Station code BLK DfT category F1 Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SD623106 Managed by Northern 2011/12 0.456 million | |
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Similar Horwich Parkway railway st, Lostock railway station, Westhoughton railway station, Pemberton railway station, Daisy Hill railway station | ||
Blackrod railway station serves the village of Blackrod, England, 6.5 miles (10 km ) north west of Bolton railway station. It is just 1 1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) from the town centre of Horwich - closer than Horwich Parkway station.
Contents
It lies on the Manchester-Preston Line and is served primarily by local services run by Northern. First TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Preston also serve the station at peak times. Despite its high passenger usage and the recent refurbishment (see below) the station is currently unstaffed.
History
The station was opened on 4 February 1841 as Horwich Road by the Manchester and Bolton Railway. It was renamed Horwich and Blackrod, then Horwich Junction, then Horwich and Blackrod junction, finally Blackrod in 1888
Blackrod was once the junction for a short branch to serve the original Horwich station (closed to passengers on 27 September 1965) and Horwich Locomotive Works (sold in 1988, after which the line was closed and lifted). Until the 1980s, Blackrod had a poor frequency of service, but for many years it has been a popular commuter station.
Technical Railway Information
The station had until recently a signal box, the only one on the entire Manchester to Preston route. This had outlasted the others as it acted as the 'fringe' to both the Manchester Piccadilly signalling centre and Preston PSB. The train description system used in the Preston installation was incompatible with that installed at Piccadilly so the signaller at Blackrod had to transfer train data manually from one system to the other as each one passed through his/her control area. A similar situation existed at Bromley Cross on the Bolton to Blackburn line, where the two control areas also overlap.
Network Rail announced in May 2012 that the box was due to be abolished in January 2013, with control passing to the Piccadilly signalling centre. This is part of a programme of signalling renewals associated with the planned electrification of the Manchester to Preston line (due for completion in 2016). The box was duly decommissioned on 10 February 2013 and subsequently demolished.
2012 Refurbishment
Over one million pounds' worth of improvements to the station (including the removal of the footbridge shown in the photo and its replacement with step-free access ramps) were completed in November 2012.
Services
There is currently an hourly daytime service (including Sundays) to Manchester Victoria southbound and to Preston and Blackpool North northbound, with some Monday to Friday peak extras.
Services between Manchester Airport or Hazel Grove and Blackpool are not as frequent, with only a few services during rush hours.