Accrington railway station

Accrington railway station serves the town of Accrington in Lancashire, England. It is a station on the East Lancashire Line 10 km (6¼ miles) east of Blackburn railway station operated by Northern Rail.

It is also served by Caldervale Line express services between Blackpool North, York and Leeds.

History

The station was opened in 1848 by the East Lancashire Railway, which amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1859. Taken into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

The station was formerly a major junction on the ELR, with the line to Bury and Salford diverging southwards from that towards Blackburn & Preston at the western end of the station, just before the impressive viaduct that carries the line over the town centre. This was for many years a busy commuter route carrying regular trains from Skipton and Colne to Manchester Victoria, but it fell victim to the Beeching Axe in the sixties and closed to passengers on 5 December 1966.^[1] Few traces of this route remain today, the formation through the town (including part of the notorious 1 in 40 Baxenden Bank) having been built over.

When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Railways.

Buildings and structures

The station has two side platforms, flanking the twin-track railway line. Other than two small shelters (one on each platform) there is no protection from the elements; indeed the whole impression is one of a basic halt. It offers disabled access via ramps adjacent to the platforms.

The station is currently (early 2011) undergoing a major rebuild, as part of a project to create a model of sustainable energy use for a railway station. This redevelopment is costing £2 million, of which £500,000 is funded by the European Union's Interreg IVB programme. The previously existing ticket office has been demolished, and is being replaced by a new build designed by SBS Architects and constructed, where possible, with local materials including recycled stone. The building uses a rainwater harvesting system, photovoltaic cells and solar hot water generation panels on the new tower.^[2]

Services

There is an hourly service from Accrington to Blackpool North (westbound) and Leeds/York (eastbound) on the Caldervale Line. This now also runs hourly on Sundays since the May 2009 timetable change.^[3]

These call at Blackburn, Preston, Poulton-le-Fylde & Blackpool North westbound and Burnley Manchester Road, Hebden Bridge, Halifax, Bradford Interchange, New Pudsey, Leeds, Cross Gates, Garforth, East Garforth, Micklefield, Church Fenton (2-hourly) and York eastbound.

On the East Lancashire Line, Monday to Saturday daytimes, there is an hourly service from Accrington to Blackpool South (westbound) and Colne (eastbound). There was also a solitary Mon-Fri morning commuter service from Colne to Manchester Victoria that formerly called here, along with a corresponding return working during the evening. This was however withdrawn at the May 2009 timetable change ^[4] (it was diverted to run to Clitheroe instead).

There is a two-hourly service in each direction on Sundays. These call at all stops (except Salwick), including the major stations of Preston, Blackburn and Burnley Central.

References

Bibliography

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687. 
• Marshall, J. (1981) Forgotten Railways: North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6

External links

• Train times and station information for Accrington railway station from National Rail
• Interactive plan of the station
• Station on navigable O.S. map