Adlington railway station (Lancashire)

Adlington (Lancashire)
Adlington railway station in 2018
General information
Location	Adlington, Chorley England
Grid reference	SD602131
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	ADL
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Opened	4 February 1841
Passengers
2016/17	0.122 million
2017/18	0.114 million
2018/19	0.103 million
2019/20	0.134 million
2020/21	29,544
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Adlington railway station serves the village of Adlington, near Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is a two-platform station on the Bolton- Chorley- Preston line. This is part of the Northern service link between Preston and Manchester via Bolton and Chorley.

Until 1960 Adlington was also served by a station named White Bear (on the Lancashire Union Railway).

History

On 15 June 1837 by act of Parliament, the Bolton and Preston Railway Company constructed a link with the Manchester line comprising nine and a half miles of railway to a temporary terminus at Rawlinson Lane. By December 1841 the line had reached Chorley and Adlington station opened to take over from Rawlinson Bridge.

The line would pass into the hands London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Rail.

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office, open from start of service until 13:10 Mondays to Saturday. A ticket vending machine is in place for purchase of tickets or promise to pay coupons when the ticket office is closed and for the collection of pre-paid tickets. A waiting room is available in the main building when the booking office is open and there are shelters on each platforms. Train running information is provided by timetable posters and telephone. There is step-free access to both platforms however there is no tactile paving on the northbound platform. Platform 2, for services towards Manchester can only be accessed by a steep ramp which is not suitable for wheelchairs. The nearest station with full tactile paving and full step-free access is Blackrod. Mobility scooters cannot be taken on board trains from Adlington however, they can be taken on board when travelling to/from the next station at Blackrod.

Services

There is a basic two-hourly replacement bus service in each direction to Horwich Parkway via Blackrod southbound and to Chorley northbound. Trains call during weekday peak periods and on Sundays, including through services to Blackpool North, Manchester Airport and Hazel Grove. On weekday evenings, the Hazel Grove - Blackpool North service calls in place of the replacement bus service. At off-peak times the neighbouring Chorley station has a more frequent train service with two trains an hour. Sunday services are more frequent running roughly hourly throughout the day to Manchester Airport and Blackpool North.

Saturday and Sunday services were replaced by buses most weekends from May 2015 until November 2018 due to the late-running electrification work on the route. Weekend services resumed on Sunday 11 November 2018 after the completion of the electrification engineering work.

Until December 2021, Adlington was served by a two-hourly train service between Preston and Manchester Victoria but this was withdrawn due to a shortage of train crew and engineering works. Since 2019, all train services have been provided by electric multiple units.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Chorley		Northern Trains Blackpool North - Hazel Grove (Limited service)		Blackrod
		Northern Trains Chorley - Horwich Parkway (Replacement bus service)

Renovation and electrification

Work in August 2018 at Adlington Railway Station including electrification

Work in August 2018 at Adlington Railway Station including electrification

Work in August 2018 at Adlington Railway Station including electrification -general view

It was announced by the Department for Transport in December 2009, the line between Preston and Manchester, on which the station is situated, would be electrified enabling a reduction in journey times to Manchester by up to ten minutes. There have been many delays but completion was in December 2018 when test trains (Virgin Pendolino) finally ran between Preston and Manchester.

Electric service commenced on 11 February 2019 utilising Class 319 electric multiple units.

References

• 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. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Station on navigable O.S. map

External links

• Train times and station information for Adlington railway station (Lancashire) from National Rail