Blackrod railway station

Blackrod
Location
Place	Blackrod
Local authority	Bolton
Coordinates	53°35′28″N 2°34′12″W / 53.591°N 2.570°WCoordinates: 53°35′28″N 2°34′12″W / 53.591°N 2.570°W
Grid reference	SD623106
Operations
Station code	BLK
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	0.185 million
2005/06	0.208 million
2006/07	0.219 million
2007/08	0.246 million
2008/09	0.388 million
2009/10	0.384 million
2010/11	0.438 million
2011/12	0.456 million
2012/13	0.573 million
2013/14	0.589 million
2014/15	0.545 million
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Blackrod from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Blackrod railway station serves the village of Blackrod, England, 6.5 miles (10 km ) north west of Bolton railway station. It is just 1 ¹⁄₄ miles (2.0 km) from the town centre of Horwich - closer than Horwich Parkway station.

It lies on the Manchester-Preston Line and is served primarily by local services run by Northern. First TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Preston also serve the station at peak times. Despite its high passenger usage and the recent refurbishment (see below) the station is currently unstaffed. According to Office of Rail Regulation data Blackrod is only one of four stations in the UK which has annual usage of over half a million journeys with just an hourly service (Bromsgrove, Hartlepool and Knutsford being the other three).

History

The station was opened on 4 February 1841 as Horwich Road by the Manchester and Bolton Railway. It was renamed Horwich and Blackrod, then Horwich Junction, then Horwich and Blackrod junction, finally Blackrod in 1888 ^[1]

Blackrod was once the junction for a short branch to serve the original Horwich station (closed to passengers in 1965) and Horwich Locomotive Works (sold in 1988, after which the line was closed and lifted). Until the 1980s, Blackrod had a poor frequency of service,^[2] but for many years it has been a popular commuter station.

Technical Railway Information

The station had until recently a signal box, the only one on the entire Manchester to Preston route. This had outlasted the others as it acted as the 'fringe' to both the Manchester Piccadilly signalling centre and Preston PSB. The train description system used in the Preston installation was incompatible with that installed at Piccadilly^[3] so the signaller at Blackrod had to transfer train data manually from one system to the other as each one passed through his/her control area. A similar situation existed at Bromley Cross on the Bolton to Blackburn line, where the two control areas also overlap.^[4]
Network Rail announced in May 2012 that the box was due to be abolished in January 2013, with control passing to the Piccadilly signalling centre. This is part of a programme of signalling renewals associated with the planned electrification of the Manchester to Preston line (due for completion in 2016). The box was duly decommissioned on 10 February 2013 and subsequently demolished.^[5]

Blackrod in 1962

2012 Refurbishment

Over one million pounds' worth of improvements to the station (including the removal of the footbridge shown in the photo and its replacement with step-free access ramps) were completed in November 2012.^[6]

Services

There is currently an hourly daytime service (including Sundays) to Manchester Victoria southbound and to Preston and Blackpool North northbound, with some Monday to Friday peak extras.^[7]

Services between Manchester Airport and Preston are not as frequent.^[8] with only a few services during rush hour.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
2. BR Timetable 1973, table 96
3. "Blackrod Station - Blackrod Junction signal box". www.blackrod.org.uk. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
4. "Bromley Cross signal box". www.signalbox.org. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
5. Blackrod Station - Past & Present www.blackrod.org website news article; Retrieved 2012-10-29
6. "Passengers to benefit from over £1 million investment at Blackrod station". Northern Rail News. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
7. GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 82
8. "Passenger Train Slots" (PDF). www.rail-reg.gov.uk. Retrieved 2008-10-04.

External links

• Train times and station information for Blackrod railway station from National Rail
• Blackrod Station - Past & Present