Blackrod railway station

Blackrod Add→{{rail-interchange}}
General information
Location	Bolton
Managed by	Northern Rail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BLK

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 Rail. 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

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, 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 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 exists at Bromley Cross on the Bolton to Blackburn line, where the two control areas also overlap.
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.

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.

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.

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

External links

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

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Adlington		Northern Rail Manchester-Preston Line		Horwich Parkway
Chorley		TransPennine Express TransPennine North West Limited Services		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