Seven railway companies - London and North Western, North Eastern, Midland, Maryport and Carlisle, Caledonian, Glasgow and South Western and North British - met at Carlisle. The passenger station, and the goods lines which avoided it, were managed by joint committees: the station itself by the Citadel Station Committee (LNWR and CR); the main goods route by the Goods Traffic Committee (LNWR, CR, GSWR and MR); another by the Dentholme Joint Committee (MR, GSWR and NBR); and on a third the NER and NBR met end-to-end.