Clifton (Manchester) railway station

This article is about the station in Clifton, Greater Manchester. For the stations in other places called Clifton, see Clifton railway station (disambiguation).
Clifton National Rail

The ramp leading to the southbound platform
Location
Place Clifton
Local authority Salford
Coordinates 53°31′20″N 2°18′51″W / 53.5223°N 2.3141°W / 53.5223; -2.3141Coordinates: 53°31′20″N 2°18′51″W / 53.5223°N 2.3141°W / 53.5223; -2.3141
Grid reference SD793028
Operations
Station code CLI
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05  417
2005/06 Decrease 182
2006/07 Increase 277
2007/08 Decrease 152
2008/09 Increase 216
2009/10 Increase 278
2010/11 Decrease 170
2011/12 Increase 498
2012/13 Decrease 334
2013/14 Decrease 298
2014/15 Decrease 152
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE Transport for Greater Manchester
History
Original company East Lancashire Railway
Pre-grouping Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
June 1847 Opened as Clifton Junction
6 May 1974 Renamed Clifton
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Clifton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Clifton railway station is a railway station in Clifton, Greater Manchester, England which was formerly called Clifton Junction railway station. It lies on the Manchester to Preston Line.

History

The railway line between Salford and Bolton, the Manchester and Bolton Railway (M&BR), opened in 1838, but had no stations between Agecroft Bridge and Ringley.[1] In 1844, the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway (MB&RR) was authorised to build a line from a junction with the M&BR at Clifton, to Rawtenstall. It opened to the public on 28 September 1846,[2] by which time the MB&RR had amalgamated with other companies to become the East Lancashire Railway,[3] and the M&BR had itself amalgamated with the Manchester and Leeds Railway;[4] the M&LR became the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847.[5]

A 1905 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (upper right) railways in the vicinity of Clifton

The Bury line ran northward from the junction, crossing the Irwell Valley on Clifton Viaduct (known locally as the "13 arches"), to run on the opposite side of the valley to the Bolton line. A station at the junction, with two platforms for each route (Bolton or Bury), opened in June 1847, and was named Clifton Junction.[2][6]

The line to Bury closed in 1966, but (as of October 2013) the viaduct remains a Grade II listed local landmark.

On 6 May 1974 the station was renamed Clifton,[6][7] (even though the area has become known as Clifton Junction), and in the 1990s the service was reduced to one train per day in each direction.

The closest station to Clifton Junction with a regular service is Swinton 1.25 miles (2.01 km) miles away on the line between Manchester and Wigan via Atherton.

Local industry made good use of Clifton Junction railway station long before the advent of mass car ownership when three factories were established close by enabling employees and visitors access by train. The three factories were Magnesium Elektron Ltd, Chloride Batteries Ltd and Pilkington's Tiles Ltd.

Services

The service at Clifton railway station is very limited in the current 2015-16 timetable (and has been since 1992),[8] with just one train calling in each direction between Manchester Victoria and Wigan Wallgate per day - southbound (at 07:06) in the morning peak and northbound (at 18:22) in the evening.[9] In 2012, the station had only a small amount of services day in each direction (local services run by Northern); only 170 passengers were recorded as using the station in 2010–11. The single daily service each way was suspended between May 2015 and the December 2015 timetable change due to the ongoing modernisation work at Farnworth Tunnel, with a replacement bus provided instead. The station reopened on schedule on 14 December 2015.

There is no Sunday service.

References

  1. ↑ Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 30–30. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
  2. 1 2 Marshall 1969, p. 110
  3. ↑ Marshall 1969, p. 106
  4. ↑ Marshall 1969, p. 33
  5. ↑ Marshall 1969, p. 65
  6. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 63. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  7. ↑ Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine (London: IPC Transport Press Ltd) 120 (879): 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
  8. ↑ Disused Stations - Clifton JunctionDisused Stations; Retrieved 14 December 2015
  9. ↑ Northern Rail Timetable 14 Manchester & Manchester Airport to Southport & Kirkby, 13 Dec 2015 - 14 May 2016Northern Rail; Retrieved 14 December 2015

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clifton railway station.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Kearsley   Northern
Manchester-Wigan Wallgate
Limited Services		   Salford Crescent
Disused railways
Dixon Fold
Line open, station closed		   Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway   Agecroft Bridge
Line open, station closed
Molyneux Brow
Line and station closed		    
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