Station code LOT DfT category E Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SD674086 Managed by Northern 2011/12 0.244 million | |
 | ||
Similar Horwich Parkway railway st, Blackrod railway station, Moses Gate railway st, Kearsley railway station, Heald Green railway st | ||
Lostock railway station serves the suburb of Lostock in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. According to large scale Ordnance Survey maps and local usage, the area is named Lostock Junction and the station is referred to as such by many local people. Indeed, Network Rail's own "location map" refers to the area as "Lostock Junction". This is similar to the situation in London where Clapham Junction railway station is in fact in Battersea, and the surrounding area has taken the name of Clapham Junction. Lostock itself is some distance to the west of the station.
Contents
History
The railway line between Bolton and Preston had opened as far as Rawlinson Bridge (between Adlington and Chorley) on 4 February 1841, and among the original stations on this route, the first station out of Bolton was at Blackrod. On 20 November 1848, the Liverpool and Bury Railway was opened giving a route between Bolton and Wigan, and the point where it connected to the Bolton–Preston line was named Lostock Junction; the first station out of Bolton on this route was Westhoughton. Later, a station was constructed at the junction, also named Lostock Junction, which opened around August 1852. The station gave its name to the village which grew around it. This station had platforms on both the Preston and Wigan routes.
On 17 July 1920, four people were killed and 148 were injured in a near head-on collision between two Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway passenger trains at Lostock Junction due to a signal having erroneously been passed at danger
Lostock Junction Station closed on 7 November 1966 as part of the programme of cuts initiated by the Beeching Report of 1963. However, on 16 May 1988 the station was reopened, but now with platforms only on the Preston route and renamed Lostock Parkway, a large car park for the use of park-and-ride commuters having been provided. The suffix "Parkway" was later dropped.
Services
The two-platform station is served by Northern services to Manchester stations (i.e. Piccadilly, Airport, Oxford Road and Victoria) from Preston and Blackpool North. One train per hour southbound continues to Hazel Grove via Stockport. It is a popular commuter station.
The Bolton-Wigan branch-line diverges just to the south of Lostock's platforms, but there are no longer any platforms on the branch to Wigan and Southport. The Network Rail North West Route Utilisation Strategy has recommended the construction of these additional platforms and they were planned to be reinstated as part of the Manchester TIF bid.
Station improvements
Most recently in early 2009, the station has had a passenger information display system installed, giving waiting passengers on the platforms information about trains that are due to arrive. Fully computer automated, it is also equipped with an audio speaker system, giving the benefit of announcements of train arrivals and delays. During December 2008 - Spring 2009 the car park facilities were greatly improved by extending and resurfacing the land surrounding the railway, with the addition of floodlighting and CCTV.
Facilities
The station has a ticket office, which is manned from start of service until 19:35, six days per week (closed Sundays). Outside these hours, tickets must be bought on the train or in advance. Shelters are located on each platform and both have step-free access (via ramps northbound).