Blackpool North railway station



Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston.

The station was opened in its present form in 1974, and succeeded a previous station a few hundred yards away on Talbot Road which had first opened in 1846 and had been rebuilt in 1898. The present station is based on the 1938 concrete canopy which covered the entrance to the former excursion platforms of the old station. Blackpool North was on the InterCity network until 2003 when Virgin Trains withdrew HST and Voyager services to London Euston and Birmingham. Former local franchise holder First North Western ran services from Blackpool to London Euston, but these were soon discontinued. Passengers must now change at Preston for InterCity connections.

Blackpool's other station, Blackpool South, is situated in the south of the town, with services towards Preston and Colne, and does not connect to Blackpool North.

As Blackpool is a popular tourist resort, with its famous Pleasure Beach and beaches, there are many measures put in to prevent fare evasion, including automated barrier checks as well as the conductors on the train. The station is approximately half a mile along Talbot Road from the Blackpool tramway.

History
The first station opened on 29 April 1846 as Talbot Road, and was first rebuilt in 1898. The rebuilt station consisted of two parallel train sheds and a terminal building, in Dickson Road between Talbot Road and Queen Street. Platforms 1 to 6 were located in the sheds, with a larger island between platforms 1 and 2 to accommodate taxis. In addition, there was effectively, in all but name, a separate station at the east end of Queen Street, with open "excursion" platforms 7 to 16, used only in summer.

The station was recommended for closure in the Beeching Report (1963), but following lobbying by Blackpool Corporation it was Blackpool Central - Blackpool's other centrally-located station, but whose site was better-suited for re-development - which closed in 1964. The main station building was demolished in 1974, replaced by the current station based on the former excursion platforms.

Electrification
On 25 November 2010 it was announced that the lines between Preston and Blackpool would be electrified, along with the line between Manchester and Preston.

Future services
The Department for Transport has announced that Blackpool will again have through services to London after the new InterCity West Coast franchise starts at the beginning of 2013 and once the Blackpool-Preston line is electrified. It is intended that this service would operate every two hours. Meanwhile, applications to operate London-Blackpool through trains, even without the line being electrified, have been lodged by open-access operators Alliance Rail Holdings (who would use dual-mode electric/diesel trains) and Grand Central Railway (using Mark 3 coaches hauled by diesel locomotives).

Services
The station is served by Northern Rail and First TransPennine Express.


 * Northern Rail operates as follows:
 * 1tph (train per hour) to York via Burnley (Manchester Road) and Bradford Interchange. These services are operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units.
 * 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street via St Helens Central, with a few extensions to Liverpool South Parkway. These services are operated by Class 150 Sprinter units and Class 156 Super Sprinter units.
 * 1tph to Manchester Victoria via Chorley, with a daily extension to Hazel Grove. These services are operated by Class 150 Sprinter units.
 * First TransPennine Express operates as follows:
 * 1tph to Manchester Airport via Chorley and Manchester Piccadilly.

First TransPennine Express also operate a single daily service to Barrow-in-Furness. There is also a service from Windermere to Blackpool North.

First TransPennine Express also operate a daily service to Glasgow Central on Sundays only.

All First TransPennine Express services are operated by Class 185 Desiro units.