Leyland railway station

Leyland railway station serves the town of Leyland in Lancashire, England. It was formerly "Golden Hill", the name of the street and area in which the station is based, but was renamed Leyland soon after opening. The original station was built in 1838, with two platforms.

Leyland
Leyland railway station platforms 1 and 2 in 2007
Location	Leyland, South Ribble England
Coordinates	53.699°N 2.687°W
Grid reference	SD547227
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	LEY
Classification	DfT category D
History
Original company	North Union Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
31 October 1838	Opened as Golden Hill[1]
1838	Renamed Leyland[1]
Passengers
2015/16	0.382 million
2016/17	0.417 million
2017/18	0.396 million
2018/19	0.308 million
2019/20	0.401 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Station

The station is located on the West Coast Main Line just south of Preston, and is the approximate halfway point between Glasgow and London, some 198 miles in either direction, with a placard on Leyland Trucks' Spurrier works stating this fact.

The station is currently a four-platform hub, with a part-time ticket office (manned 06:45-17:45 Mondays to Saturdays and 08:15-15:45 Sundays).[2] In 2011 new digital display screens were installed as well as an automated ticket machine and a new ticket office was built in 2014; A new pedestrian footbridge with lifts was built in 2016 bringing step-free access to all four platforms[3] and an automated PA system was installed in 2018.

Former franchise holder First North Western ran Euston services from Blackpool which called at Leyland in the late 1990s but these were soon discontinued. Leyland station is now very much a commuter station from and to Preston, with links to Chorley, Wigan, Liverpool (after years of no "Southbound" services towards Wigan a 'local' service was resumed in 1988) and Manchester, with no long distance main line services calling at the station.

The station at Farington, Farington railway station was closed before the Beeching Plan of the 1960s and no direct trains run to Lostock Hall.

Services

The station is served primarily by Northern Trains trains between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Airport to Blackpool North, plus an hourly local service between Preston and Manchester Victoria.[4] Services to/from Manchester run mainly via Bolton since May 2019 following the full introduction of electric service over this route. A few trains to and from Hazel Grove also stop here at weekday peak periods and in the evening (when the Manchester Victoria service doesn't run).

On Sundays there are hourly services to Manchester Victoria and Liverpool, and two per hour to Blackpool North.

Limited First TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Preston served Leyland until May 2012.

Gallery

• 
  The station in 1963

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (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. 106. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
2. Leyland station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 10 January 2017
3. Leyland station in 2016 Dixon, David Geograph.org; retrieved 10 January 2017
4. Table 82 & 90 National Rail timetable, May 2019

External links

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