Wigan Central railway station

Lines around Wigan in 1907

Wigan Central railway station was a railway station near the centre of Wigan, Lancashire, England.

Location and construction

Central station was some way away from the two main stations (North Western and Wallgate) which are on the western edge of the town centre. Central station was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later to become the Great Central) and opened on 3 October 1892. It replaced Wigan (Darlington Street) station, which had opened on 1 April 1884, on the extension of the line nearer to the town centre. Wigan Central was the terminus of the Wigan Junction Railways from Glazebrook Junction (and on to Manchester Central) and closed on 2 November 1964.

Operations

According to Beeching's Reshaping of British Railways (see Appendix Passenger Line Usage Map) the line was more heavily used than many which did not close; as with many unmodernised and heavily used commuter lines it was however deemed uneconomic. The line's main passenger traffic was workers travelling from the Wigan area to industrial plants in Cadishead/Partington and around the docks in Salford and Manchester; until the late 1970s the Lancashire United bus company operated a replacement daily bus service from Wigan to Partington.

Wigan Central station's building, which was located on Station Road near to the town centre, was subsequently demolished. On the original site now stands the Grand Arcade Shopping Centre which was built between 2006 and 2008.

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain
• Wigan North Western railway station
• Wigan Wallgate railway station
• Liverpool, St Helens & South Lancashire Railway
• Old railway lines in Wigan

References

Coordinates: 53°32′46″N 2°37′42″W / 53.5461°N 2.6284°W / 53.5461; -2.6284