Skelmersdale branch

v t e Skelmersdale branch
Legend
Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway Ormskirk Burscough Junction Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway Westhead Halt Skelmersdale White Moss Level Crossing Halt Hey's Crossing Halt Liverpool and Bury Rly Kirkby Bushey Lane Junction Randle Junction Rainford Junction Liverpool and Bury Rly St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway

The Skelmersdale branch was a railway line that connected the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Rainford Junction, via Skelmersdale, in Lancashire, England.

History

Opened on 1 March 1858, the line was built by the East Lancashire Railway, which was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway shortly afterwards.^[1]

The branch line connected with the Liverpool and Bury Railway and the St. Helens Railway at Rainford.

Passenger services ended on 5 November 1956. Goods trains contuned to operate to Rainford until 16 November 1961 and to Skelmersdale on 4 November 1963. Since then, Skelmersdale has had no rail connection but has grown in size and population considerably.

Reopening proposals

Over the years, several proposals have been put forward to reopen the branch and build a new railway station at Skelmersdale. It had been listed as a priority one candidate for reopening by the Campaign for Better Transport.^[2]

Via Ormskirk

Proposals have been put forward for the reopening of a section of line, reconnecting trains for Skelmersdale into Merseyrail's Northern Line Ormskirk branch.^[3][4]

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its Expanding Access to the Rail Network report, called for funding for the reopening of this station as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations.^[5] The report proposes extending the line from Ormskirk railway station by laying three miles of new single track along the previous route towards Rainford Junction, at a cost estimated to be in the region of £31 million. The route is largely intact; however, deviation north of Westhead would be required. The proposed Skelmersdale station would be on the north-west corner of the town, near to the Skelmersdale Ring Road, next to where the former station site.^[6]

In December 2012, Merseytravel commissioned Network Rail to study route options and costs of connecting to Skelmersdale with Merseytravel contributing £50,000 and West Lancashire Council contributing £100,000.^[7] The range of options considered including a simple park and ride on the existing Northern Line Kirkby branch, an extension of this branch to a new terminus in Skelmersdale and a connection from the Northern Line Ormskirk branch, possibly extended to create a loop via Skelmersdale between Kirkby and Ormskirk. Merseytravel were represented on a board led by Lancashire County Council, which developed a flowchart detailing how the scheme may be delivered.^[8]

In 2014, the reopening of a section of the Skelmersdale branch from Upholland to[Skelmersdale town centre was proposed.^[9] The line was completely closed in 1963. This would give Skelmersdale, the second largest town in North West England without a railway service after Leigh, direct access to Liverpool city centre. Network Rail recommended a further feasibility study be carried out.^[10][11]

Via Kirkby/Headbolt Lane

In February 2017, Lancashire County Council confirmed that the preferred site for Skelmersdale railway station was the former site of Glenburn Sports College/Westbank Campus.^[12] County Council Transport portfolio holder John Fillis said that the site "is big enough to provide a high quality station with scope to expand to meet future demand.".^[13] By September, Merseytravel announced that they would be committing £765,000 to the study into the re-opening, estimating that the station could be open within a decade with a lot of additional funding. Merseytravel's plan would also see a new station built at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby. It has been proposed a new station at Skelmersdale would act as the terminus for Merseyrail's Northern Line, with connections available to Wigan and Manchester. Initial estimates suggest that the scheme could cost around £300 million to develop.^[14]

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's Long Term Rail Strategy document of October 2017 states that Merseytravel was currently working with Lancashire County Council and Network Rail to develop a plan to extend the Merseyrail network from Kirkby through to Skelmersdale, with work being completed in 2019. They are considering third rail electrification and other alternatives with a new station at Headbolt Lane to serve the Northwood area of Kirkby. Two trials of electric third rail/battery trains would be undertaken in 2020 as one of the "alternatives".^[15]

The government in April 2020 gave assurances that the Skelemersdale link would be constructed.^[16] Lancashire County Council submitted their Strategic Outline Business Case to the DfT in September 2021, which proposed two options. The favoured option was a heavy rail link into the town centre. The submission mentions the use of battery Class 777 electric multiple units.^[17][18][19]

Recent Objections

In July 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) rejected Lancashire County Council's Strategic Outline Business Case. The DfT instead suggested that better bus links with the Kirkby–Wigan railway line would be a cheaper way of improving connectivity for Skelmersdale.^[20]

References

Citations

1. Local History Archives
2. "The case for expanding the rail network" (PDF). Campaign for Better Transport (United Kingdom). January 2019.
3. Potential Rail Improvements in North Western England Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine - Evidence presented to the Transport Select Committee, 2002-03
4. "£40m rail link plans are backed". Liverpool Echo. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
5. "Operators call for new rail lines". BBC News. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
6. "Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. p. 20. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
7. "Skelmersdale Rail Link" (PDF). Merseytravel. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
8. "Agenda item - Rail Schemes Development and Delivery". Merseytravel. 3 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
9. Shennan, Paddy (28 August 2014). "Merseytravel plan to open or reopen host of new stations". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
10. Merseyside Route Utilisation Strategy Archived 7 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Network Rail.
11. "The Railway". Skemheritage.org.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
12. Preferred Site Identified for Skelmersdale Railway Station Lancashire County Council
13. Preferred site identified for Skelmersdale railway station Southport Visiter
14. Houghton, Alistair (18 September 2017). "Skelmersdale rail link moves step closer as £5m funding revealed". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
15. "Long Term Rail Strategy – update" (PDF). Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. 24 October 2017. pp. 36–37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017.
16. Lopez, Jamie (10 April 2020). "Government boost to reopen Skelmersdale rail link". LancsLive.
17. "Skelmersdale new rail link".
18. MacDonald, Mott (August 2021). "Skelmersdale Rail Link Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) | Executive Summary Document" (PDF). Lancashire County Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2021.
19. MacDonald, Mott (August 2021). "Skelmersdale Rail Link Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) | Summary Document" (PDF). Lancashire County Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2021.
20. Lopez, Jamie (8 July 2022). "Skelmersdale rail station plan rejected in decision branded a 'cruel joke'". LancsLive. Retrieved 17 July 2022.

Sources

• Pixton, Bob (1996), The Archive Photographs Series Widnes and St Helens Railways, The Chalford Publishing Company, ISBN 0-7524-0751-1