Settle railway station

For the original Settle station opened in 1849, see Giggleswick railway station.

Settle is a railway station on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between Carlisle and Leeds. The station, situated 41 miles 37 chains (66.7 km) north-west of Leeds, serves the market town of Settle in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Settle
General information
Location	Settle, North Yorkshire England
Coordinates	54°04′01″N 2°16′51″W
Grid reference	SD817634
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	SET
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
1 May 1876	Opened as Settle New
1 July 1879	Renamed Settle
Passengers
2019/20	0.149 million
2020/21	27,580
2021/22	0.118 million
2022/23	0.131 million
2023/24	0.134 million
Listed Building – Grade II
Feature	Original Midland Railway station building
Designated	9 March 1984
Reference no.	1132349[1]
Location Settle Location in North Yorkshire, England
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The market town is also served by the railway station at Giggleswick, situated about a mile to the south-west; it is on the Bentham Line, which runs between Leeds and Morecambe via Lancaster.

History

Settle station looking south, showing the ex-North British Railway footbridge

Settle signal box

The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders.^[2] The station was opened with the line on 1 May 1876 and was originally named Settle New to distinguish it from the nearby station on a different route, which was renamed Settle Old at the same time. Settle New was renamed Settle on 1 July 1879, by which time Settle Old had become Giggleswick.^[3] Goods facilities were withdrawn from the station in 1970.

The station was Grade II listed on 9 March 1984.^[1]

The platforms are linked by an ex-North British Railway footbridge that was formerly located at Drem station in East Lothian, until electrification of the East Coast Main Line made it redundant. It was then dismantled and re-erected here in 1993 to allow the old barrow crossing at the north end of the station to be taken out of regular use; the crossing is still available for wheelchair users when the station is staffed.

The former station signal box, which had been out of railway use since 1984, was relocated further north to be adjacent to the Down platform in 1997;^[4] it is open to the public on most Saturdays.^[5]

The water tower situated near the station in the former goods yard was converted into residential accommodation in 2011.^[6] It has subsequently been featured in several television documentaries.

Facilities

The station is located very close to the town centre and is staffed on a part-time basis. There is a range of facilities available, including a waiting room, toilets and a souvenir shop in the main buildings on the southbound platform.^[7]

There is a period stone-built waiting room located on the northbound platform and a new stone and glass shelter on the southbound side.

A ticket machine is available for use when the booking office is closed. Train running information is provided by timetable posters, a PA system and digital information screens.^[8]

Accidents and incidents

On 21 January 1960, an express passenger train derailed just to the north of the station (near the village of Langcliffe) and then collided with a northbound freight due to a defect on the BR Standard Class 7 locomotive hauling it. Five people were killed and nine were injured.^[9]

Services

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

Monday to Saturdays there is generally a two-hourly service southbound to Leeds (nine trains a day in total Mon-Sat^[10]) and northbound to Carlisle (eight). The last train of the day from Leeds runs only as far as Ribblehead and the corresponding return to Leeds starts back from there. Trains terminated or started from either Appleby or Armathwaite from the spring of 2016 whilst Network Rail repaired a major landslip at Eden Brows (between Armathwaite & Carlisle). A replacement bus service was in operation over the affected section until the project to repair the line was completed in March 2017.^[11] The project was completed on schedule and the line reopened to traffic on 31 March 2017.

On Sundays there are now six trains in each direction throughout the year (including one through train to & from Nottingham); the additional summer service between Preston and Carlisle via Blackburn and Clitheroe (northbound in the morning, returning south in the afternoon) operated by Northern Rail under the DalesRail brand did not run in 2023 and has now been withdrawn. A replacement service on Saturdays from Rochdale via Manchester Victoria and Blackburn started in June 2024, with two trips each way up to Ribblehead. They are timed to connect with Leeds to Carlisle trains to allow access to stations further north.^[12]

The new Northern franchise awarded to Arriva Rail North in December 2015 and which started in April 2016, saw modest service improvements from the station implemented from the May 2018 timetable change, with one extra weekday service each way and two extra trains each way on Sundays.^[13]