Station code WGN DfT category B Opened 1838 | Grid reference SD581053 Managed by Virgin Trains 2011/12 1.073 million Number of platforms 6 | |
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Address Wigan North Western Station, Wallgate, Wigan WN1 1BJ, United Kingdom Similar Wigan Wallgate railway st, Warrington Bank Quay railway st, Preston railway station, Liverpool Lime Street railway st, Manchester Victoria station | ||
Trains at wigan north western railway station 16 5 15
Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
Contents
- Trains at wigan north western railway station 16 5 15
- Description
- Services
- Future train services
- Withdrawn passenger services
- Wigan Central
- Historical references
- References
It is a moderately-sized station on the West Coast Main Line. It is operated by Virgin Trains, and is also served by Northern. London Midland used to offer a daily service to Preston during the evening rush hour on weekdays which called here, but this was withdrawn at the end of the 2007-08 timetable.
Wigan's other station is Wigan Wallgate, which is about 110 yards (100 m) away, on the opposite side of the street named Wallgate, for services to Manchester (Victoria, Deansgate, Oxford Road & Piccadilly), Southport and Kirkby. Both stations are centrally located on the southern fringe of Wigan town centre. The station is named North Western, not because it is situated in the North West of the town but because it was at one point operated by the London and North Western Railway (see below). The drop in usage figures for Wigan North Western in 2006/07 was due to the adjustment of the allocation between the town's two stations. In 2009 North Western station was identified as one of the ten worst category B interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment, and was set to receive a share of £50m funding for improvements.
Description
The station was rebuilt in the early 1970s to a contemporary functional style (see picture, right). The tracks are above street level and access to the six platforms is via a subway and stairs. Recently the goods lifts were modified to allow public use.
The platforms have heated waiting rooms. The British Transport Police have an office on platform 4 near the station's cafe.
Services
The station is served by Virgin Trains. There is an hourly service on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, which continues northwards to Glasgow Central, with additional peak services terminating at Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle. The journey time from London is less than two hours (1 hour and 55 minutes). There is also an hourly service in the opposite direction calling at Warrington Bank Quay and London Euston. It is also served by Virgin's services from London Euston via Birmingham New Street to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh (alternate hours). The single London Midland service from Birmingham New Street to Preston that used to call in the evening was withdrawn at the end of the 2007-8 timetable.
With completion of the first stage of the North West electrification programme, most First TransPennine Express services between Manchester and Scotland were re-routed via Wigan instead of Bolton by connecting with the West Coast Main Line near Newton-le-Willows. TransPennine Express now operates services between Manchester Airport and Scotland. Most of these services stop at Wigan North Western except for a number of peak services which don't. The current service will be re-routed via Bolton in 2017
Northern Rail operates a half-hourly service from Liverpool Lime Street, along the Liverpool-Wigan Line via St Helens Central with a handful of services running to Liverpool via the Lowton Chord and Newton-le-Willows. There is also an hourly service from Liverpool which continues north along the West Coast Main Line to Preston (on Sundays, these continue through to Blackpool North). Northern Rail also operates occasional peak hour services to/from Manchester Victoria, Buxton, Hazel Grove and Manchester Piccadilly which start or terminate at Wigan North Western. Since May 1969, most services from Manchester have used Wigan Wallgate station.
Northern Rail services are operated by a mix of Pacer and Sprinter units. From the timetable change on 17 May 2015, Northern Rail introduced Class 319 electric services to Liverpool and Manchester, under the brand of Northern Electrics. Virgin Trains services southwards to London Euston and northwards to Glasgow are always operated by electric Pendolino trains. Services southwards to London Euston via Birmingham New Street and northwards to Glasgow and Edinburgh are operated by either electric Pendolino trains or diesel Super Voyager units. TransPennine Express services are operated by a mix of Diesel Desiro units and Electric Desiro units.
Future train services
Under HS2 and government proposals' high-speed trains would stop there from Glasgow before joining the new HS2 line to Birmingham and London.
Post electrification service proposals include an additional hourly fast to Liverpool Lime Street and two new hourly fast services between Wigan and Manchester via parts of the WCML and Manchester–Liverpool line after electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool line; the rerouting of Scotland services achieves half of this target.
Withdrawn passenger services
Being located on the West Coast Main Line, Wigan North Western has retained regular trains to a wide range of destinations. However, there were several local passenger services from the station which fell under the Beeching Axe and earlier, and the lines have since been closed:
There are currently proposals to re-open some of the closed local stations (e.g. Golborne), but none has been approved at this stage.
Wigan Central
Wigan had a third station: Wigan Central which has been demolished.
Wigan Central was located in Station Road, still in the town centre but some way away from the two main stations (at North Western and Wallgate). It was a terminal station on the branch line to Glazebrook and on to Manchester Central.
Wigan Central was opened by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later to become the Great Central) in October 1892 and was closed to passengers in November 1964.