Skelmersdale railway station

Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale Branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874.^[1]

Recreation proposals

There have been proposals made to reopen Skelmerdale railway station, which would require three-mile rail restoration.^[2] In January 2009, the Liverpool Echo newspaper reported that recommendations have been put to councillors to endorse the £60m plan to build a new railway station in Skelmersdale, reconnecting the town with Liverpool.^[3]

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its Expanding Access to the Rail Network report, called for funding for the reopening of this station as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations.^[4] The report proposes extending the line from Ormskirk railway station by laying 3 miles of new single track along the previous route towards Rainford Junction, at a cost estimated to be in the region of £31m. The route is largely intact, however deviation north of Westhead would be required. The proposed station would be on north west corner of town near the Skelmersdale Ring Road, right next to where the old station once was.^[5]

References

External links

• Description on Disused stations
• The coming of the railway