Whitehaven railway station

Whitehaven railway station serves the coastal town of Whitehaven, in Cumbria, England. It is a stop on the Cumbrian Coast Line, which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

1. History

The first station at Whitehaven was opened on 19 March 1847 by the Whitehaven Junction Railway (WJR), as the terminus of their line from Maryport. This station lay to the south of the present station, with the main entrance on Bransty Row. On the southern side of the town, the first section of the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway (W&FJR) opened on 1 June 1849 from a terminus at Whitehaven (Preston Street) to Ravenglass, but there was no connection between this line and the WJR suitable for passenger trains. In between the two stations stood the town centre and, to the east of that, Hospital Hill; a tunnel 1,333 yards (1,219 m) long was built beneath the latter, being completed in July 1852. In 1854, the W&FJR passenger trains began using the WJR station at Whitehaven, with Preston Street becoming a goods-only station. In 1865, the W&FJR was absorbed by the Furness Railway (FR) and, in 1866, the WJR was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The LNWR station (formerly WJR) was replaced on 20 December 1874 by a new one named Whitehaven Bransty; it was jointly owned by the LNWR and the FR. This station had its name simplified to Whitehaven on 6 May 1968. The original buildings were demolished and replaced by a modern single-story ticket hall in the mid-1980s. The former goods yard site beyond and behind platform one is now occupied by a supermarket. The station formerly had four operational platforms, but only two remain in use today (the former platforms three and four having lost their tracks when the layout was simplified and the buildings replaced). The double line from Parton becomes single opposite the station signal box, which still bears the original station name Whitehaven Bransty; it then splits into two: one runs into platform one (a bay used by most terminating services from Carlisle) and the other runs into platform two, which is the through line to Sellafield, Millom and Barrow. Trains heading south must collect a token for the single line section to St Bees from a machine on the platform (with the co-operation of the signaller) before they can proceed. Conversely, trains from Barrow must surrender the token upon arrival; the driver returns it to the machine before departing for Workington; only then can the signaller allow another train to enter the single line section. A Sunday service over the whole length of the Coastal route operated on a one-off basis on Sunday 27 September 2009; the first time a revenue earning passenger Sunday service operated south of Whitehaven since May 1976. This celebrated the ACoRP Community Rail Festival. An improved Sunday service has been introduced as part of the current Northern franchise.

1. Facilities

The ticket office is open six days per week and is closed evenings and Sundays; there is also a ticket machine available. Digital display screens, a passenger announcement system and information posters provide train running information. Step-free access is available through the main building to both platforms.

1. Services

Northern Trains operates a generally hourly service northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Barrow-in-Furness; no late evening service operates south of here. A few through trains operate to/from Lancaster via the Furness line. Northern Rail introduced a regular Sunday through service to Barrow via the coast at the May 2018 timetable change - the first such service south of Whitehaven for more than 40 years. Services run approximately hourly from mid-morning until early evening, with later trains starting and terminating here. This represented a major upgrade on the previous infrequent service of four per day each way to/from Whitehaven only. Repairs to the tunnel southwards to Corkickle and Millom/Barrow saw services beyond here suspended in July 2025, with a replacement bus service provided through the town to Corkickle for onward connections. This will remain until the old mine workings beneath the tunnel floor have been sealed and filled with grout - repairs are likely to continue until the spring of 2026. Services remain running to Workington and Carlisle.

1. Notes


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1. External links

Media related to Whitehaven railway station at Wikimedia Commons

Train times and station information for Whitehaven railway station from National Rail

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Moorside railway station (Cumbria)

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St James' Church, Whitehaven

St James' Church is in High Street, Whitehaven, Cumbria, England, at the crossing with the top of Queen Street. It stands in an elevated position overlooking the town. The church is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Calder, the archdeaconry of West Cumberland, and the diocese of Carlisle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

Church Landmark

402 m

Bransty

Bransty is a suburb of Whitehaven in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 5,069 at the 2021 Census. It is an average sized housing estate. The centre of it, The Green, is a meeting place for children to play football and games. It contains three forests, built around North Road and South View Road and Earls Road. Bransty School is on the top half of Bransty. It is a Primary school which contains roughly 200 pupils. Bransty is ruled over by the notorious Ian Nelson, formally of Egremont, Nelson moved to Bransty and immediately stamped down his authority and is Widley known as the man on the block Bransty is located on the coast front of the town with fantastic views which overlook Whitehavens historic harbour, the Irish Sea and has great views of Scotland and the Isle of Man on clear days. Bransty had a Royal British Legion club which in 2006 was the first in the UK to be revamped as a New British Legion Club. Bransty New Legion, was situated at the top of Bransty Road, it had a members bar and was used for parties and local meetings, and had darts, dominoes and pool teams which have been successful in the past. The club used to hold bingo nights and did meals through the week and on Sundays. The club has unfortunately been shut down since 2013 and houses have been built in its place. The club was the home for the local Football sides Bransty Rangers. The football pitch is behind the legion cutting down the field. There are seven fields next to the football pitch which are used for farming. The football pitch has currently been extended due to work on the cliffs Due to safety conditions of houses on the wagon road. Bransty was also known for its bakery and post office which back in 2005 closed and was refurbished into houses. As of 2008, Bransty Rangers Football Club plays in Division One of the Tesco Cumberland League. The club comprises many age groups from under 8's up to under 16's, also Girls teams. The open age team plays in the Tesco county league on Saturdays and plays in the Egremont league on Sundays. Bransty used to have a small children's play park which was situated down from the football field, which had great views of the harbour and the sea. It was removed in 2017 due to safety concerns.

Neighbourhood

The Rum Story

The Rum Story is a visitor attraction in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England. It presents the story of the rum trade and the creation of rum. It is located in an original 1785 trading shop and warehouses. The Rum Story was started with United Kingdom National Lottery funding from the Millennium Commission and opened in May 2000. It was voted Cumbria Tourism's "Small Visitor Attraction" in 2007. The Jefferson family, wine merchants, imported wine and spirits for over two centuries until 1998. Their story is covered by The Rum Story. The first of this family to move to Whitehaven was Robert Jefferson (1704-1779). He became a master mariner working in the tobacco trade from Virginia to Whitehaven. At this time, Whitehaven was a major tobacco importer, capitalising on a position relatively protected from the sequence of wars with the French. In 1832, brothers Henry and Robert Jefferson provided a mortgage on two estates in Antigua that were owned by the heirs of Rear Admiral Sir William Ogilvy (the lead executor was his son, Sir John Ogilvy, 9th Baronet). These were York's Estate (which had 146 enslaved people) and the New Division Estate (309 enslaved people) In 2025, the museum announced plans to update its exhibits to highlight Whitehaven's "glossed over" ties to slavery, using money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, alongside the non-profit Anti-Racist Cumbria, announced they would work with historians to fact-check details. They noted that for years, the involvement of ports like Whitehaven in the slave trade had not been accurately represented. This meant that "intergenerational consequences, including trauma had been ignored". There had been "active avoidance or euphemism", with terms such as "shipping" or the "Virginia Trade" bring used to refer to slavery.

Historic Site Landmark