Ravenglass railway station

Ravenglass
Ravenglass for Eskdale
Location
Place	Ravenglass
Local authority	Copeland
Coordinates	54°21′22″N 3°24′32″W / 54.356°N 3.409°WCoordinates: 54°21′22″N 3°24′32″W / 54.356°N 3.409°W
Grid reference	SD085964
Operations
Station code	RAV
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	16,644
2005/06	19,346
2006/07	16,068
2007/08	27,894
2008/09	28,698
2009/10	31,760
2010/11	37,194
2011/12	36,376
2012/13	33,546
2013/14	34,260
2014/15	35,334
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ravenglass from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Ravenglass railway station serves the village of Ravenglass in Cumbria, England. It is a stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line 29 ¹⁄₄ miles (47.1 km) north of Barrow-in-Furness and the terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale heritage railway. The two parts of the station are separated by the station's car park. Its National Rail station is operated by Northern, who provide all passenger train services, whilst the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway run its own platforms and services. The mainline station was originally known as Ravenglass before being lengthened to Ravenglass for Eskdale. It was then renamed to Ravenglass on 6 May 1974.^[1] When First North Western operated the station during the early part of the 21st century, it reverted to its name of Ravenglass for Eskdale until Northern rebranded the station signage in 2007, losing the "for Eskdale" suffix once more.

Overview

The Southbound platform at the station

This station has two platforms, one serving trains travelling towards Barrow-in-Furness and one for trains travelling towards Carlisle. All former station buildings on the National Rail site, which is now unstaffed, are currently owned by the Eskdale Railway company - the main building being a pub, The Ratty Arms,^[2] the old southbound shelter a museum (leaving only small shelters for mainline travellers) and the goods shed an engineering workshop. The old Furness Railway main line signal box south of the station also survives - though out of railway use since 1965, it has been restored by the R&ER as a working museum exhibit and is open to the public.^[3]

Step-free access to both (staggered) platforms is available, with the northbound one via ramps from the underpass linking the two (there is also a footbridge link to the R&ER station at the south end of this platform).^[4] Train running information can be obtained from timetable posters, information screens and by telephone.

Twelve trains per weekday in each direction call at the station (roughly every hour, albeit with longer gaps in the afternoon), although one northbound train terminates at Sellafield rather than running through to Carlisle. There are no passenger services at this part of the station during the evening or on Sundays.^[5] Through tickets from trains on the Cumbria Coast Line are available to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

The R&ER platforms at their Ravenglass station

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, also known as La'al Ratty from Cumbrian dialect, is a heritage railway, providing journeys on a narrow-gauge railway up the scenic Eskdale valley. The Ravenglass station owned by the line is the other side of the car park and is the line's primary station and base of operations, with fully equipped workshops, motive power depot, carriage shed, paint shop and signal box. For passengers, there is a museum, café, gift shop and ticket office. The station has a turntable and three platforms, however only platforms 1 and 3 see regular use.

The station opened in 1875 and has closed and reopened to passengers as the companies have. It has had many changes in layout and design, and is currently at its largest size that it has ever been

See Ravenglass (R&ER) railway station for more details.

References

1. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine. London: IPC Transport Press Ltd. 120 (879): 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
2. Ravenglass Station Old Cumbria Gazetteer; Retrieved 2 December 2016
3. "Ravenglass Signal Box" The Signal Box website; Retrieved 14 November 2016
4. Ravenglass station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 2 December 2016
5. GB eNRT 2016 Edition, Table 100 (Network Rail)

External links

• Train times and station information for Ravenglass railway station from National Rail
• Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Drigg		Northern Cumbrian Coast Line Mondays-Saturdays only		Bootle
Historical railways
Drigg Line and station open		Furness Railway Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway		Eskmeals Line open, station closed