Widdrington railway station

Widdrington
General information
Location	Widdrington Station, Northumberland England
Coordinates	55°14′28″N 1°36′58″W
Grid reference	NZ244941
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	WDD
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway British Rail (North Eastern Region)
Key dates
1 July 1847	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	3,636
2020/21	696
2021/22	2,038
2022/23	2,492
2023/24	2,270
Location Widdrington Location in Northumberland, England
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Widdrington is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station, situated 23 miles 20 chains (23.2 mi; 37.4 km) north of Newcastle, serves the villages of Stobswood and Widdrington Station in Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The station was opened by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway on 1 July 1847.

An average of 3 or 4 stopping services each way per day ran between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley via Berwick-upon-Tweed until the late 1980s. Following the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, these services were curtailed at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Services were further reduced to their current level by British Rail in May 1991, due to a shortage of rolling stock.

The local rail user group, SENRUG, has been campaigning to improve service levels at the station, and at neighbouring Pegswood, since September 2016.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has only basic amenities, consisting of a waiting shelter and timetable poster boards on both platforms, along with a public telephone on the southbound platform. Tickets must be purchased prior to travel or on the train. The old station buildings survive, but are now privately occupied. Step-free access is available to both platforms via the level crossing at the north end of the station.

Services

Northern Trains

Northern Trains East Coast Main Line
Newcastle – Morpeth – Chathill
Newcastle Manors Cramlington Morpeth Pegswood Widdrington Acklington Alnmouth for Alnwick Chathill
Most services extend to/from Carlisle.

As of the December 2021 timetable change, the station is served by one train per day (excluding Sunday) towards Chathill, and two trains towards Newcastle via Morpeth. At present, all services are operated by Northern Trains.

Rolling stock used: Class 156 Super Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter

TransPennine Express

In September 2021, TransPennine Express announced that they were seeking approval to have most of the services on their new five return trains weekday semi-fast Newcastle to Edinburgh return trains call at Widdrington. As the procedure required for the operator to be recognised as meeting the safety and operational requirements necessary for calling at Widdrington were ongoing at the time of the announcement, it is possible that the service will start calling at this station at some point after its planned commencement in December 2021.

External links

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

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Pegswood towards Newcastle via Morpeth		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line		Acklington towards Chathill
	Historical railways
Longhirst		North Eastern Railway York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway		Chevington
	Future services
Morpeth		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Alnmouth