Maund, R, Retrieved 6 June 2019
  7. ^ "Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT". Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
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