Carlisle railway station


Carlisle, or Carlisle Citadel, is a Grade II* listed railway station serving the cathedral city of Carlisle, in Cumbria, England. It is a principal stop on the West Coast Main Line, south-east of and north-north-west of. It is the northern terminus of the Settle and Carlisle Line. The station is so named because it is adjacent to Carlisle Citadel, a former medieval fortress. The station is owned by Network Rail.
In September 1847, the first services departed the station, even though construction was not completed until the following year. It was built in a neo-Tudor style to the designs of English architect William Tite. Carlisle station was one of a number in the city; the others were Crown Street and [Carlisle Carlisle London Road railway station|London Road railway station|London Road], but it became the dominant station by 1851. The other stations had their passenger services redirected to it and were closed. Between 1875 and 1876, the station was expanded to accommodate the lines of the Midland Railway which was the seventh railway company to use it.
The Beeching cuts of the 1960s affected Carlisle, particularly the closure of the former North British Railway lines to Silloth, on 7 September 1964, and the Waverley Line to via on 6 January 1969. The closure programme claimed neighbouring lines, including the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway and Portpatrick Railway in 1965; this resulted in a significant mileage increase via the Glasgow South Western Line and to reach Stranraer Harbour and ferries to Northern Ireland. The station layout has undergone few changes other than the singling of the ex-NER Tyne Valley route to London Road Junction in the 1972–73 resignalling scheme, which was associated with the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. Renovations to the platforms and glass roof were performed between 2015 and 2018.

History

Construction and early operations

Close to the English border with Scotland, Carlisle became an important railway interchange in the first half of the 19th century. In 1836, Carlisle's first station opened at London Road for the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway; seven years later, Crown Street opened for the Maryport & Carlisle Railway. In the mid-1840s, work commenced on Carlisle Citadel on the south side of Court Square. Citadel station was built for the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway and the Caledonian Railways.
Carlisle station was designed by the architect William Tite. His design incorporated Tudor and Gothic styles. Built at a cost of £53,000, the station was constructed between 1846 and 1848. On 10 September 1847, it was officially opened to rail traffic, even though construction was incomplete and only one long through platform with a bay at each end had been finished.
The main station buildings have a multi-bay sandstone facade of two storeys, capped by rows of slate roofs at differing levels. The entrance portico is supported by five pointed arches with buttresses between. Roundels are placed over three arches; the central roundel bears the royal arms of Queen Victoria, flanked by those of the Lancaster & Carlisle and the Caledonian Railways but the outer plaques, intended for the Maryport & Carlisle and the Newcastle and Carlisle who did not contribute towards the cost of the station's construction, are blank.
As a consequence of the station accommodating the complex timetables operated by two operating companies, a joint management committee was established. On 10 May 1857, the Carlisle Citadel Station Agreement was drawn up and established under the of 22 July 1861. The committee had eight directors: four each from the boards of the Caledonian and the London and North Western Railway, which had absorbed the Lancaster & Carlisle in 1859.
To improve freight services the Carlisle Goods Traffic Committee was formed after the . The London & North Western, Midland, Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western each had two directors on the committee. To minimise the danger to passengers, a goods avoidance line was constructed to divert freight trains around the station.

Expansion and later service

The Carlisle Citadel Station Act 1873 authorised changes, not restricted to freight, including an instruction "enlarging and improving facilities". Expansion work took place between 1873 and 1876 followed by a second phase between 1878 and 1881. While construction was taking place, the opening of the Midland Railway's Settle–Carlisle line generated more freight trains from August 1875 and passenger services started in April 1876.
On 20 July 1881, improvements were officially completed. Carlisle station was used by seven railway companies: the London and North Western, North Eastern, Midland, Caledonian, North British, Glasgow & South Western, and Maryport & Carlisle. Each company operated its own passenger amenities, with separate booking and parcels offices.
Additional tracks, buildings and platforms were constructed including an island platform with two-storey buildings which increased the 400 metre-long through platforms to three. Five terminal bay platforms were constructed and an overarching footbridge which connected the through platforms inside the train shed. Below the platforms, the undercroft contains a network of passageways, offices, service rooms and staff accommodation; parts of the underground areas are reputed to be haunted.
During the construction programme, an iron and glass large roof was installed behind the station buildings. As built, it spanned 85 metres across the platforms and tracks to cover an area in excess of 2.6 hectares. It consisted of 26 deep lattice girders, with a transverse span and 12.2 metre centres; each girder had 10 panels, stiffened end posts and a flat bottom tie. The girders supported a series of slender balanced cantilever half-truss hooped beams at approximately 3.7m centres, spanning the tracks. The ornate timber end screens had Gothic-style glazing bars. The roof was glazed using shingled panels, possibly making use of Rendel's patented Indestructible System, and was designed by Edinburgh-based engineering firm Blyth & Cunningham.

