East Lancashire line

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East Lancashire line
04.04.12 Colne 142.048 (7046198941).jpg
A Northern Rail Class 142 at Colne
Overview
Owner Network Rail
Locale Lancashire
Blackburn
Burnley
Pendle
North West England
Termini Preston
Colne
Service
System National Rail
Operator(s) Northern
History
Opened1849
Technical
Number of tracksMainly Double Track, with Single Track from Burnley Barracks to Colne
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
East Lancashire line.png
(Click to expand)

The East Lancashire line is a railway line in the Lancashire region of England, which runs between Preston and Colne, through Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley (Barracks and Central) and Nelson. The line formerly ran onto Skipton but this closed in 1970.

Contents

It is operated by Northern. Services on this line stop at every station on the line, although Pleasington, Hapton and Burnley Barracks are now request stops only. [1] It was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in November 2006. [2]

Network Rail refers to the main part of this line, from Preston to Gannow Junction (where the single-line branch to Burnley Central and Colne diverges) and onwards to Burnley Manchester Road and Hall Royd Junction, as the Roses line. [3]

History

The line was built by the Blackburn and Preston Railway and the Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington and Colne Extension Railway. Both companies were absorbed by the East Lancashire Railway on 3 August 1846 and 21 July 1845 respectively. The East Lancashire Railway was, in turn, absorbed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on 13 May 1859.

The line connected end-on at Colne with the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway's line to Skipton and Bradford. This 11+1⁄2-mile (18.5 km) link closed in 1970. [4] The Skipton–East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership campaigns to reinstate it. The section from Colne to Nelson was singled the following year, with the rest of the line to Gannow Junction being so treated in December 1986.

In the 1870s the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway built the North Lancashire Loop (also known as the Great Harwood Loop), a 9-mile (14 km) route through Great Harwood, Simonstone and Padiham, which bypassed Accrington. The line between Padiham and Rose Grove opened in 1875; west of Padiham it opened two years later as a result of difficulties in constructing the embankments between Great Harwood and Simonstone. Regular use of the North Lancashire Loop ceased in 1957; the route closed completely in 1964, with only the section from Rose Grove to Padiham Power Station remaining until 1993. [5]

Services

Trains from Preston to Colne usually begin at Blackpool South, on the Blackpool branch line, which makes the whole length of the line a total of 50 miles (80 km).

Services via the Roses line routing encompass the Calder Valley line semi-fast trains from Blackpool North stopping at Preston, Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley Manchester Road, heading towards West Yorkshire, currently terminating at York. Since May 2015, trains from Blackburn to Manchester Victoria via Todmorden also uses this route, providing a direct link from Accrington and Burnley to Manchester via Rochdale.

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Lancashire County of England

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Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Pre-1923 grouping British Railway Company

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern England.

Calder Valley line Railway line in England

The Calder Valley line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail routes between Leeds and Manchester, and the northernmost of the three main trans-Pennine routes.

Blackburn railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Blackburn railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Blackburn in Lancashire, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) east of Preston and is managed and served by Northern Trains.

Colne railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Colne railway station serves the town of Colne, in Lancashire, England, which is situated close to Pendle Hill. The station, which is managed by Northern, is the eastern terminus of the East Lancashire Line. Trains from Blackpool South run through Preston and Blackburn to Burnley and Colne.

Accrington railway station

Accrington railway station serves the town of Accrington in Lancashire, England. It is a station on the East Lancashire line 6+1⁄4 miles (10.1 km) east of Blackburn railway station operated by Northern.

Burnley Manchester Road railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Burnley Manchester Road is the main railway station in Burnley, Lancashire, England. It is situated on the Calder Valley Line 24+1⁄2 miles (39.4 km) east of Preston, near to the route's junction with the East Lancashire Line.

Todmorden railway station Railway station in West Yorkshire, England

Todmorden railway station serves the town of Todmorden in West Yorkshire, England, originally on the Yorkshire/Lancashire border. It was built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway and is on the Calder Valley Line 23 miles (37 km) west of Leeds and 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Manchester Victoria.

Nelson railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Nelson railway station serves the town of Nelson in Lancashire, and is situated on the East Lancashire Line 2 miles (3 km) away from the terminus at Colne. The station is managed by Northern, which also provides its passenger service. The station was opened on 1 February 1849 by the East Lancashire Railway as Nelson Inn, Marsden named after the public house adjacent to the station.

Burnley Central railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Burnley Central railway station is a station in the town of Burnley, Lancashire and is on the East Lancashire Line. It is managed by Northern, which also provides its passenger service.

Burnley Barracks railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Burnley Barracks railway station is in Burnley, England, on the East Lancashire Line 1⁄2-mile (800 m) west of Burnley Central railway station. Following the singling of the track in 1986, Burnley Barracks has one platform in use, with only a basic shelter in place, and no other buildings on the platform.

Huncoat railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Huncoat railway station is a railway station which serves the village of Huncoat, between Accrington and Burnley in Lancashire, England. The station is 8 miles (13 km) east of Blackburn railway station on the East Lancashire Line operated by Northern.

Hapton railway station

Hapton railway station serves the village of Hapton 3 miles (5 km) west of Burnley Central railway station on the East Lancashire Line operated by Northern. It is unmanned. Between 2004–5 and 2005–6, passenger usage fell by 21%, but in the years since, it has risen again by more than 60%.

Rose Grove railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Rose Grove railway station is located in the western part of Burnley in Lancashire, England, 11 miles (17 km) east of Blackburn railway station. The railway reached here in 1848 when the East Lancashire Railway Company opened a station

The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) is the campaign that is looking to reopen the Skipton to Colne railway line, as part of connecting the Lancashire town of Colne to the North Yorkshire town of Skipton. The line between them had been closed in 1970.

Network Rail's (NR) strategic route 23 encompassed mainly the English rural railway lines of Lancashire and Cumbria. It excluded the part of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) that bisects the counties. It included the following lines:

Padiham railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Padiham railway station in Station Road, Padiham, Lancashire, England was on a branch line of the East Lancashire Line from Burnley to Blackburn.

Simonstone railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Simonstone railway station was located on the east side of Simonstone Lane, 0.75 miles (1 km) south of Simonstone centre and near Padiham, Lancashire, England. It was on a branch line of the East Lancashire Line, from Burnley to Blackburn.

Great Harwood railway station Railway station in Lancashire, England

Great Harwood railway station was located in the south east side of Great Harwood, Lancashire, England on Station Road, which still remains. The station was on a branch line, usually known as the Great Harwood loop, of the East Lancashire Line from Burnley to Blackburn via Rose Grove, Padiham, Simonstone and Great Harwood.

References

  1. ↑ East Lancs Stations to become 'Request Only' from today Magill, PeterLancashire Telegraph article 14 May 2012
  2. ↑ Lancs. County Council description of East Lancs CRP Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ NR Route 23, p2
  4. ↑ Young, Alan (2015). Lost Stations of West Yorkshire The West Riding. Kettering: Silver Link. p. 37. ISBN   978-1-85794-438-9.
  5. ↑ Suggitt, Gordon (2003). Lost Railways of Lancashire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. pp. 80–82. ISBN   978-1-85306-801-0. OCLC   52565677.
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