Acklington railway station
| General information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Acklington, Northumberland England | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°18′26″N 1°39′06″W / 55.3072171°N 1.6517687°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NU222015 | ||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | ACK | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 1 July 1847 | ||||
| Original company | Newcastle and Berwick Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | North Eastern Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | |||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 | 246 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 66 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 324 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 434 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 550 | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
Acklington is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station, situated 28 miles 43 chains (28.5 mi; 45.9 km) north of Newcastle, serves the small village of Acklington in Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. During 2023/24, it was the least used station in Northumberland, with an estimated 550 passenger journeys (entries and exits) made.
History
The station was opened on 1 July 1847 by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway.[1] It later joined the North Eastern Railway, becoming part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the North Eastern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Railways. Intercity Sector trains passed through on the East Coast Main Line.
The station has a substantial main building on the northbound side, which is Grade-II listed and now used as a private residence.[2] It also had a goods yard and signal box. The station avoided the Beeching Axe in the late 1960s that claimed several others on the East Coast main line and until the late 1980s had through trains to Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh Waverley (though only 3-4 per day each way in total).[3] Electrification of the ECML and a rolling stock shortage led to the timetable being cut to the present residual level in 1991.
Facilities
The station is unstaffed (so tickets must be purchased in advance or on the train) and only has basic amenities - a sizeable stone shelter and payphone on the southbound platform and a cycle rack on the northbound side.[4] Step-free access is available to both platforms.
Passenger volume
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 246 | 66 | 324 | 434 | 550 |
Services
Northern Trains East Coast Main Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Newcastle – Morpeth – Chathill
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Most services extend to/from
Carlisle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All Services at Acklington are operated by Northern Trains using Class 156 and 158 DMUs.
The station is currently served by just three trains per day: two southbound to Newcastle via Morpeth (one in the morning and one in the evening) and one northbound to Chathill (in the evening). Both southbound services on weekdays and the morning service on Saturdays continue beyond Newcastle to Carlisle via Hexham.[6][7]
No services call at the station on Sundays.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Trains Limited Service | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Chevington | North Eastern Railway |
Warkworth | ||
References
- ^ Milner, Chris, ed. (November 2016). "Britain's least used stations". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 162, no. 1, 388. Horncastle: Mortons Media. p. 30. ISSN 0033-8923.
- ^ Historic England - Acklington Station Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine Pastscape.org
- ^ "A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EAST COAST MAIN LINE IN NORTHUMBERLAND" Archived 13 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Young, Alan Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 8 February 2017
- ^ Acklington station facilities Archived 17 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine National Rail Enquiries
- ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ "Train times: Alnmouth and Morpeth to Newcastle and Metrocentre" (PDF). Northern Trains. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Table 148 National Rail timetable, May 2022
Sources
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- 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.
External links
- Train times and station information for Acklington railway station from National Rail