Railways in Poulton-le-Fylde;the dates refer to passenger services
The original station was sited about 400 yards (400m) north-east of the current location,at "The Breck".[1][2] The railway to the fishing town of Fleetwood,via Burn Naze,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.[3][4] 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.[5]
Passenger services to Fleetwood were withdrawn by British Rail on 1 June 1970 during railway restructuring,although a freight service continued to the ICI plant at Burn Naze Halt until 1999.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.[6]
An arrivals board on the eastbound side of the station
The station has two platforms:
Westbound trains to Blackpool
Eastbound trains to Preston.
The station has a ticket office at street level,which is staffed throughout the week (Monday to Saturday 06:10 to 19:30 and Sunday 06:40 to 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 automated announcements and digital display screens. Step-free access is available via lifts from the entrance to the platform when the ticket office is staffed.[8]
Services
A Northern Trains diesel multiple unit approaching platform 2 (2024)
The station is served by two train operating companies. As of May 2025,the following general service pattern is provided in trains per hour/week:
The station was also served by a single DalesRail service to Carlisle via Settle during the summer months,and to Hellifield (for onward travel to Settle and Carlisle) for the remainder of the year. Since December 2022,though,this service has been withdrawn. In 2024,it was announced that the route was set to return.[11]
The modernisation and electrification of the Preston to Blackpool North line, and hence Poulton-le-Fylde station, was announced in December 2009.[12] The modernisation included completely new signalling of the entire line along with rationalisation of the lines and removal of the connection into the Fleetwood branch. The removal of the signal box along with four others along the line was included as part of the works.[13] This resulted in a total blockade of the line from 11 November 2017 until 25 March 2018, but was extended subsequently to 16 April 2018 due to bad weather.[14]
Visual reporting point
The station is a visual reporting point (VRP) for general aviation aircraft in the local Blackpool airspace.[15]
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0.106 million
