Morpeth railway station

Morpeth is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station serves the market town of Morpeth in Northumberland. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Morpeth
Location	Morpeth, Northumberland England
Coordinates	55°09′44″N 1°40′58″W
Grid reference	NZ202853
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	MPT
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway British Rail (Eastern Region)
Key dates
1 March 1847	Opened
Passengers
2015/16	0.357 million
2016/17	0.382 million
2017/18	0.418 million
2018/19	0.475 million
Interchange	1,130
2019/20	0.507 million
Interchange	2,262
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station was opened by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway on 1 March 1847.[1] It was designed by Benjamin Green in the Scottish Baronial style and retains its original station buildings.

A severe ninety degree curve in the line of the railway immediately to the south of the station has been the site of four serious rail accidents, two of them fatal.

Blyth and Tyne Railway

Another station was opened by the Blyth and Tyne Railway on 1 April 1858 and closed 24 May 1880.[2] This was a terminus station that was also used by North British Railway trains from the west from Scotsgap.[3] From the opening of their line in 1862 until 1872.[4] The B&T line to Bedlington lost its passenger trains in April 1950 (although occasional summer services between Scotland and the North Eastern coastal resorts continued operating over it until the 1960s), but it remains in use for freight and may have its passenger trains restored in the future (as an extension of the current local stopping service) - the South East Northumberland Rail User Group is currently campaigning for this.[5] The current local service from Newcastle that terminates here uses the connection onto the B&T line north of the station to reverse and layover clear of the main line between trips.

Passenger trains over the old NBR line from Scotsgap, Reedsmouth and Rothbury ended in September 1952[6] and it closed completely in 1966 - few traces of this route now remain.

Facilities

In December 2011, a self-service FastTicket machine was installed by Northern Rail for use outside the hours of operation of the ticket office (06:40 -12:40, Mondays to Saturdays only). Pre-purchased tickets can now also be collected from Morpeth. The ticket office is located on the eastern side of the line in the main station building, which also has a taxi office and toilets. The opposite (northbound) platform has a waiting shelter and the two are linked by a subway with lifts for wheelchair and mobility impaired users.[7] Train running information is supplied via timetable posters and digital display screens.[8]

A £2.4 million redevelopment of the station was approved in October 2016 and was started in October 2018 - this has seen the main buildings refurbished and the portico entrance modernised to incorporate a cafeteria, expanded ticket office and upgraded toilets. 5,382 square feet (500 m²) of office space has been created for local small businesses. The exterior of the station has been restored to Benjamin Green's original design, including the reinstatement of 15 tall chimney pots. The project was led by Greater Morpeth Development Trust and Northumberland County Council, with financial support from the Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail, Northern and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.[9] The refurbishment was completed in September 2020 and opened by Andy Savage, executive director of the Railway Heritage Trust. [10]

Services

Northern Trains

Route 1: East Coast Main Line
Chathill Alnmouth for Alnwick Acklington Widdrington Pegswood Morpeth Cramlington Manors Newcastle
Most services extend to/from Carlisle.

Monday to Saturdays: There is a regular hourly service to Newcastle. Most trains start or terminate here though there are two trains per day which operate to/from Chathill in the morning and evening peaks. Nearly all trains continue via the Tyne Valley line to and from Carlisle since the May 2019 timetable change. On Sundays, a two-hourly service operates to/from here to the MetroCentre with no service to/from Chathill.[11]

LNER

London North Eastern Railway Routes
Inverness Aviemore Kingussie Pitlochry Perth Gleneagles Stirling Falkirk Grahamston Aberdeen Stonehaven Montrose Arbroath Dundee Leuchars Kirkcaldy Inverkeithing Glasgow Central Motherwell Haymarket Edinburgh Waverley Dunbar Berwick-upon-Tweed Alnmouth for Alnwick Morpeth Sunderland Newcastle Durham Darlington Northallerton York Leeds Skipton Keighley Bradford Forster Square Shipley Harrogate Horsforth Leeds Wakefield Westgate Hull Paragon Brough Selby Doncaster Retford Lincoln Newark North Gate Grantham Peterborough Stevenage London King's Cross

LNER provide a limited service: There are seven trains per day northbound to Edinburgh Waverley (one of which extends to Aberdeen) and seven trains per day southbound; five go to London King's Cross, one terminates at Leeds and one only goes as far as Newcastle.

CrossCountry

A small number of CrossCountry services stop here as well as those of LNER - five each way on weekdays and Saturdays, plus three on Sundays in the December 2018 timetable. Southbound, these run to Birmingham New Street and then onward to the south west of England.[12]

TransPennine Express

In December 2019, TransPennine Express began operating an hourly service between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh Waverley with Class 802s and run non-stop to Edinburgh after calling at Morpeth.[13]

Future

In May 2016, the Office of Rail and Road granted operating rights to new operator East Coast Trains to operate services from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley via Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth. This service is projected to start operating in 2021.[14][15][16]

References

Notes

1. Butt 1995, p. 163
2. "Northumbrian Railways; Blyth and Tyne stations". Northumbrian-railways.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
3. "SENRUG // South East Northumberland Rail User Group: Morpeth 'Then & Now'". Senrug.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
4. Disused Stations - Morpeth B & T Archived 8 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine www.disused-stations.org.uk; Retrieved 2013-12-04
5. "Re-open Ashington Blyth Tyne Line". Senrug.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
6. Body (1989), p.126
7. Morpeth station facilities Archived 7 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine National Rail Enquiries
8. Morpeth station in 2015 Archived 22 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Thomas, J Geograph.org.uk; Retrieved 6 February 2017
9. "Full steam ahead for £1.7m redevelopment of Morpeth Railway Station" Archived 7 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine Muncaster, Michael Chronicle Live news article 2 November 2016; Retrieved 6 February 2017
10. [https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/morpeth-railway-station-restoration-opening-18888555 Archived 8 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine henderson, Tony Chronicle Live news article 7 September 2020; Retrieved 8 September 2020
11. Table 48 National Rail timetable, May 2019
12. Table 51 National Rail timetable, December 2018
13. December 2019 Timetable Changes TransPennine Express
14. Applications for the East Coast Main Line Archived 3 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Office of Rail and Road 12 May 2016
15. First Group to run Edinburgh to London budget rail service Archived 16 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine BBC News 12 May 2016
16. VTEC and FirstGroup granted East Coast Main Line paths Archived 12 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Railway Gazette International 12 May 2016

Sources

• 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. (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.
• 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.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

• Media related to Morpeth railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Train times and station information for Morpeth railway station from National Rail