Matlock  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Looking westwards in 2019 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Matlock,Derbyshire Dales England | ||||
| Grid reference | SK296602 | ||||
| Managed by | East Midlands Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 (1National Rail) (1Peak Rail) | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | MAT | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 4 June 1849 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  45,734 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.149 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.174 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.190 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.227 million | ||||
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Matlock railway station serves theDerbyshire Dales county town ofMatlock, inDerbyshire,England. The station is the terminus of both theDerwent Valley Line fromDerby andPeak Rail which operates heritage services toRowsley South. Both lines are formed from portions of theMidland Railway's former main line toManchester Central; through running is technically possible, but is not done in normal service. The station is owned byNetwork Rail and managed byEast Midlands Railway.
Originally namedMatlock Bridge, it was opened by theManchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway. The station saw its first passengers on 4 June 1849, when the line betweenAmbergate andRowsley opened.[1] The station buildings, designed by SirJoseph Paxton, opened in 1850.
The station master's house is nowgrade 2 listed.[2]
LeavingMatlock Bath, the line immediately passes into the series of High Tor tunnels, 321 yards (294 m), 58 yd (53 m) and 378 yd (346 m) long on the east side of the river, cut into the cliff side. Crossing the river and the mainA6 road, the line passes through Holt Lane Tunnel (126 yd or 115 m) before entering Matlock station. Being cut through limestone, these tunnels have required a deal of maintenance over the years.
A double-track railway line used to continue from Matlock viaBakewell andMillers Dale, with a branch toBuxton; it continued on throughPeak Forest toChinley and ultimately Manchester Central. This section of the formerMidland Railway's main line to Manchester Central was closed to passengers in 1968.
Contrary to popular belief, the line was not recommended for closure in part 1 of theBeeching report,The Reshaping of British Railways; however, in part 2,The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes, five routes over thePennines were evaluated for future development and the Peak Forest line was not one of the two routes selected for enhancement. This, in combination with the electrification of theWest Coast route fromLondon Euston toManchester Piccadilly, ultimately led to the closure of the route.
The last day of operation beyond Matlock was Saturday 29 June 1968, two months before regular main-line steam was fully abolished.
Part of the route north of Matlock is now preserved as aheritage railway by the railway preservation groupPeak Rail.
At present, the heritage line operates for a distance of a little under3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) fromRowsley South; it travels throughDarley Dale and nearbyMatlock Riverside, and terminates at Matlock station in the former down platform, interchanging there withNational Rail services on theDerwent Valley Line.[3]
Before 2004, formertrain operating companyMidland Mainline ran through services intoLondon St Pancras, whilstCentral Trains ran some trains to/fromBirmingham New Street. A period of through running to/fromNottingham viaDerby began in late 2008 and, from May 2015, most weekday trains ran to/fromNewark Castle via Derby and Nottingham.[4] Weekend services continued to start/end at Nottingham for another year but, from May 2016, most Saturday services were extended toNewark Castle, leaving Sunday as the only day with no direct service between Matlock and Newark. In October 2021, East Midlands Railway rearranged their service patterns and, as part of this, weekday services from Matlock were terminated at Derby.[5]
Work within the adjacentCawdor Quarry resulted in a new superstore for Matlock being opened in 2007; several hundred new homes are planned to be located nearby. Matlock bus station has also been relocated, so it is now adjacent to the railway station, thus giving Matlock a true transport interchange. In the year 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, journeys from the station had increased by 40.70%.[6]
The station has two platforms. The formerup platform is used by the Derwent Valley Line while the former down platform is used by Peak Rail. The National Rail platform is accessed from the station car park, while the Peak Rail platform is accessed by a small ramp at the north end connecting to a footpath alongside the station. A footbridge at the south end of the station connects the footpath to the car park. The station building, which is located on the former up platform, is occupied by Peak Rail's transport book shop and a limited station buffet.
The track beside the National Rail platform is connected at both ends, while the track by the Peak Rail platform is only connected at the north end. To the north of the station is arun-round loop for Network Rail engineering trains. One line of this loop also serves as the access route for Peak Rail trains to run into the station.
The full range of tickets for travel for any destination in the country are purchased from theguard on the train at no extra cost; however, in June 2009, an automatic ticket machine was installed on the platform, enabling passengers to buy or collect tickets bought in advance.[7]
.JPG)
National Rail services at Matlock are operated byEast Midlands Railway, usingClass 170diesel multiple units. The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction to and fromLincoln, viaDerby,Nottingham andNewark Castle with one train every two hours extending toCleethorpes.On Sundays, the station is served by hourly.[8]
Peak Rail services run to Rowsley South on a seasonal timetable during the year, with frequencies increased during holiday periods. Service patterns include theGreen Steam,Blue Diesel andGold High Season timetables.[9]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | East Midlands Railway | Matlock Bath | ||
| Preceding station |  Heritage railways | Following station | ||
| Darley Dale towardsRowsley South | Peak Rail | Terminus | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Midland Railway | ||||
