Euxton Balshaw Lane railway station

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

Euxton Balshaw Lane
LocationEuxton, Chorley
England
Coordinates53.6607°N 2.6718°W / 53.6607; -2.6718
Grid referenceSD557184
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeEBA
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyLondon and North Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
2 September 1905Opened as Balshaw Lane and Euxton
6 October 1969Closed
15 December 1997Reopened as Euxton Balshaw Lane
Passengers
2015/16 72,726
2016/17 77,156
2017/18 78,918
2018/19 62,740
2019/20 77,936
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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 1913 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways around Preston, including Balshaw Lane & Euxton station (bottom right)

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

Balshaw Lane & Euxton Station in 1964

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

Services from the former Balshaw Lane and Euxton station restarted on 15 December 1997.[6] It was officially 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 Northern Trains 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, when Euxton's other railway station eventually opened in October 2011, on the Manchester-Preston route, it was called Buckshaw Parkway.[7]

Services

The station has a daily hourly service in each direction with 2 trains per hour in the weekday peaks. Services run from Liverpool Lime Street to Preston and Blackpool North.[8] Through weekday services to Blackpool North were restored in May 2018 following the completion of electrification work.

References
  1. Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 67. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
  2. Marshall 1969, p. 77
  3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 26. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  4. Conolly, W. Philip (January 1976). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 24, section E2. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3. EX/0176.
  5. Butt 1995, p. 26
  6. Ellery, Bert (February 1998). Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (409): 61. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Buckshaw Parkway railway station opens". BBC News Lancashire. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  8. GB National Rail Timetable May 2018 Edition, Table 90 (Network Rail)

Further reading
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Leyland   Northern Trains
Liverpool to Wigan line		   Wigan North Western
  Historical railways  
Leyland
Line and station open		   London and North Western Railway
North Union Railway		   Coppull
Line open, station closed
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