Burscough Bridge railway station

The station opened on 9 April 1855,^[7] when the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) and the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) jointly opened the line from Wigan Wallgate to Southport London Street, the line and station had been planned, authorised and construction started by the Manchester and Southport Railway before it was acquired by the L&YR and ELR on 3 July 1854.^[8] The main stone-built station building (no longer in use) was built during this time, in the standard L&YR style which had been described as "solid, substantial, well built of stone in the Elizabethan style, neat without undue ornament".^[9]

There was a tragic incident at the station in September 1924 when a member of the public was hit while crossing the line by the staff crossing, rather than obeying the signs and using the road bridge. Alfred Rimmer, aged 55, of Burscough was caught by the first carriage of an express train, knocking him under the wheels. His body was "terribly mutilated".^[10]

The main buildings on the Wigan-bound platform still stand, but are now in private use.^[11]

A ticket office was built within the complex; this opened in 2005, but was closed on 25 June 2016 due to council budget cuts (as it was not operated by Northern).^[12] A public notice from Lancashire County Council informs passengers that the nearest staffed station is either Ormskirk or Parbold.^[13] The ticket office was mistakenly reported as open in 2018.^[12]

There is step-free access to both platforms. There are also toilets, ticket machines, shelters, cycle storage and live departure screens.^[14]

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

On Monday to Saturday, there are two trains an hour westbound to Southport and eastbound to Wigan. Eastbound trains now continue via Bolton to both Manchester stations. One runs to Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge and the other to Manchester Oxford Road. Passengers for Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport and points south need to change at Oxford Road. On Sundays, there is an hourly service to Southport and Blackburn via Manchester Victoria. These run via Atherton.^[16]

More information Preceding station, National Rail ...

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
New Lane or Meols Cop or Southport		Northern Trains Manchester–Southport line		Hoscar or Parbold
	Disused railways
Rufford		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Burscough Curves North		Terminus
Terminus		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Burscough Curves South		Burscough Junction

Close

The station, along with all others on the line, is supported by Community Rail Lancashire, a Community Rail Partnership.^[17]

During the rail restructuring of the 1960s and 1970s, the "Burscough Curves", which formed a link between the Ormskirk-Preston and Southport-Wigan lines were removed, although the formation survives. The North Curve was taken out of use and severed in July 1969, being lifted in 1973: it was last used for a Saturdays only empty train from Blackpool to Southport.^[18] The South Curve was singled in 1970, but remained in use to serve the extensive sidings at the MOD depot located just to the north of Burscough Junction station. It saw its last train in 1982.

The passenger service from Ormskirk to Burscough Junction and on to Southport, which used the southern curve, was withdrawn in 1962.^[5]

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network report, called for funding for the reopening of this line as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations.^[19][20] The uses of the curves in a new service pattern has been identified by Network Rail, if electrified along with the through lines.^[21]

Additionally, Network Rail has identified electrification of Wigan to Southport, together with the Ormskirk to Preston Line and the Burscough Curves as a possible source of new services.^[21]

• Listed buildings in Burscough