Long Preston railway station

Long Preston railway station serves the village of Long Preston in North Yorkshire, England. The station is 37.5 miles (60 km) north-west of Leeds on the Leeds to Morecambe Line and is managed by Northern who provide all passenger train services.

Long Preston
A steam train taking on water at Long Preston railway station in 2005
Location	Long Preston, Craven England
Coordinates	54.017°N 2.256°W
Grid reference	SD833579
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	LPR
Classification	DfT category F2
Key dates
1849	Opened
Passengers
2015/16	13,918
2016/17	13,070
2017/18	11,830
2018/19	11,670
2019/20	13,624
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It is the last station before the Settle-Carlisle Line and the Leeds to Morecambe Line diverge at Settle Junction to the north of the village. Facilities at the station are somewhat basic - the original wooden station buildings were demolished in the early 1970s and there are now just simple waiting shelters on each platform. There is an operational Help Point to obtain TimeTable Information or emergency assistance. There is also a small car park with room for a few cars.

The station is unstaffed, but has had a ticket machine installed in 2019 to allow travellers to buy tickets before travelling. There is level access to the southbound platform only - the opposite side has a ramp, but this is quite steep and is not recommended for use by disabled travellers.[1] Train running information is provided by telephone, digital information screens (also installed in 2019) and timetable posters.

The station was opened on 30 July 1849 by the "little" North Western Railway, later taken over by the Midland Railway.[2]

Services

Generally, there is a train at least every two hours from Long Preston southbound towards Leeds (thirteen departures per day in total) and northbound. All services from Leeds to Lancaster (eight per day) stop there, along with four Leeds to Carlisle trains. There is also one train each day that runs north only as far as Ribblehead, whilst five Lancaster trains continue to Morecambe and the last southbound train terminates at Skipton.[3]

For many years on Sundays, only Leeds - Morecambe trains stopped at Long Preston. However, since 2009, certain Carlisle trains have also served the station on Sundays. As a result, there are now five trains to Lancaster/Morecambe and two to Carlisle northbound and nine trains to Leeds southbound (the two morning/early afternoon services on the Morecambe line that formerly ran in summer only up until 2010 now run throughout the year). The station also now has an afternoon departure that runs through to Sheffield and Nottingham and a single service to Heysham Port in the late morning.

Notes

1. Long Preston station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 29 November 2016
2. Bairstow, p. 96
3. GB eNRT December 2019 Edition, Table 42 (Network Rail)

References

• Bairstow, M. (2000), The 'Little' North Western Railway, Martin Bairstow, Leeds, ISBN 1-871944-21-X

External links

• Train times and station information for Long Preston railway station from National Rail