The History Of Carlisle Train Station

Carlisle train station is a station that serves Carlisle city, in Cumbria, England. It lies at an estimated 101 miles south of Central Glasgow and about 298 miles to the north of London Euston. It is also known as the Carlisle Citadel station. This train station acts as the northern terminus to the celebrated Settle and Carlisle line, which historically and by notion, is known to be a continuation of the Midland Main Line, from Leeds, to Sheffield and finally to London St Pancras. Later on, it was renamed to Carlisle railway station.


The History of Carlisle Train station dates back to late 1830's and early 1840's. It emerged from the construction of Newcastle and Carlisle railway that began in 1830, but as a second railway line that arrived in the city and was meant to connect Maryport and Carlisle. It was designed by William Tite in Neo-Tudor style and opened on the September 1, 1847. It was one of the very important train stations in the city, which reflected the rich heritage of this hub on the railway network of England as a nation. Other important train stations by then were the Mary port - Carlisle railway and Newcastle - Carlisle railway. By 1851, it had become the most important railway station despite the fact that it was extended expansively between the year 1875 and 1876 by the Midland Railway Company.

Initially, the original companies that operated the railway system jointly were the Caledonian Railway and the Lancaster /Carlisle railway. Later on, Caledonian railway, London and North Western companies regrouped to manage, operate and run the system. Not long after that, a final regrouping that saw the coming together of London, Midland and Scottish Railway emerged to manage the railway system.

Apart from continued use of other major routes from the station, two of the routes; North British Railway line that joined Silloth terminus and that of Edinburgh through Galashiels were closed down on September the 7, 1964 and on January 6, 1969 respectively. The history of Carlisle train station is echoed or rather characterised by the old steam trains seen at the station, usually, chartered trip.

In Carlisle train station, Virgin Trains operated Long distance services. London-Glasgow and Birmingham New street- Scotland being the main routes. Local stopping services to Newcastle via Tyne, Barrow-in-Furness through the Cumbrian coastline and finally to Leeds were operated by the Northern rail. The First Scot Rail operates services to Glasgow through the Dumfries.

Today, there are four major rail routes connecting in and out of Carlisle train station. West Coast Main Line being the most important, it goes through Scotland and England with direct connection to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Manchester, and the midlands among others. Being the earliest cross-country railway line, Tyne Valley Line cuts across the United Kingdom and links Carlisle, Newcastle and Sunderland. The third line is the Cumbrian Coastal Railway that serves several stations in the West Coast. Finally, Settle to Carlisle is the most spectacular of all the railway lines. It runs through Eden Valley and Yorkshire Dales. Besides, it is currently owned by Network Rail and managed by Virgin Trains.