Alnmouth railway station

Summary

Alnmouth (also known as Alnmouth for Alnwick) is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station, situated 34 miles 69 chains (34.9 miles; 56.1 kilometres) north of Newcastle, serves the coastal and rural villages of Alnmouth and Lesbury and the neighbouring market town of Alnwick in Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Alnmouth

Alnmouth for Alnwick
National Rail
General information
LocationAlnmouth, Northumberland
England
Coordinates55°23′34″N 1°38′12″W / 55.3927930°N 1.6367716°W / 55.3927930; -1.6367716
Grid referenceNU230110
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeALM
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyYork, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Key dates
1 July 1847Opened as Bilton
2 May 1892Renamed Alnmouth
23 May 2003Renamed Alnmouth for Alnwick
Passengers
2018/19Increase 0.345 million
2019/20Steady 0.345 million
2020/21Decrease 61,222
2021/22Increase 0.286 million
2022/23Increase 0.331 million
Location
Alnmouth is located in Northumberland
Alnmouth
Alnmouth
Location in Northumberland, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History edit

The station was opened on 1 July 1847 as Bilton by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway[1][2] and from 1854 run by the North Eastern Railway. On 19 August 1850 it became the junction for the Alnwick branch line and was significantly upgraded by the NER in 1887–88.[3] On 2 May 1892 the station's name was changed to Alnmouth.[1][4]

It became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the North Eastern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The Alnwick branch service was withdrawn in January 1968, with freight traffic ending in October the same year. The station had an additional platform face on the 'down' (northbound) side for use by branch trains, but this lost its track in the early 1970s after the branch closed (along with the buildings on that side) and was removed altogether prior to the station being refurbished in 2004. The main building on the southbound platform is not original – it was erected in 1987 to replace the original structures constructed when the Alnwick branch opened in 1850.

When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by the Intercity Sector until the privatisation of British Rail.[citation needed]

Facilities edit

 
Station buildings

The station is staffed, with the ticket office on platform 1 open every day of the week (06:40-18:15 Mon-Sat, 10:20-21:30 Sundays). A self-service ticket machine is also provided (this can be used to collect pre-paid tickets as well as for use when the booking office is closed). There is a waiting shelter and help point on platform 2 as well as a waiting room, vending machine and toilets on platform 1. Level access is available to both platforms via lifts in the footbridge. Train running information is offered via automated announcements, digital displays and timetable posters.[5]

Services edit

London North Eastern Railway
Legend
 
Inverness
 
Carrbridge
 
Aviemore
 
Kingussie
 
Newtonmore
 
Blair Atholl
 
Pitlochry
 
Dunkeld & Birnam
 
Perth
 
Gleneagles
 
Dunblane
 
Stirling
 
Falkirk Grahamston
 
 
Aberdeen
 
 
Stonehaven
 
 
Montrose
 
 
Arbroath
 
 
Dundee
 
 
Leuchars
 
 
Kirkcaldy
 
 
Inverkeithing
 
 
 
Glasgow Central  
 
 
 
Motherwell
 
 
 
 
Haymarket  
 
Edinburgh Waverley  
 
Dunbar
 
Reston
 
Berwick-upon-Tweed
 
Alnmouth
 
Morpeth
 
 
Sunderland  
 
 
 
Newcastle  
 
Durham
 
Darlington
 
 
Middlesbrough
 
 
Thornaby
 
 
 
Northallerton
 
 
Skipton
 
 
Keighley
 
 
 
Bradford Forster Square
 
 
 
York
 
 
Shipley
 
 
 
Harrogate
 
 
 
Horsforth
 
 
 
 
Hull Paragon
 
 
 
 
Brough
 
 
 
 
Selby
 
 
 
Leeds
 
 
 
Wakefield Westgate
 
 
 
 
Doncaster
 
Retford
 
 
Lincoln
 
 
 
Newark Northgate
 
Grantham
 
Peterborough
 
Stevenage
 
London King's Cross  
Northern Trains
Route 1
East Coast Main Line
 
Chathill  
 
Alnmouth    
 
Acklington    
 
Widdrington    
 
Pegswood
 
Morpeth    
 
Cramlington    
 
Manors  
 
Newcastle        
 
MetroCentre
Most services extend to/from
Carlisle.

Services at Alnmouth are operated by Northern Trains, CrossCountry, London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express.

The station is generally served by a two-hourly CrossCountry service between Edinburgh Waverley and Plymouth via Birmingham New Street, with some northbound services extending to Glasgow Central and Aberdeen. The station is also served by a two-hourly London North Eastern Railway service between Edinburgh and London King's Cross, with some northbound services also extending to Glasgow Central and Aberdeen. These services combine to give a roughly hourly off-peak service with additional services during the peak hours.[6][7]

Since December 2021, the station is also served by five trains per day between Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle which are operated by TransPennine Express.[6][8]

Northern Trains operate a limited service of four trains per day (two in the morning and two in the evening) northbound to Chathill and southbound to Newcastle. Both southbound services on weekdays and the morning service on Saturdays continue beyond Newcastle to Carlisle via Hexham.[6][9]

The Aln Valley heritage railway has long-term ambitions of extending its running line to Alnmouth station[10] from its current terminus at Greenrigg Halt.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Morpeth
or
Newcastle
  CrossCountry
  Berwick-upon-Tweed
or
Edinburgh Waverley
  London North Eastern Railway
 
Morpeth   TransPennine Express
  Berwick-upon-Tweed
Northern Trains
Limited Service
  Historical railways  
Warkworth
Line open, station closed
  York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway   Lesbury
Line open, station closed
Terminus   North Eastern Railway
  Alnwick
Line and station closed

References edit

  1. ^ a b Butt 1995, p. 34
  2. ^ Body 1989, p. 193
  3. ^ "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EAST COAST MAIN LINE IN NORTHUMBERLAND" Archived 13 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Young, Alan Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 13 February 2017
  4. ^ Butt 1995, p. 15
  5. ^ Alnmouth station facilities Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 8 February 2017
  6. ^ a b c Table 26, 48, 51 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  7. ^ "LNER Train Timetable" (PDF). London North Eastern Railway. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  8. ^ "TransPennine Express announces new rail services for Northumberland". International Railway Reviews. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Train times: Alnmouth and Morpeth to Newcastle and Metrocentre" (PDF). Northern Trains. 12 December 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  10. ^ "About Us – Aln Valley Railway". Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.

Sources edit

  • Body, G. (1989). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2: Northern operating area (1st ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0072-1. OCLC 59892452.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.

External links edit

  • Train times and station information for Alnmouth railway station from National Rail