Walkden railway station

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8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km) north-west of Manchester with regular Northern Trains services to these towns as well as the city of Salford, Swinton and Hindley. It was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

Contents

One of the busier stations on the line, the station used to be known as Walkden High Level to differentiate it from the London and North Western Railway's Walkden Low Level railway station (on the line from Manchester Exchange to Bolton Great Moor Street, which was closed to passengers in 1954). [1] It controlled a junction for the goods line to Ellesmere Colliery. [2]

First opened in 1888 with the line, it has only ever had two platform faces - when the line was quadrupled at the turn of the century, the two additional tracks were laid to the south and were not provided with platforms. The fast lines were subsequently decommissioned in November 1965 and lifted.

In February 2007 the Friends of Walkden Station community volunteer group was founded to campaign for improvements to the station's facilities and services.

One of the line's two remaining signal boxes was formerly located here (it acted as the 'fringe' box to Manchester Piccadilly signalling centre), but it and neighbouring Atherton Goods Yard box were both closed in the spring of 2013 and their semaphore signals replaced by colour lights worked from Piccadilly SCC. [3]

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office, though this is only staffed part-time (06:10 to 12:40 weekdays, 07:10 to 13:40 Saturdays, closed Sundays). A ticket machine is also available. Train running information is provided by digital display screens, automated announcements and timetable posters. No step-free access is possible, as the station is above street level and is reached via two flights of stairs. [4]

On 11 March 2020, The Chancellor of The Exchequer announced that Walkden Station would be one of 12 stations to receive Access for All funding from Network Rail, in order to develop step-free access to the station. [5]

In April 2023, a Park and Ride facility for 107 cars was opened by Salford City Council. The site also includes a bike storage shed for 32 bikes, electric charging stations for electric vehicles and motorcycle bays. [6]

Service

The entrance to Walkden railway station Walkden station entrance - geograph.org.uk - 823730 (cropped).jpg
The entrance to Walkden railway station

Monday to Saturday daytimes, two trains per hour go eastbound to Manchester Victoria and two per hour towards Wigan - both trains continue to Wigan Wallgate westbound and one continues to Kirkby (down from three each way prior to the pandemic). Only one train per day (weekdays and Saturdays) continues to Southport since the summer 2019 timetable change. All Sunday services continue to Southport.

Most Manchester departures continue along the Caldervale Line to Todmorden, Burnley Manchester Road and Blackburn or to Leeds via Brighouse. [7]

On 18 December 2009 the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) voted to approve funding for a one-year trial of Sunday trains from Walkden, starting on 23 May 2010. [8] This proved successful and now runs twice per hour in each direction (one Blackburn to Southport train and a second between Wigan and Manchester Victoria).

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References

  1. ↑ Walkden Low Level Station, Subterranea Britannica, retrieved 20 January 2010
  2. ↑ Davies, A. (2013). Walkden Yard: The Lancashire Central Coalfield Workshops. Stroud: Amberley. p. 23. ISBN   978-1-44561-705-3.
  3. ↑ Old Walkden station signal box in 2012 Whatley, Peter Geograph.org; Retrieved 20 December 2016
  4. ↑ Walkden station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 20 December 2016
  5. ↑ "Access for All – improving accessibility at railway stations nationwide". Network Rail. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "New park and ride in Walkden set to open • Salford City Council". www.salford.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Northern Trains timetable 14 - Manchester to Southport and Kirkby, 16 May - 11 December 2021 Northern Trains website; Retrieved 20 November 2021
  8. ↑ "New Sunday services for rail line", BBC News, 20 December 2009, retrieved 13 January 2010
Walkden
National Rail logo.svg
Walkden railway station 1.jpg
General information
Location Walkden, Salford
England
Grid reference SD738026
Managed by Northern Trains
Transit authority Greater Manchester
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeWKD
Classification DfT category E
Key dates
1888Opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase2.svg 0.302 million
Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Atherton   Northern Trains
Manchester-Southport Line or
Manchester-Headbolt Lane 		  Swinton or
Moorside

53°31′11″N2°23′46″W / 53.5197°N 2.3960°W / 53.5197; -2.3960

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