Poulton-le-Fylde railway station

Poulton-le-Fylde National Rail
Poulton-le-Fylde station sign in 2013
Location
Place Poulton-le-Fylde
Local authority Wyre
Coordinates 53°50′54″N 2°59′26″W / 53.8484°N 2.9906°W / 53.8484; -2.9906Coordinates: 53°50′54″N 2°59′26″W / 53.8484°N 2.9906°W / 53.8484; -2.9906
Grid reference SD349395
Operations
Station code PFY
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 0.459 million
2013/14 Increase 0.481 million
2014/15 Increase 0.509 million
2015/16 Increase 0.526 million
2016/17 Increase 0.550 million
History
15 July 1840 Original station opened
1896 New station on realigned route
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Poulton-le-Fylde from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal
Railways in Poulton-le-Fylde. The dates refer to passenger services.

Poulton-le-Fylde railway station serves the town of Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is managed by Northern, but also served by Virgin Trains and is 14 1⁄4 miles (22.9 km) northwest of Preston.

History

The original station was about 400 yards (400 m) north-east of the current location, at "The Breck".[1] The railway to the fishing town of Fleetwood passed along a straight line east of the town. From 1846, there was a junction to Blackpool just north of the station, with tight connecting curves facing either way. In 1893 a fatal accident occurred when a train took the curve too fast.[2][3] Subsequently, in 1896, the tracks were realigned to follow a much gentler westward curve to Blackpool, with the new station halfway along the curve. The Fleetwood branch then curved to the east to rejoin the original alignment. The old station continued to be used as a goods station until 1968.[4]

Passenger services to Fleetwood were withdrawn by British Rail on 1 June 1970 during railway restructuring, although a freight service continued to the ICI plant at Burn Naze Halt until 1999. The line is still extant (albeit overgrown and disused), but the junction with the Blackpool line west of the station was removed in April 2017 in preparation for electrification of the route.[5] Since June 2006, there have been plans to restore (and preserve) the passenger rail link towards Fleetwood via Thornton & Cleveleys, as a heritage railway; a £30,000 feasibility study is needed to be undertaken to explore the re-instatement of the link and the addition of a third platform at Poulton-le-Fylde.[6]

Facilities

The station has a manned ticket office at street level, staffed throughout the week (Monday to Saturday 06:10-19:30 and Sunday 06:40-18:10). There is also a self-service ticket machine provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. There is a waiting room at platform level, along with toilets, bench seating and timetable posters. Train running information is offered via automatic announcements and digital display screens. Step-free access is available via lifts from the entrance to the platform when the ticket office is staffed.[7]

Services

The station is now served by trains to and from Blackpool North and towards Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport, Preston and to Liverpool Lime Street via St Helens Central.[8] Virgin Trains operates four trains each way on weekdays between London Euston and Blackpool North.[9]

Sundays see hourly services to Manchester Airport, Manchester Victoria, Liverpool Lime Street and York. The station is also served by a single DalesRail service to Carlisle via Settle during the summer months and to Hellifield (for onward travel to Settle & Carlisle) for the remainder of the year.

Future Services

In June 2018, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) approved an application by Great North Western Railway for 5 direct services per day from Blackpool North to London Euston calling at: Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham & Wesham, Preston, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central. The service is planned for September 2019.[10][11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mitchell & Hartley, p.59
  2. ↑ Welch, p.27
  3. ↑ Suggitt, p.38
  4. ↑ Suggitt, pp.37–38
  5. ↑ "Passengers and neighbours thanked as weekend work in Poulton is completed on time" VolkerRail press release 6 April 2017; Retrieved 23 May 2017
  6. ↑ "£30,000 feasibility study for Poulton to Fleetwood line could go ahead" (PDF). Railway Herald (239). 20 September 2010. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  7. ↑ Poulton-le-Fylde station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 24 February 2017
  8. ↑ Table 41 & 82 National Rail timetable, May 2018
  9. ↑ Table 65 National Rail timetable, May 2018
  10. ↑ "Application for a new track access contract for services between London Euston and Blackpool North" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "NEW BLACKPOOL TO LONDON RAIL SERVICES APPROVED". Alliance Rail Holdings. Retrieved 7 June 2018.

References

  • Mitchell, L. & Hartley, S. (2005) "Lancashire Historic Town Survey—Poulton-le-Fylde". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.  (19.1 MiB), Lancashire County Council Environment Directorate, accessed 30 October 2007
  • Suggitt, G. (2003, revised 2004) Lost Railways of Lancashire, Countryside Books, Newbury, ISBN 1-85306-801-2
  • Welch, M.S. (2004) Lancashire Steam Finale, Runpast Publishing, Cheltenham, ISBN 1-870754-61-1
Maps showing
Poulton-le-Fylde (old) Station
Vision of Britain —select 19th Century: OS 1st Series
OS 1:2500 Map on MARIO (about 1892)
OS 1:10000 Map on MARIO (about 1848)
Other maps

53°51′04″N 2°59′15″W / 53.8510°N 2.9875°W / 53.8510; -2.9875

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Blackpool North   Northern
Calder Valley line
(Sundays only)		   Preston
Layton   Northern
Blackpool Branch Line		   Kirkham & Wesham
Blackpool North   Northern
Blackpool to Liverpool line		   Kirkham & Wesham
Blackpool North   Virgin Trains
WCML Blackpool Branch		   Kirkham & Wesham
  Future Services  
Blackpool North   Great North Western Railway
West Coast Main Line
London – Blackpool North		   Kirkham & Wesham
Disused railways
Thornton for Cleveleys   Preston and Wyre Joint Railway
Fleetwood Branch Line		   Singleton
Bispham   Preston and Wyre Joint Railway
Blackpool Branch Line		  
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