Salwick railway station

5+1⁄4 miles (8.4 km) west of Preston. The station, and all services stopping here, are operated by Northern Trains.

History

The station was opened as Salwick Road in 1842 and renamed Salwick shortly afterwards.

It was closed on 2 May 1938, along with Lea Road to the east, but was reopened on 8 April 1940 to serve the adjacent industrial complex. ^{[2] [3]}

Lancashire County Council has pledged to construct a new station at nearby Cottam, which may require the closure of Salwick station. ^[4]

Modernisation

The modernisation and electrification of the Preston to Blackpool North line, and hence the station, was announced in December 2009. ^[5] This included rebuilding and raising the road bridge in the station vicinity for necessary electrification clearance and completely new signalling of the entire line, ^[6] along with rationalisation of the lines and removal of the spur into the nuclear facility nearby. The removal of the signal box, along with four others along the line, was included as part of the works. ^{[7] [8]} This resulted in a total blockade of the line as far as Kirkham and Wesham, and thus including Salwick station, from 11 November 2017 until 29 January 2018. ^{[9] [10]}

Service

The typical off-peak service operated by Northern Trains in trains per day is: ^[11]

• 3tpd to Blackpool South
• 3tpd to Preston.

Trains do not call at Salwick on Sundays.

It is used by very few passengers, as low as 1,404 in 2018-19, but provides a commuter service for the workers at the nearby Springfields Westinghouse nuclear fuel production complex. ^[12]

Salwick
General information
Location	Salwick, Fylde, England
Coordinates	53°46′55″N2°49′10″W / 53.7819°N 2.8195°W / 53.7819; -2.8195
Grid reference	SD461320
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	SLW
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	Preston and Wyre Joint Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway & London and North Western Railway (joint)
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1842	Opened as Salwick Road [1]
June 1842	Renamed Salwick [1]
2 May 1938	Closed [1]
8 April 1940	Reopened [1]
Passengers
2019/20	1,670

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Kirkham and Wesham		Northern Trains Blackpool Branch Line (southern) (Limited service)		Preston
	Historical railways
Kirkham and Wesham		Preston and Wyre Joint Railway		Lea Road

Gallery

• 
  View eastwards towards Preston, 1959
• 
  Up expresses at Salwick, 1959
• 
  View westward towards Kirkham, 1959
• 
  The station in 2007.
• 
  View westwards towards Kirkham, 2011
• 
  The south side looking east to Preston
• 
  The station site during reconstruction and electrification
• 
  Electrification masts being erected

References

Citations

1. Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 205. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
2. Biddle, G (1989). The Railways Around Preston - A Historical Review. Scenes from the Past. Foxline Publishing. p. 56. ISBN   1-870119-05-3.
3. Bairstow, Martin (2001). Railways of Blackpool and the Fylde. Martin Bairstow Publishing. p. 37. ISBN   1-871944-23-6.
4. "Highways and Transport Masterplan". Lancashire County Council. p. 38. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014.
5. "Railway lines to be electrified". BBC News. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
6. "Enhancements Delivery Plan" (PDF). 13 October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
7. "Network Rail confirms Blackpool electrification plans". Railnews.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
8. "North West Electrification Project Phase 3". Volkerrail.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
9. "Blackpool rail route reopens but electrification work hits problems". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
10. "Electrification means Blackpool and Preston railway connected to WCML for first time". Railtechnologymagazine.com. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
11. "Train Timetables". Northernrailway.co.uk. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
12. "Visitor Information". Westinghousenuclear.com. Retrieved 8 November 2025.

Sources

• Taylor, Stuart (1997). Journeys by Excursion Train: Preston to Blackpool (Central). Scenes from the Past. Foxline Publishing. pp. 44–45. ISBN   1-870119-51-7.

External links

• Train times and station information for Salwick railway station from National Rail