Settle railway station

Settle
The 'Derby Gothic' style station building.
Location
Place	Settle
Local authority	Craven
Coordinates	54°04′01″N 2°16′51″W / 54.0670°N 2.2808°WCoordinates: 54°04′01″N 2°16′51″W / 54.0670°N 2.2808°W
Grid reference	SD817634
Operations
Station code	SET
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.144 million
2011/12	0.139 million
2012/13	0.130 million
2013/14	0.137 million
2014/15	0.148 million
History
Original company	Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 May 1876	Opened as Settle New
1 July 1879	Renamed Settle
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Settle from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Settle railway station serves the town of Settle in North Yorkshire, England. It is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services. It is situated at the southern end of the Settle-Carlisle Line 41 ¹⁄₂ miles (67 km) north of Leeds. Settle is also served by Giggleswick railway station under one mile to the west of the town.

History and facilities

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.^[1] 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New was renamed Settle on 1 July 1879, by which time Settle Old had become Giggleswick.^[2] Goods facilities were withdrawn from the station in 1970.

The railway 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 waiting room, toilets and a souvenir shop) in the main buildings on the southbound platform.^[3] There is a period stone-built waiting room located on the northbound platform.

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 ECML 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 (though the crossing is still available for wheelchair users when the station is staffed).

A ticket machine is available for use when the booking office is closed. Train running information is provided by timetable posters, a P.A system and telephone.

The old station signal box (abolished in 1984)^[4] has been restored as a visitor attraction by the Friends of the Settle - Carlisle Line and is located behind the southbound platform^[5] and is open to the public at certain times.^[6]

Accidents and incidents

On 21 January 1960, an express passenger train was derailed 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.^[7]

Services

Monday to Saturdays there is generally a two-hourly service southbound to Leeds (eight trains a day in total Mon-Sat^[8]) and northbound to Carlisle (seven). The last train of the day from Leeds runs only as far as Ribblehead and the corresponding return to Leeds (Skipton on Saturdays) starts back from there. Trains are currently (July 2016) terminating/starting from either Appleby or Armathwaite whilst Network Rail repairs a major landslip at Eden Brows (between Armathwaite & Carlisle). A replacement bus service is in operation over the affected section until the project to repair the line is completed in March 2017.^[9]

On Sundays there are now four trains in each direction throughout the year (including one through train to Nottingham), plus an 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.

The new Northern franchise awarded to Arriva Rail North in December 2015 and which started in April 2016, will see modest service improvements from the station, with one extra weekday service each way and two extra trains each way on Sundays.^[10]

References

1. "Notes by the Way.". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 208. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
3. Stations - Settle www.settle-carlisle.co.uk Accessed 23 November 2016
4. Settle - Carlisle timeline www.settlecarlislerailway.co.uk Accessed 27 August 2008
5. Visit Cumbria - Settle Station Visit Cumbria website. Accessed 28 October 2008
6. Signal Box information Settle - Carlisle Partnership website Accessed 27 August 2008
7. "Locomotive failure near Winchfield 23 November 2013" (PDF). Rail Accident Investigation Branch. p. 32. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
8. GB National Rail Timetable May - December 2016; Table 42
9. "Landslip-hit Settle-to-Carlisle line section shut until 2017"BBC News; Retrieved 7 July 2016
10. Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT

Further reading

• "Settle 'box refurbished after 20 years neglect". RAIL. No. 342. EMAP Apex Publications. 21 October – 3 November 1998. p. 15. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.

External links

• Settle - Carlisle Partnership Home Page
• Video on Settle railway station