Poulton-le-Fylde railway station

Poulton-le-Fylde railway station serves the town of Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is managed by Northern Trains, but also served by Avanti West Coast and is 14 1⁄4 miles (22.9 km) northwest of Preston.

Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde station sign in 2013
LocationPoulton-le-Fylde, Wyre
England
Coordinates53.8484°N 2.9906°W / 53.8484; -2.9906
Grid referenceSD349395
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePFY
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
15 July 1840Original station opened
1896New station on realigned route
Passengers
2015/16 0.526 million
2016/17 0.550 million
2017/18 0.423 million
2018/19 0.433 million
2019/20 0.547 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History
Railways in Poulton-le-Fylde. The dates refer to passenger services.

The original station was about 400 yards (400 m) north-east of the current location, at "The Breck".[1] The railway to the fishing town of Fleetwood 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.[2][3] 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.[4]

Passenger services to Fleetwood were withdrawn by British Rail on 1 June 1970 during railway restructuring, although a freight service continued to the ICI plant at Burn Naze Halt until 1999.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.[5] Since June 2006, there have been plans to restore (and preserve) the passenger rail link towards Fleetwood via Thornton & Cleveleys, as a heritage railway; a £30,000 feasibility study is needed to be undertaken to explore the re-instatement of the link and the addition of a third platform at Poulton-le-Fylde.[6]

Facilities
An arrivals board on the eastbound side of the station

The station has a manned ticket office at street level, staffed throughout the week (Monday to Saturday 06:10-19:30 and Sunday 06:40-18:10). 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 automatic announcements and digital display screens. Step-free access is available via lifts from the entrance to the platform when the ticket office is staffed.[7]

Services

The station is now served by trains to and from Blackpool North (four per hour) and to Hazel Grove via Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport, York and to Liverpool Lime Street via St Helens Central.[8] Avanti West Coast operates four trains each way on weekdays between London Euston and Blackpool North.[9]

Sundays see hourly services to Manchester Airport, Manchester Victoria, Liverpool Lime Street and York. The station is 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.

Modernisation

The modernisation and electrification of the Preston to Blackpool North line, and hence Poulton-le-Fylde station was announced in December 2009.[10] 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.[11] This resulted in a total blockade of the line from 11 November 2017 until 25 March 2018 but subsequently extended to 16 April 2018 due to bad weather.[12]

Notes
  1. Mitchell & Hartley, p.59
  2. Welch, p.27
  3. Suggitt, p.38
  4. Suggitt, pp.37–38
  5. "Passengers and neighbours thanked as weekend work in Poulton is completed on time" VolkerRail press release 6 April 2017; Retrieved 23 May 2017
  6. "£30,000 feasibility study for Poulton to Fleetwood line could go ahead" (PDF). Railway Herald (239). 20 September 2010. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  7. Poulton-le-Fylde station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 24 February 2017
  8. Table 41 & 82 National Rail timetable, December 2019
  9. Table 65 National Rail timetable, May 2019
  10. "Railway lines to be electrified". 14 December 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  11. "Network Rail confirms Blackpool electrification plans | Railnews | Today's news for Tomorrow's railway". www.railnews.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  12. "Blackpool to Preston route to reopen after major 5-month transformation". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. Retrieved 1 February 2019.

References
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Avanti West Coast
Northern Trains
Northern Trains
Northern Trains
Layton   Northern Trains
Blackpool North - Hazel Grove		   Kirkham and Wesham
Disused railways
Thornton for Cleveleys   Preston and Wyre Joint Railway
Fleetwood Branch Line		   Singleton
Bispham   Preston and Wyre Joint Railway
Blackpool Branch Line		  
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