Barrow-in-Furness - Transport

Transport

See also: Category:Transport in Barrow-in-Furness

Road

Barrow's principal road link is the A590, linking it to Ulverston, the Lake District and to the M6 motorway. Just north of Barrow is the southern terminus of the A595, linking the town to Whitehaven, Workington and eventually Carlisle. The possibility of a bridge link over Morecambe Bay is occasionally raised, with feasibility studies currently underway. Abbey Road is the principal road network through central Barrow, whilst Walney Bridge connects Barrow Island to Walney Island.

Bus
Bus services within the town are operated by Stagecoach North West. There is no specifically designated bus station, although many buses start and terminate their routes near the town hall. The original bus station was known for its role in a 1970s television commercial for Chewits sweets before its demolition. Other services link Barrow with outlying villages as well as longer distance routes to Dalton-in-Furness, Ulverston and Kendal.

Rail

Barrow-in-Furness railway station provides connections to Whitehaven, Workington and Carlisle to the north, via the Cumbrian Coast Line and to Ulverston, Grange-over-Sands and Lancaster to the east, via the Furness Line. It handles 503,800 passengers annually. Barrow has a second railway station, Roose, which serves the suburb of the same name.

Furness Abbey, Barrow's third main line station, closed in 1950. There was also a station on Barrow Island, used to enable workers at Vickers Limited (as it was then known) to commute directly between the shipyard and nearby towns served by the Furness Railway. This railway link was severed in 1966 when the famous cradle bridge across the docks was closed permanently for safety reasons.

Air
Barrow/Walney Island Airport operates two Beechkraft Kingair 250 aircraft which fly to various destinations every weekday, including Manchester, Bristol and Blackpool. It is owned and operated by BAE Systems (IATA airport code: BWF, ICAO: EGNL). The longest runway is almost 4,000 feet long. It is one of two airports in the county, the other being Carlisle Lake District Airport (which alongside Barrow once served as a commercial domestic airport). The nearest international airport is Blackpool International Airport, although most people from Barrow use the larger Liverpool and Manchester airports.

Sea
Despite being one of the UK's leading shipbuilding centres, the Associated British Ports' Port of Barrow is only a minor port. The only ferry links are between Roa Island and Piel Island, but there are proposals to create a cruise ship terminal.