Dent railway station

Dent
265px
Location
Place	Dent
Local authority	South Lakeland
Coordinates
Grid reference	SD764874
Operations
Station code	DNT
Managed by	Northern Rail
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	8,181
2005/06	7,171
2006/07	7,328
2007/08	7,087
2008/09	8,218
2009/10	8,724
2010/11	10,558
2011/12	10,852
2012/13	10,440
2013/14	9,742
2014/15	9,054
History
Original company	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
6 August 1877	Opened
4 May 1970	Closed
14 July 1986	Reopened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Dent from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Dent railway station serves the villages of Cowgill and Dent in Cumbria, England. It is operated by Northern Rail who provide all passenger train services.

Location

Dent village is approximately 4.8 miles (8 km) by road to the west, and 400 ft (120 m) below the height of the station, with Cowgill being the nearest small village, located around half a mile away.

File:Rth Railway Dent Stn 20.06.12R edited-2.jpg

Altitude sign, preserved gas lamp and wooden snow fence at rear

At an altitude of 1,150 ft (350 m) near Blea Moor Tunnel, Dent is the highest railway station on the National Rail network in England. Dent Station buildings are now privately owned and are available to rent as holiday cottage accommodation. During the 1970s the station was rented out to Barden school in Burnley as an outdoor pursuits centre, providing accommodation for up to 15 pupils whilst they carried out various courses from pot holing, caving, to geology and map reading.

There are stone built passenger waiting rooms on both the northbound and southbound platforms. Access to the southbound platform is, unusually, by an unguarded level crossing at the south end of the station for foot passengers to use with care (a 30 mph permanent speed restriction for non-stop trains through the station is enforced for this reason). Old wooden snow fences are still in place on the eastern side of the station (see image).

Services

File:Rth Railway Dent Sta 20.06.12R edited-2.jpg

Dent station (right) with passenger crossing (centre) over the main line

Dent railway station is on the historic Settle-Carlisle Line, with services to Leeds and Carlisle. It was opened in 1877 and originally closed in May 1970 but was reopened by British Rail in 1986 following a campaign to maintain regular stopping services along the line.

On weekdays there are five trains in each direction, with six each way on Saturdays and three each way on Sundays. In addition, DalesRail services operate on summer Sundays from Blackpool North and Preston to Carlisle, with one journey in each direction.

External links

• Train times and station information for Dent railway station from National Rail
• "Dent in the 1950s" — Station Master's account of work and life at the station
• Dent Station accommodation website with history and pictures

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Ribblehead		Northern Rail Settle-Carlisle Line		Garsdale