Twentieth century

During 1922, five of the seven companies that operated at the station were absorbed into the London Midland & Scottish Railway after the Railways Act 1921. During the Second World War, black paint was applied to the roof glazing as a precautionary measure against enemy air raids.
Preventative maintenance gradually led to large areas of the glass roof becoming unsafe and forcing occasional platform closures after falling glass. In 1957, it was decided to reduce the area of the roof and concentrate maintenance activities on the remaining area. Between 1957 and 1958, the south-western half of the station roof, and portions of its north-eastern half and the end screens were removed. The original glass panes were replaced by large patent glazing panels. The substantial supporting wall at the south-western side of the station was left in place. The wall is built of sandstone and linked to the main buildings by a series of arched tunnels in the undercroft.
In November 1972, the station received Grade II* listed status; its citation notes: "The building by Tite is among the most important early major railway stations in Britain." In April 1994, the freestanding retaining wall was also listed separately as Grade II.

Restorations

Between October 2010 and March 2011, a series of improvements were performed at Carlisle station; these were focused on its passenger amenities, such as the waiting, meeting and seating areas. From 13 July 2013 to 7 April 2014, as part of a £1.5 million refurbishment project, accessibility at the station was improved via the refurbishment of the lifts and other alterations to achieve step-free access to all of the platforms. In conjunction, a formerly-disused subway was also renovated.
According to rail industry publication Rail Engineer, it was clear by 2014 that the station's roof was in need of restoration. The steel trusses were found to have been sagging in places, which was speculated to have been a result not only of the structure's age but also come as a consequence of the alterations performed during the 1950s it had been exacerbated by the adoption of rigid glazing and insufficient drainage systems. Multiple panels have cracked or broken, resulting in the deployment of several nets to catch falling glass, while rainwater often pooled in areas of the roof rather than draining away. Furthermore, maintenance activities were complicated by a lack of access to the roof on the part of safety restrictions, preventing even routine cleaning, thus the panels were perpetually dirty and provided poor natural lighting conditions throughout the platforms.
During November 2015, work commenced upon the repair and refurbishment of the station's roof, as well as the rebuilding of all eight platforms under a £14.7 million scheme that was managed and carried out by national rail infrastructure management company Network Rail. This programme was planned by global design consulting firm Arcadis, in close cooperation with both Historic England and Carlisle City Council. The renovated roof was designed to incorporate modern elements and contemporary construction techniques; significant attention was reportedly paid to maintaining its historical aesthetic. The new roof is primarily composed of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene sheeting and aluminium frames, which is claimed to possess a high level of resistance to corrosion as well as retaining considerable strength and being far lighter than conventional glass panes. Other benefits include the roof being shatterproof and self-cleaning. Construction company Galliford Try served as the principal contractor performing the roof replacement, while Vector Foiltec manufactured and fitted the EFTE sheets. It was also decided to repaint the metalwork of the roof, which was not originally included in the programme's scope.
During February 2018, a second phase of this renovation programme, which was focused upon the platforms themselves, was scheduled to commence. Work to resurface and install tactile paving on platforms 1, 2, and 3 was completed in March 2022.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 4 March 1890, a night express from London was unable to stop on approaching the station, overran signals and collided with a light engine, killing 4 people. The driver claimed that the automatic vacuum brake had failed due to icing in the train pipe between engine and train. The Inspecting Officer disputed this and concluded that the driver had accidentally switched to the simple vacuum brake and released the brakes. This verdict caused some controversy at the time and in subsequent years.
  • On 6 June 1961, a light engine and a freight train collided under the Caldewgate road bridge.
  • On 1 May 1984, a runaway freight train collided with and destroyed the River Caldew bridge at Denton Holme. This incident directly contributed to the decision to permanently close the goods line shortly thereafter. However, the goods line was not dismantled; it has been speculated that it could be restored and reopened to traffic one day, if the measure was to be deemed necessary for the relief of freight congestion in the vicinity of the station.
  • On 19 October 2022, a freight train carrying cement derailed while crossing the bridge over the River Petteril east of the station, causing significant damage to the infrastructure. At least one of the five derailed wagons ended up in the river.

