Bentham railway station


Bentham railway station serves the small town of High Bentham in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Leeds to Morecambe Line, between Wennington and, east of. It is the nearest station to Ingleton, North Yorkshire and is owned by Network Rail.

History

The station was opened on 1 June 1850 by the "little" North Western Railway, later taken over by the Midland Railway. During part of the 19th century, it was known as Bentham High as the neighbouring settlement of Low Bentham also had its own station. The station was provided with various facilities by the Midland Railway, including a signal box, water tower and column, goods shed and several sidings on the northern side of the line. These had all been removed by the early 1970s.
The station building is now privately owned, the station having been reduced to unstaffed halt status in October 1970. It has had its own community volunteer support group since September 2011, which is based in the aforementioned building on the eastbound platform and has support from various local organisations.

Facilities

Timetable posters and digital information screens on both platforms provide train running information, whilst there are waiting shelters on each side. Tickets need to be purchased on the train or in advance of travel at present, but Northern has plans to install ticket vending machines here in 2019, along with other stations on the route.

Services

All services are operated by Northern Trains. There are eight departures each way. Westbound, trains run to Wennington, Carnforth, and , whilst trains in the other direction run to Clapham,, and. Connections for are available at Shipley, although through trains do operate occasionally if the line to Leeds is closed for engineering work.
On Sundays there are now five services in each direction throughout the year. The alterations to give better journey opportunities for commuters to both Leeds and Lancaster were implemented at the May 2018 timetable change. Further station improvements are also planned, such as the installation of ticket machines, video help points and improved lighting. The removal of "Pacer" DMUs from the route is also scheduled for 2019.