Euxton Balshaw Lane railway station

Euxton Balshaw Lane is situated in the village of Euxton ( /ˈɛkstən/), Lancashire, England. It is a local station on the West Coast Main Line on the stretch between Wigan and Preston.

History

The railway line between Wigan and Preston was opened by the North Union Railway (NUR) on 31 October 1838,^[1] and among the original stations was one at Euxton, close to the Bay Horse public house on the south side of Euxton Lane. The NUR was split up in 1888, part of it (including Euxton station) becoming wholly owned by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).^[2] Euxton station closed on 2 September 1895^[3] at the behest of the Anderton Family.

A new station named Balshaw Lane and Euxton, between Coppull and Leyland^[4] and about ¹⁄₂ miles (0.80 km) south of the original Euxton station, was opened by the LNWR on 2 September 1905.^[5]

Balshaw Lane & Euxton station was closed by British Rail on 6 October 1969^[5] as part of the Beeching review of the UK railway network.

Euxton also had a station at the Royal Ordnance Factory site, ROF Chorley, on the Preston to Manchester line which opened along with the factory in the 1930s; the station was named 'ROF Halt' and closed in 1965.

As well as this another station on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's line (Preston to Manchester) was built named 'Euxton Junction' which was near to the Pack Saddle Bridge. Access to this station was via a footbridge from next to today's gastro pub, 'The Railway at Euxton'. However, this station closed in 1895.

The present station

The former Balshaw Lane and Euxton station was reopened in 1998 (the opening ceremony being performed by former Radio 1 DJ and, latterly, Radio Lancashire presenter and transport enthusiast, Andy Peebles), and was now named Euxton Balshaw Lane. It has two platforms on the slower north/south lines of the West Coast Main Line and is served by the Northern Rail company with trains to Blackpool North and Liverpool. Euxton Balshaw Lane does not have any full-time staff, PA system or ticket office, nor, unlike Horwich Parkway railway station, a station built around the same period, any clocks or display screens.

The use of "Balshaw Lane" in the station's name was added, at the time of opening, at Lancashire County Council's behest (the main station's sponsor and funder) in view of the possibility, at some future stage, of the opening of a station on the site of the Royal Ordnance Factory at Euxton and to distinguish itself (and avoid a subsequent name change) from that station. It was expected that the station at the ROF site might be named either "Euxton" or "Euxton ROF". In fact, the station that eventually opened in October 2011, on the Manchester-Preston route, is called Buckshaw Parkway.^[6]

Services

The station has a daily hourly service in each direction with 2 trains per hour in the peaks. Services run from Liverpool Lime Street to Blackpool North.

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Euxton Balshaw Lane railway station from National Rail