Facilities

The station is a fully staffed facility during normal hours; the booking office is typically open each day from the start of services in the morning up until 20:00 in the evening. A number of ticket machines are also available in the booking hall. To the north of the station's portico, located directly between the main entrance and the station offices, is a square clock tower, furnished with an octagonal lantern; to the south of the portico are single-storey waiting and refreshment rooms. Interior details of these rooms included Tudor and Gothic-style fireplaces and linen-fold wood-panelled doors.
Multiple waiting rooms are located on both of the station's main platforms; additionally, there is a newsagent on the concourse and a buffet on platform three. Train running information is provided across the station in the form of auditory announcements over a public address system, along with a series of distributed digital display screens. In line with accessibility legislation, full step-free access is possible to all platforms on the station via ramps to the footbridge or lifts and subway.

Layout

There are eight platforms at the station in total: three through and five bays, organised as follows :
  1. Relief West Coast Main Line platform and occasional Caledonian Sleeper; this is the normal northbound West Coast Main Line platform
  2. Cumbrian Coast Line bay
  3. West Coast Main Line northbound platform, mostly TransPennine Express northbound
  4. West Coast Main Line southbound platform
  5. Tyne Valley Line bay/Settle and Carlisle line bay
  6. As platform 5; services at these platforms often alternate
  7. Scottish services to various destinations between Carlisle and Glasgow, via the Glasgow South Western Line
  8. Used instead of Platform 7 occasionally for ScotRail services to Glasgow
There are stabling roads between platforms 3 and 4 in the train shed, and a loop around platform 1. There are several electrified sidings to the west of platform 1. There are substantial buildings on both the western island and the main up platform on the east side, with the main station buffet on the former and the travel centre/ticket office and shop on the latter. Both main platforms have waiting rooms and toilets; they are linked by a fully accessible footbridge.
Freight trains formerly used a goods line to the west to bypass the station, but this was closed in 1984 after a runaway rake of container wagons derailed at high speed on the River Caldew bridge at Dentonholme, damaging it beyond economic repair. Nearly all freight services now have to use one of the main platform lines when passing through the station, which can cause congestion at peak times.

Services

The station is served by five train operating companies, with the following general off-peak service pattern in trains per hour/day:

[Avanti West Coast]

[Northern Trains]

  • 1tph to, via
  • 1tph to, via and Newcastle
  • 1tph to, via Hexham
  • 1tp2h to, via.

[ScotRail]

  • 1tp2h to
  • 1tp2h to Glasgow Central, via.

[TransPennine Express]

  • 1tph to
  • 3tpd to
  • 1tp2h to Edinburgh Waverley
  • 1tp2h to Glasgow Central
  • 3tpd to Glasgow Central.

[Caledonian Sleeper]

  • 1tpd to London Euston
  • 1tpd to Glasgow Central
  • 1tpd to, and.

Excursion trains

Alongside regular passenger trains on select weekends and occasionally during mid-week, excursion trains regularly visit Carlisle as the destination for railtour passengers. The most popular excursion trains are those worked by steam locomotives. The starting points of the trips vary with some travelling from the southern end of the West Coast Main Line at London Euston and from other starting points such as Tyseley, Birmingham,, and Liverpool. The routes vary too, as there are four main routes that railtours can travel down heading to Carlisle or making their return journeys: the West Coast Main Line ; the Cumbrian Coast and Furness line; the Tyne Valley line; and the Settle and Carlisle line.
Some of the steam locomotives ran through Carlisle in the days of steam, including: Black 5s, Jubilees, Royal Scots, Princess Royals and Coronation/Duchesses. Some are of classes which never visited Carlisle in steam days, including: Castles, Kings, Halls, Merchant Navys and Light Pacifics.
Steam locomotives that are known to have visited Carlisle over the years include: 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, 6201 Princess Elizabeth, 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, 34067 Tangmere, 35018 British India Line, Black Five 44871, 45690 Leander, 45699 Galatea, 46115 Scots Guardsman, 60103 Flying Scotsman, 60163 Tornado, 61306 Mayflower and 71000 Duke of Gloucester.
The Cumbrian Mountain Express trains are regular excursions that visit Carlisle. The routes vary from travelling northbound over Shap summit on the WCML, returning south down the Settle & Carlisle line or vice versa. These now run throughout the year.