Lancaster railway station

of Lancaster Originally known as Lancaster Castle, in order to distinguish it from the Lancaster Greaves station (1840–1849), Lancaster station was officially opened on 21 September 1846. The first public service ran into the station on 17 December the same year. It was built as the southern terminus of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway after the initial planned route for the line was changed in favour of a cheaper route west of the city; it would have followed the Lancaster Canal and crossed the River Lune from Ladies Walk to Skerton. The station was remodelled in 1900-1906 when additional lines and platforms were added and further station buildings constructed. The new buildings were styled mock-Elizabethan with the intention of mirroring the battlements of the nearby Lancaster Castle. Platforms 5 and 6 (on the east side of the station) were electrified in 1908 to serve the now-closed "Little" North Western Railway route to Morecambe and Heysham. This line closed in January 1966 and the overhead line equipment was removed. The track layout in the station area was rationalised in 1973, when control of the signalling was transferred to the new Preston power signal box. This included the removal of the track from platform 6, although this platform had seen no regular use for some time prior to this. The West Coast Main Line through Lancaster was electrified in 1974 and regular electric passenger services commenced here on 7 May 1974. In 2023, upgrades to the platforms canopies were announced as part of a £9.5 million investment into the station, with work continuing into 2025. ==Description==

The main building, constructed in 1846 by William Tite, was situated on the west side of the line in Tudor Revival style using roughly squared sandstone rubble. This two-storey building was extended southwards in 1852 in similar style, although this section terminated in a tower of three storeys. A new entrance was constructed in 1900 on the eastern side of the line at footbridge level; this is nearer the town and houses the remaining ticket office. ==Platform layout==

• Platforms 1 and 2 are bay platforms which are used by terminating trains from the branch lines to and the Furness Line to , which continues to the Cumbria Coast Line to Carlisle. • Platform 3 is used mostly by northbound services on the West Coast Main Line, and includes the main entrance through the original station building. • Between platforms 3 and 4, there are two through lines. They are used by non-stop passenger services and freight trains in both directions. • Platform 4 is an island platform with a second face, used principally for southbound trains on the West Coast Main Line. • Platform 5 is used by northbound and southbound trains and for terminating services. ==Services==

Lancaster is served by three train operating companies: • Avanti West Coast operates express trains from London Euston to Edinburgh Waverley and to Glasgow Central, using Class 390 Pendolinos. Peak services to and from terminate and start at Lancaster or . A few services to/from also start/terminate at Lancaster. • TransPennine Express operates regional express services from , and to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central, via the West Coast Main Line, using Class 397 EMUs and Class 802 EMUs. • Northern Trains operates local and regional services along the following lines, using diesel multiple units (DMUs) of Classes 150, 153, 156, 158 and 195s: • Furness line to and then on to via the Cumbrian Coast Line • Windermere branch line to , via the West Coast Main Line to • Morecambe branch line to and ; nuclear flask trains serving Heysham power station are the other main users of this line • Leeds–Morecambe line to and . ==See also==