Acklington railway station

Acklington
General information
Location	Acklington, Northumberland England
Coordinates	55°18′26″N 1°39′06″W
Grid reference	NU222015
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	ACK
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
2018/19	320
2019/20	246
2020/21	66
2021/22	324
2022/23	434
Location
Acklington Location in Northumberland, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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. It is the currently the least-used station in Northumberland, with an estimated 434 passenger journeys made during 2022/23.

History

The station was opened on 1 July 1847 by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. 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. 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). 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. Step-free access is available to both platforms.

Services

Northern Trains Route 1
East Coast Main Line
Chathill Alnmouth Acklington Widdrington Pegswood Morpeth Cramlington Manors Newcastle MetroCentre
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 three trains per day (one in the morning and two in the evening) northbound to Chathill and southbound to Newcastle via Morpeth. Both services on weekdays and the morning service on Saturdays continue beyond Newcastle to Carlisle via Hexham.

No services call at the station on Sundays.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Widdrington		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line Limited Service		Alnmouth
	Historical railways
Chevington		North Eastern Railway York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway		Warkworth

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