Burscough Bridge railway station

Burscough Bridge
Location
Place	Burscough
Local authority	West Lancashire
Grid reference	SD444124
Operations
Station code	BCB
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	136,966
2005/06	155,437
2006/07	178,147
2007/08	194,615
2008/09	211,512
2009/10	215,558
2010/11	222,382
2011/12	219,080
2012/13	210,842
2013/14	0.220 million
2014/15	0.228 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 Burscough Bridge from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Burscough Bridge railway station (pronounced Burs/co Bridge) serves the town of Burscough in Lancashire, England. It is a main stop on the Manchester-Southport Line. It is run by Northern. A bus interchange has recently been constructed next to the station, including a shop and cafe (Both now closed), with a ticket office, staffed part-time. The station has been identified as a possible interchange between, the Liverpool to Ormskirk line and the Southport to Wigan line, by Merseytravel in it Liverpool City Region Long Term Rail Strategy.^[1]

History

The station was built by the Manchester and Southport Railway and opened on 9 April 1855, and from January 1885 was part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The main stone-built station building (no longer in use) was built during this time, in the standard L&YR style. The L&YR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 and in turn was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Rail. Until 1962, when this passenger service was withdrawn, trains from Southport to Burscough Bridge could continue to Burscough Junction and onto Ormskirk by means of one of the two curves that linked Wigan to Southport route with the ex-East Lancashire Railway main line between Preston and Liverpool Exchange. Both connections have since been lifted, but the formations remain and there have been calls from various parties to reopen them to allow through running from Southport to both Ormskirk and Preston.

Interchange

This station is not to be confused with Burscough Junction, which is also in Burscough, but on the Ormskirk - Preston line.

Pedestrians are advised to leave twenty minutes to change between these stations

Burscough Curves

During the rail restructuring of the 1960s and 1970s, the "Burscough Curves", which formed a link between the Ormskirk-Preston and Southport-Wigan lines were removed, although the formation survives. The North Curve was taken out of use and severed in July 1969, being lifted in 1973: it was last used for a Saturdays only empty train from Blackpool to Southport.^[2] The South Curve was singled in 1970, but remained in use to serve the extensive sidings at the MOD depot located just to the north of Burscough Junction station. It saw its last train in 1982.

The passenger service from Ormskirk to Burscough Junction and on to Southport, which used the southern curve, was withdrawn in 1962 as can be seen from the British Rail London Midland Region Timetable of that year.

Pressure from local transport groups, West Lancashire Borough Council and Southport MP John Pugh has not so far persuaded Network Rail to reinstate the curves. Various schemes have been proposed, including the full electrification of the line from Southport via Burscough to Ormskirk using the same third rail system as Merseyrail. This proposal would allow users of the Ormskirk branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line to reach Southport without having to travel via Sandhills.

A new study being conducted by Merseytravel could see demand for a potential reinstatement and electrification of the curves in the near future.^[3] In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network report, called for funding for the reopening of this line as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations.^[4][5] The uses of the curves in a new service pattern has been identified by Network Rail, if electrified along with the through lines.^[6]

Additionally, Network Rail has identified electrification of Wigan to Southport, together with the Ormskirk to Preston Line and the Burscough Curves as a possible source of new services.^[6]

Services

Trains at the following times:

Towards Manchester

• Monday—Saturday: every 30 mins (hourly after 19.30)
• Sunday: every hour (26 mins past each hour)

Towards Southport

• Monday—Saturday: every 30 mins (hourly after 19.30)
• Sunday: every hour (39 mins past each hour)

Currently, trains run alternately to Manchester Airport via Bolton & Manchester Piccadilly and to Manchester Victoria via Atherton (some services continue to Stalybridge and Huddersfield). On Sundays the service operates via Bolton to Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport, with extensions to Chester via Altrincham or Hazel Grove (alternate hours).^[7]

Gallery

• 

  The old station building on the Wigan platform.

• 

  The new station building on the Southport platform.

• 

  Burscough Bridge signal box.

• 

  The station in 1964, looking towards Wigan

• 

  View towards Southport in 1964

• 

  Express train at Burscough Bridge Junction Box

See also

• Listed buildings in Burscough

References

1. "Liverpool City Region Long Term Rail Strategy" (PDF). Merseytravel. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
2. British Railways London Midland Region Working Timetable May 1969-May 1970.
3. The Champion, 27 February 2008
4. "BBC NEWS - England - Operators call for new rail lines". BBC News. 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
5. "Connecting Communities - expanding access to the rail network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. Archived from the original (pdf) on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
6. "Network RUS Electrification" (PDF). October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
7. Great Britain eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 82

External links

• Train times and station information for Burscough Bridge railway station from National Rail

Coordinates: 53°36′18″N 2°50′31″W / 53.605°N 2.842°W