Blackpool South railway station

Blackpool South
A Class 142 Pacer unit waits to depart with a service to Rochdale in 2012
Location
Place	South Shore
Local authority	Blackpool
Coordinates	53°47′54″N 3°02′56″W / 53.7983°N 3.0488°WCoordinates: 53°47′54″N 3°02′56″W / 53.7983°N 3.0488°W
Grid reference	SD310340
Operations
Station code	BPS
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	82,804
2005/06	83,004
2006/07	94,094
2007/08	105,193
2008/09	106,822
2009/10	120,294
2010/11	130,674
2011/12	144,364
2012/13	132,356
2013/14	136,768
2014/15	131,434
History
30 May 1903	Opened as Waterloo Road
17 March 1932[1]	Renamed Blackpool South
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Blackpool South from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Blackpool South railway station serves the suburban south of the popular seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the South Fylde Line from Kirkham and Wesham, though most services run through from Colne. It lies only a short walk from Blackpool Football Club's stadium at Bloomfield Road. The station is managed by Northern, who operate all trains serving it.

History

The station was originally called Waterloo Road when it opened in 1903, at the junction with a newly built express Marton Line direct from Kirkham. It had four platforms ^[2] (two for each line at the junction) and soon became a busy station. Until November 1964, the line extended north from here to Blackpool Central. There were extensive sidings to accommodate the many excursion trains which came to Blackpool.

The Marton Line closed to regular traffic in 1965;^[3] its track bed is now the road called Yeadon Way and the M55 motorway.

The station continued to handle through trains from Manchester, Liverpool and London until 1970, when these were all diverted to Blackpool North at the other end of town. It was then reduced to local status only, although it kept its signal box, two working platform faces and double track until 1982. The box was notable in that it was located on the opposite side of Waterloo Road bridge from the station and so could not see the tracks & platforms it controlled, instead being surrounded by the disused railway land once occupied by the main line & aforementioned sidings.^[4] After the line was singled west of St Annes and the box was abolished, all trains used the former northbound platform and continue to do so to the present day.

For much of the 1970s and early 1980s nearly all services terminated at Kirkham, where passengers were forced to change if wanting to travel further east but since 1988 they have been integrated with those on the East Lancashire Line, a timetable pattern that remains in place as of 2013.

Services

Blackpool South currently has an hourly service to Colne via Lytham, Preston, Blackburn and Burnley on weekdays & Saturdays.^[5] Sunday services run on a similar frequency, but only from March until early November.

Services are normally formed of Class 142 Pacer units or Class 150 Sprinter units operated by Northern.

Blackpool North lies at the other end of the town, and is unconnected to Blackpool South. More frequent and express services depart from North Station.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995), The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p.36
2. Blackpool & Fylde Rail Users’ Association—Blackpool South, accessed 17 October 2007
3. Suggitt, G. (2003, revised 2004) Lost Railways of Lancashire, Countryside Books, Newbury, ISBN 1-85306-801-2, p.46
4. Blackpool South signal box in the early 1970s after closure of line to Blackpool CentralRCTS; Retrieved 2013-10-23
5. GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 97 (Network Rail)

External links

• Train times and station information for Blackpool South railway station from National Rail