Penrith railway station
Penrith North Lakes (also shortened to Penrith) is a railway station on the West Coast Main Line, which runs between London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central. The station, situated south of Carlisle, serves the market town of Penrith, Eden in Cumbria, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Avanti West Coast. Background. The station was built by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, and opened on 17 December 1846. The station was designed by Sir William Tite, designer of a number of early railway stations in Britain, including neighbouring Carlisle (Citadel), as well  as Carnforth and Lancaster (Castle). It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. An 1863 Ordnance Survey plan shows refreshment facilities in the large room seen to the right on entering the building, but this is now used for storage. Although the station is now relatively quiet, at one time it served as the terminus of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway and the North Eastern Railway's Eden Valley branch. The latter joined with the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway at Kirkby Stephen, providing connections to the East Coast  Main Line at Darlington. In the mid-nineteenth century, there was a plan to connect Penrith to the lead mines at Caldbeck by rail, eventually joining up with the Cumbrian Coast Line near Wigton. Passenger services to Darlington and Kirkby Stephen were withdrawn on 22 January 1962, whilst those to via Cockermouth fell victim to the Beeching Axe around four years later. The surviving section of the of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway as far as Keswick survived until 6 March 1972. There have recently been plans to re-open the line as far as Keswick, but there have  been no further developments to progress this at present. The station was the last in the United Kingdom where mail was collected by a moving train, the practice finally coming to an end on 3 October 1971. Opened as "Penrith", the station was renamed "Penrith for Ullswater Lake" in 1904. The station's name reverted to the original "Penrith" on 6 May 1974. It has since been renamed "Penrith North Lakes" on 18 May 2003. Facilities. The station is staffed throughout the day, with the ticket office open from 05:30–19:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:30–19:00 on Sunday. A self-service  ticket machine is also available. Each platform has next train audio-visual displays, with customer help points on platforms 1 and 2 (platform 3 is rarely used). Waiting rooms are provided on platforms 1 and 2, along with toilets, a post box and a payphone. Step-free access is available to all platforms via lifts, with a footbridge and subway also available. Services. Avanti West Coast. Following the December 2021 timetable change, Avanti West Coast operate 11 trains per day heading south towards London Euston via Birmingham New Street (nine trains per day on Saturday and six trains per day  on Sunday). A single evening service operates to Crewe on weekdays, with two trains to Birmingham New Street on Saturday, and a once-daily service on Sunday. Heading north, there are 11 trains per day (nine trains per day on Saturday and eight on Sunday) towards Glasgow Central via Carlisle, as well as four trains per day (three trains per day on Saturday) towards Edinburgh Waverley via Carlisle. Rolling stock used: Class 390 "Pendolino" TransPennine Express. Following the December 2021 timetable change, TransPennine Express operate nine trains per day heading north towards Glasgow Central via Carlisle (seven trains per day  on Sunday), as well as three trains per day to Edinburgh Waverley via Carlisle. Heading south, there are 15 trains per day to Manchester Airport (11 trains per day on Sunday), with a once-daily service to Liverpool Lime Street. Rolling stock used: Class 397 "Civity"