Ormskirk railway station
Ormskirk | |
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A view of the Merseyrail end of the platform. | |
Location | |
Place | Ormskirk |
Local authority | West Lancashire |
Coordinates | 53°34′09″N 2°52′52″W / 53.5692°N 2.8811°WCoordinates: 53°34′09″N 2°52′52″W / 53.5692°N 2.8811°W |
Grid reference | SD417084 |
Operations | |
Station code | OMS |
Managed by | Merseyrail |
Number of platforms | 2 |
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries | |
Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2004/05 | 0.693 million |
2005/06 | 0.716 million |
2006/07 | 0.733 million |
2007/08 | 0.770 million |
2008/09 | 1.028 million |
2009/10 | 0.999 million |
2010/11 | 0.879 million |
2011/12 | 0.715 million |
Passenger Transport Executive | |
PTE | Merseytravel |
Zone | F |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ormskirk from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
UK Railways portal |
Ormskirk railway station is situated in the town of Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. The station is an interchange between Merseyrail services from Liverpool Central and Northern Rail services from Preston. The station building and three arch road bridge are both Grade II listed structures.
History
The station was built by the East Lancashire Railway, Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston section, and opened on 2 April 1849. From 13 May 1859, the station was owned by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. From 1 January 1923 the station was owned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. British Railways nationalised all railways on 1 January 1948 and the station became part of the London Midland Region.
Station layout
The current station consists of a single platform. An interesting characteristic is how the electric Merseyrail trains and diesel Northern Rail trains are separated on arrival by a large buffer, so passengers wishing to go from one to another walk a dozen yards or so along the platform to move between trains. (A similar layout exists at Kirkby.) Prior to the restructuring of the railways in the 1960s and 1970s, there were two platforms. The EMU commuter trains would pull into a bay platform (with buffers) as can be seen on the 1915 photograph (to the right of the picture). This practice ended following the withdrawal of through trains between Liverpool and Preston via this route (the last through trains ran on 3 May 1970) and all trains now use the former Liverpool platform (the Preston-bound Up platform remains but is disused). The bay platform is now a footpath leading to the bus station.
The former link between Ormskirk and Southport, via the Burscough Curves, was closed in 1962. The Skelmersdale Branch has also been lost, having closed to passengers in 1956 and to all traffic seven years later. It was lifted in 1968, though the Burscough curves remained extant until the mid-1980s.[1]
Refurbishment
The Ormskirk Advertiser announced in June 2008 that Ormskirk railway station was to undergo a £1.5 million makeover, a project which was run in partnership between West Lancashire District Council, Lancashire County Council, Merseyrail and Network Rail. Among the refurbishments include a new booking hall, waiting room, toilet facilities, ticket counters and new automatic swinging doors, as well as a remodelled and landscaped path and bicycle route up to the bus interchange. Work started in January 2009[2] and completed during the summer of 2009, with the opening taking place on 31 July 2009. The station is classed as eco-friendly and gets its green credentials by using a system that harvests rainwater, as well as other various energy-saving measures.[3]
Services
Services to Liverpool Central operate frequently, running every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at other times. Services to Preston are irregular, with a total of 12 services in each direction Monday–Saturday, and no service on Sundays.
Gallery
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A Northern Rail Class 150 waits with a service to Preston.
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The Merseyrail platform.
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A view of the entrance from the roadside.
References
- ↑ Marshall, J. (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6, p.93
- ↑ Work to begin on £1.5m makeover at Ormskirk train station
- ↑ New-look ‘eco-friendly’ Ormskirk station opens
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ormskirk railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Ormskirk railway station from National Rail
- Station information for Ormskirk railway station from Merseyrail
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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Aughton Park | Merseyrail Northern Line |
Terminus | ||
Burscough Junction | Northern Rail Ormskirk Branch Line Mondays-Saturdays only |
Terminus | ||
Disused railways | ||||
Terminus | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Skelmersdale Branch |
Westhead Halt |
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