Windermere railway station

Windermere railway station serves Windermere in Cumbria, England. It is the terminus of the Windermere Branch Line, which runs from Oxenholme. It is owned by Network Rail and is operated by Northern Trains who provide all passenger train services.

Windermere
195129 standing at Windermere, having arrived from Manchester Airport
General information
Location	Windermere, Westmorland and Furness England
Grid reference	SD413986
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	WDM
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	1847
Original company	Kendal and Windermere Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
20 April 1847	Opened
1973	Reduced to single track
Passengers
2019/20	0.406 million
2020/21	0.115 million
2021/22	0.310 million
2022/23	0.316 million
2023/24	0.363 million
Location Windermere Location in South Lakeland Show map of the former South Lakeland district Windermere Location in Cumbria Show map of Cumbria
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It is located just south of the A591, about 25 min walk or a short bus ride from the lake. The station is located behind a former branch of the Booths supermarket chain, which occupies the site of the original station building, in front of the Lakeland store.

History

Windermere station in 1951

It is the terminus of the former Kendal and Windermere Railway.^[1]

The Terrace, a row of cottages built for railway executives in 1849, is said to have been designed by the architect Augustus Pugin. One of the fireplaces is a copy of one of his in the Palace of Westminster.^[2]

The selection of the town of Birthwaite as the location of the station serving the lake was what led to it taking the name Windermere, even though it is not on the water; nowadays, it has essentially grown together with Bowness-on-Windermere, which touches the lake.

The station was at one time bigger than at present, with four platforms and an overall roof.^[3] Three tracks were taken out of use when the branch was reduced to a one-train operated single line in 1973 as an economy measure. The single track was cut back to a new truncated station in 1986 following the demolition of the trainshed and the building of a Booths supermarket, which has been designed to mimic the appearance of the original trainshed and incorporates the facade and canopy of the original station.

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office that is open throughout the week (06:00- 20:45 on weekdays and Saturdays, 10:30 to 20:45 on Sundays); a self-service ticket machine is also provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. A post box, toilets and a waiting room are available, along with cycle hire facilities and a pay phone. Running information is offered via digital CIS displays and timetable posters. Level access is available from the ticket office and station entrance to the platform.^[4] Responsibility for operating the line passed from First TransPennine Express to Northern in April 2016.^[5]

Services

Northern Trains Route 6
v t e
Cumbrian Coast, Furness & Windermere lines
Carlisle Dalston Wigton Aspatria Maryport Flimby Workington Harrington Parton Whitehaven Corkickle St Bees Nethertown Braystones Sellafield Seascale Drigg Ravenglass Bootle Silecroft Millom Green Road Foxfield Kirkby-in-Furness Askam Barrow-in-Furness Roose Dalton Ulverston Cark & Cartmel Kents Bank Grange-over-Sands Arnside Silverdale Carnforth Windermere Staveley Burneside Kendal Oxenholme Lake District Lancaster Preston Chorley Bolton Deansgate Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Airport
Braystones & Nethertown are request stops.

195126 at Windermere, awaiting departure for Oxenholme Lake District

Northern primarily run Class 195 diesel multiple units at a frequency of one per hour in each direction along the line, which runs through Staveley, Burneside, and Kendal, and then interchanges with Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express services at Oxenholme Lake District. Four trains per day (three on Sundays) continue to Manchester Airport via Lancaster and Bolton. The last service of the day terminates at Preston.

Bus services

The station is also a hub for Stagecoach bus services connecting Windermere with Coniston, Grasmere, Keswick, Kendal and other destinations in Cumbria. Stagecoach also run regular buses through the town to the lake at Bowness-on-Windermere on the 599 route; these buses are open-top double-decker buses and run every 20 minutes in the summer.^[6] The 597 minibus service links the station with the housing estates and health centre three mornings a week.^[7]

• Cumbria portal

References

1. "Opening of the Kendal and Windermere Railway". Westmorland Gazette. England. 24 April 1847. Retrieved 10 April 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
2. "A W N Pugin in Cumbria". Visit Cumbria. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
3. Vaughn, p.115
4. Windermere station facilities National Rail Enquiries
5. Northern Rail Franchise Improvements - DfT Archived 11 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 16 December 2015
6. Lakes Connection Service 599 Summer 2016
7. Windermere Town Service 597

• Vaughn, J.A.M (1980), Modern Branch Line Album, Ian Allan Publishing Ltd (Shepperton, Surrey). ISBN 0-7110-1030-7

External links

• Train times and station information for Windermere railway station from National Rail
• Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire
• Buses from the station
• Buses to the station

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Terminus		Northern Trains Windermere branch line		Staveley
Terminus		Northern Connect Windermere - Manchester Airport		Staveley (limited service)
				Kendal

54.380°N 2.903°W / 54.380; -2.903