Foxfield railway station

For the heritage railway in Staffordshire, see Foxfield Railway.

Foxfield is a railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line, which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. The station, situated 11+1⁄2 miles (19 km) north of Barrow-in-Furness, serves the villages of Broughton-in-Furness and Foxfield in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Foxfield
General information
Location	Foxfield, South Lakeland England
Coordinates	54°15′31″N 3°12′58″W
Grid reference	SD208854
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	FOX
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	Furness Railway
Pre-grouping	Furness Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
1 August 1848	Opened as Foxfield Junction
1 September 1957	Renamed Foxfield
Passengers
2019/20	25,976
2020/21	4,758
2021/22	12,470
2022/23	13,322
2023/24	13,580
Location Foxfield Location in South Lakeland, Cumbria Foxfield Location in Cumbria, England
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station dates from 1848, when the Furness Railway extended its line from Barrow-in-Furness to Kirkby-in-Furness to nearby Broughton-in-Furness with the intention of serving local copper mines. It was opened on 1 August 1848 and consisted of an island platform.

Two years later, the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway completed its line down the coast from Whitehaven to join the Furness Railway from Barrow-in-Furness, making Foxfield a junction of some importance in the process. The line from Broughton was extended further northwards to Coniston by the Coniston Railway Company on 18 June 1859, although it was not long before the Furness took it over (along with the W&FJR – both companies having been absorbed by the FR by 1865).

In 1879 an enlarged station was built, designed by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin and built by the Barrow contractor William Ormandy. The island platform was widened to 29 feet (9 m), and a new canopy for passengers was provided.

For much of its life the Coniston line was well-used by locals and visitors alike, with the branch passenger service connecting with main line trains at one end of the route and with steamer services on Coniston Water at the other. However it fell victim to road competition in the late 1950s, passenger services being withdrawn from 6 October 1958, and the line closing completely in 1962. The coast line remains in operation though, with the passenger trains supplemented by a number of freight services running to and from the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield, operated by Direct Rail Services.

The station, as photographed in August 1951.

Though the platform buildings have mostly been demolished, the timber signal box and attached waiting shelter is still in use. The old water tower and main building on the opposite side of the southbound line also still stand.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed, but has now been equipped with a ticket vending machine to allow travellers to purchase tickets prior to joining the train. Train running details are available by telephone, digital information displays and timetable posters; the National Rail website also states that public wi-fi access is available there. Step-free access to the platform is via a foot level crossing by the signal box.

Services

Northern Trains Route 6
Cumbrian Coast, Furness & Windermere lines
Carlisle Dalston Wigton Aspatria Maryport Flimby Workington Harrington Parton Whitehaven Corkickle St Bees Nethertown Braystones Sellafield Seascale Drigg Ravenglass Bootle Silecroft Millom Green Road Foxfield Kirkby-in-Furness Askam Barrow-in-Furness Roose Dalton Ulverston Cark & Cartmel Kents Bank Grange-over-Sands Arnside Silverdale Carnforth Windermere Staveley Burneside Kendal Oxenholme Lake District Lancaster Preston Chorley Bolton Deansgate Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Airport
Braystones & Nethertown are request stops.

There is an approximately hourly service in each direction from the station on Monday to Saturdays – southwards to Barrow-in-Furness and northwards to Millom. Most northbound ones run through to and from Whitehaven and Carlisle though one runs as far as Sellafield. A few trains continue beyond Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster or to Preston.

A Sunday service was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change - the first for more than forty years.

Sources

• Andrews, Michael; Holme, Geoff (2005), The Coniston Railway, Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association, ISBN 0-9540232-3-4
• Marshall, J. (1981), Forgotten Railways: North-West England, Newton Abbott: David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-8003-6

External links

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

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Green Road		Northern Trains Cumbrian Coast line		Kirkby-in-Furness
	Historical railways
Broughton-in-Furness		Coniston Railway		Terminus
Terminus		Furness Railway		Kirkby-in-Furness
Green Road		Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway		Terminus