View source for Sellafield railway station

{{short description|Railway station in Cumbria, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Sellafield
| symbol_location = gb
| symbol = rail
| image = Sellafield Railway Station (geograph 5868752).jpg
| borough = [[Sellafield]], [[Cumberland (unitary authority)|Cumberland]]
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|54.4166451|-3.5104538|format=dms|region:GB_type:railwaystation|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|NY020034|25|NY020034}}
| owned = [[Network Rail]]
| manager = [[Northern Trains]]
| platforms = 2
| tracks = 2
| code = SEL
| classification = [[United Kingdom railway station categories|DfT category]] F1
| original = [[Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway]]
| pregroup = [[Furness Railway]]
| postgroup = [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]]<br>[[London Midland Region of British Railways|British Rail (London Midland Region)]]
| years = 21 July 1849
| events = Opened as ''Sellafield and Calderbridge''
| years1 = 1955
| events1 = Renamed ''Sellafield''
| mpassengers = 
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2019/20 |passengers={{increase}} 0.260 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 120}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2020/21 |passengers={{decrease}} 62,524 |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{decrease}} 41}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2021/22 |passengers={{increase}} 0.130 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 142}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2022/23 |passengers={{increase}} 0.137 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{decrease}} 126}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2023/24 |passengers={{increase}} 0.145 million |interchange={{pad|1em}}{{increase}} 151}}
| footnotes = Passenger statistics from the [[Office of Rail and Road]]
| map_type = United Kingdom Copeland#Cumbria
| map_caption = Location in Copeland, Cumbria##Location in Cumbria, England
}}
'''Sellafield''' is a railway station on the [[Cumbrian Coast line|Cumbrian Coast Line]], which runs between {{rws|Carlisle}} and {{rws|Barrow-in-Furness}}. It serves [[Sellafield]], in [[Cumbria]], England; it is situated {{Convert|35|mi|km|0}} north-west of Barrow-in-Furness. The station is owned by [[Network Rail]] and managed by [[Northern Trains]].

==History==
[[File:Camps Sellafield & Ravenglass RJD 105.jpg|thumb|left|A 1903 [[Railway Clearing House]] junction diagram, showing railways in the vicinity of Sellafield to the right]]

The station, which dates from 1850, is a busy freight location; thus is because much of the nuclear waste for Sellafield's [[Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant|THORP nuclear fuel reprocessing plant]] is carried there by train from the docks in [[Barrow-in-Furness]] or from rail-connected nuclear power stations elsewhere in the UK. The facility also generates significant commuter traffic for the railway, with workers travelling by train from nearby towns and villages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cumbriancoastline.co.uk/?Places_To_Visit:Sellafield |title=Places to Visit - Sellafield |website=Cumbrian Coast Line |access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref>

The station is at the end of the single-line section from {{rws|Whitehaven}}, which is operated using the [[Token (railway signalling)|electric key token]] system. From there, the line south towards {{rws|Ravenglass}} and Barrow is double tracked, except for the final section between Park South Junction (south of {{stnlnk|Askam}}) and Barrow, which was reduced to a single track in the late 1980s.

The station used to be the southern terminus of the former [[Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway]] line from [[Egremont, Cumbria|Egremont]], from August 1869 until the line's closure in March 1964.<ref>Marshall, J (1981) ''Forgotten Railways North-West England'', David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbot. {{ISBN|0-7153-8003-6}}; p.163</ref>

==Layout==
The station configuration is unusual in that the southbound ([[Rail directions#Up and down|'up' line]]) is bi-directional through the station and has platform faces on both sides.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3558694 |title=Sellafield station, looking south |last=Thompson |first=Nigel |website=Geograph.org |access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref> However, only the eastern platform face is used, with the other side being fenced off. This allows trains from the south to terminate and turn back without having to enter the single-line section to {{rws|St Bees}}.

The [[signal box]] controlling the layout is located at the north end of the station, whilst the exchange sidings for the plant and the locomotive depot used by [[Direct Rail Services]]' freight trains are to the south. There are two water cranes at the station, one at each end.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/lgaz/lk10276.htm |title=Sellafield station |website=Old Cumbria Gazetteer |access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref>

==Facilities==
The station is not staffed, but there is now a ticket machine in the main building for passengers to buy tickets prior to travel. There is a waiting room on the southbound platform and a shelter on the opposite side; the other main buildings are in private commercial use and there are no facilities for car parking. The platforms are linked by a footbridge which does not include ramps, so only the Barrow platform has step-free access. Train running information is provided by digital information screens, timetable posters and telephone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sel/details.html |title=Sellafield station facilities |website=National Rail Enquiries |access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref>  

== Services ==
{{Northern (train operating company) route 6}}

There is a basic hourly service (with a few variations) in each direction between {{rws|Barrow-in-Furness}} and {{rws|Carlisle}}. Certain southbound trains continue to {{stnlnk|Lancaster}}, with one service from the south terminating and turning back at Sellafield on weekdays only.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern |work=Northern Railway |date=15 December 2024 |access-date=19 January 2025 |url= https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/travel/timetables}}</ref>

In November 2011, it was reported that Direct Rail Services (DRS) had applied to the [[Office of Rail Regulation]] to operate one train in each direction between Carlisle and Sellafield to carry workers to the nuclear facility.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clinnick |first=Richard |date=2 November 2011 |title=Sellafield workers' trains will start this year, says DRS |journal=RAIL |issue=682 |pages=6–7 |issn=0953-4563}}</ref> Between May 2015 and December 2018, four trains per day each way ran to provide additional seating capacity for workers at the Sellafield plant, using [[British Rail Mark 2|Mark 2 coaches]] and [[British Rail Class 37|Class 37]] [[diesel locomotives]] hired in from DRS.

{{rail start}}
{{rail line|previous={{rws|Braystones}}|next={{rws|Seascale}}|route=[[Northern Trains]]<br>{{small|[[Cumbrian Coast line]]}}|col={{Northern colour}} }}
{{Historical Rail Insert}}
{{rail line|route=[[Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway]]|col={{MR colour}}|previous={{rws|Braystones}}|next={{rws|Seascale}}}}
{{s-end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{portal|Cumbria}}
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{stn art lnk|SEL|CA201RG}}

{{Cumbria railway stations}}
{{Railway stations served by Northern Trains}}

[[Category:Railway stations in Cumbria]]
[[Category:DfT Category F1 stations]]
[[Category:Former Furness Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by Northern]]
[[Category:1850 establishments in England]]