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Blackrod railway station

Coordinates: 53°35′28″N 2°34′12″W / 53.591°N 2.570°W / 53.591; -2.570
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Blackrod
General information
LocationBolton
Coordinates53°35′28″N 2°34′12″W / 53.591°N 2.570°W / 53.591; -2.570
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBLK

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 by Northern Trains, who run local stopping trains between Manchester Victoria and Preston. Manchester Airport & Hazel Grove to Blackpool North expresses also serve the station at peak times. Despite its high passenger usage and the recent refurbishment (see below) the station is currently unstaffed. A drop in passenger usage in the year 2017/18 is largely due to industrial action and engineering works.

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, and finally Blackrod in 1888 [1]

Blackrod was once the junction for a short branch to serve the original Horwich station (closed to passengers on 27 September 1965[2]) 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,[3] 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[4] 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.[5]
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.[6]

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.[7]

Services

There is currently an hourly daytime service (including Sundays) to Manchester Victoria southbound and to Preston northbound.[8]

Through services to Blackpool North northbound and to Manchester Piccadilly and beyond call only at peak periods and in the evenings, when the Manchester Victoria service doesn't operate. On Sundays, there is an hourly all-day service to Blackpool and Manchester Victoria.

Saturday and Sunday services were replaced by buses most weekends from May 2015 until November 2018 due to the late-running electrification work on the route.[9] Weekend services resumed on Sunday 11 November 2018 after the completion of the electrification engineering work.

Renovation and Electrification

It was announced by the Department for Transport in December 2009, the line between Preston and Manchester, on which the station is situated, will be electrified which should reduce journey times to Manchester by up to ten minutes.[10] There have been many delays but completion is expected before December 2018.

Electric service commenced on 11 February 2019, initially utilising Class 319 electric multiple units.[11]

Post electrification services

The station in 2018, following refurbishment and completion of electrification works.

A new timetable will be introduced in May 2019 which will feature new electric trains and shorter journey times; daytime services will run hourly between Preston and Manchester Victoria with evening and additional peak services running between Blackpool North and Manchester Piccadilly and onwards to Manchester Airport or Hazel Grove; all services will utilise Class 319 electric multiple units. From December 2019, services between Blackpool North and Manchester Piccadilly and onwards to Manchester Airport or Hazel Grove and most Sunday services utilise Class 331 electric multiple units.

Saturday services will be similar to weekday services with all evening services after 22:00 extending to Manchester Airport.

Sunday services will extend to Blackpool North with some early morning and late night services running to/from Manchester Airport.

References

  1. ^ Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
  2. ^ Disused Stations - HorwichDisused Stations - Horwich; Retrieved 16 August 2016
  3. ^ BR Timetable 1973, table 96
  4. ^ "Blackrod Station - Blackrod Junction signal box". www.blackrod.org.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  5. ^ "Bromley Cross signal box". www.signalbox.org. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  6. ^ Blackrod Station - Past & Present www.blackrod.org website news article; Retrieved 2012-10-29
  7. ^ "Passengers to benefit from over £1 million investment at Blackrod station". Northern Rail News. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  8. ^ GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 82
  9. ^ Manchester - Bolton - Preston route improvement works Archived 30 July 2018 at the Wayback MachineNorthern website news article; Retrieved 2 August 2018
  10. ^ Milmo, Dan (9 December 2009). "Rail electrification gets green light". the Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  11. ^ McDonnell, Seamus (14 February 2019). "First electric trains are a 'new dawn' for Bolton commuters | The Bolton News". The Bolton News. Retrieved 11 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackrod railway station.
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Chorley or Adlington   Northern Trains
Manchester-Preston Line 		  Horwich Parkway
Chorley   Northern Trains
Blackpool North - Manchester Airport
(limited service)
To be incorporated to Northern Connect from December 2019 		  Horwich Parkway
Chorley or Adlington   Northern Trains
Blackpool North - Hazel Grove
(limited service) 		  Horwich Parkway
  Future Services  
Chorley   Northern Connect
Blackpool North - Manchester Airport
(limited service)
  Horwich Parkway
  Historical railways  
Adlington
Line and station open 		  Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Bolton and Preston Railway 		  Lostock Lane
Line open, station closed
Disused railways
Terminus   Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Horwich Branch 		  Horwich
Line and station closed
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