Merseyrail To Skelmersdale – Kirkby Station
In Merseyrail To Skelmersdale – How To Plan A New Rail-Link, I talked about Kirkby station.
So as I was going from Liverpool to Blackburn, I took a detour.
These pictures were taken at Kirkby station.
The amazing thing about Kirkby station is that in the last three years, the yearly passenger totals have averaged around 2.4 million.
Not bad for a station with four trains per hour (tph) to Liverpool and two tph to Manchester.
Near me in London, Chingford station has 4 tph to London and struggles to attract 1.7 million passengers per year.
You can understand, why Merseyrail are considering expanding the train service to Kirkby and the surrounding area.
Under Merseyrail’s plans, the station will remain a single platform, but I suspect the upgrading will do the following.
- Trains will stop by the stairs and the ramp.
- Platform facilities could be improved.
- There’s space for a lift!
I suspect there’s not too many single-platform stations that will be able to handle 4 tph in both directions.
Merseyrail To Skelmersdale – How To Plan A New Rail-Link
Skelmersdale is the second largest town in the North West of |England without a railway station.
But it does appear that things are progressing towards the town having what is probably a much-needed station.
This article in the Southport Visiter is entitled Funding boost for new rail link to Skelmersdale.
Reading the article, you get the impression that all the stakeholders have got together and come up with a sensible plan.
The Route
The article says this about the route.
The plan would see Merseyrail services extended on from the current terminus at Kirkby station to serve Headbolt Lane, Rainford and Skelmersdale. Skelmersdale would become the new interchange for Merseyrail, and Northern Services on to Wigan and Manchester.
This would seem to be a well-thought out plan to use Skelmersdale as an interchange.
This Google Map shows the Southern part of Skelmersdale and the railway that runs through Rainford and Upholland stations.
Note.
- The town centre of Skelmersdale is the Concourse, which is marked by the town’s name in the top-centre of the map.
- The Kirkby Branch Line runs across the map.
- Rainford station is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Upholland station is on the left-centre of the map.
- Kirkby station and the new Headbolt Lane station would be West of Rainford station on the existing line which is single track.
- The track from Rainford through Upholland and to the East is double-track.
It looks like a triangular junction would be created East of Rainford, that would allow trains from both the East (Upholland, Wigan and Manchester) and trains from the West (Kirkby and Liverpool) to turn to the North to a station in Skelmersdale.
Looking at the area in more detail from my virtual helicopter, I’m certain that a station could be placed close to the town centre with the capability of handling four trains per hour from both Liverpool and Manchester.
The station would probably need two platforms; one for Liverpool and one for Manchester.
There would be various possibilities for the track layout between the station and the existing Kirkby Branch Line.
In the simplest form, each platform would have an independent single track, which would allow trains from both Liverpool and Manchester to arrive and depart from Skelmersdale simultaneously.
I would also arrange the two platforms as opposite faces of a shared island platform.
This would mean the following.
- Trains from Liverpool and Manchester would arrive at the same time.
- Trains to Liverpool and Manchester would depart a few minutes later at the same time.
- Passengers needing to change at the station would only have to walk across the platform and wait for the other train to leave.
- A coffee kiosk and a shop could be positioned on the shared platform.
The Northern end of the platform could be open and passengers could walk straight into the Shopping Centre or to the parking.
It would not only be passenger-friendly, but totally step-free and very affordable.
The only restriction would be that trains must be able to do the following in under fifteen minutes.
- Travel from the Kirkby Branch Line to Skelmersdale station.
- Turnback the train at Skelmersdale.
- Travel from Skelmersdale station to the Kirkby Branch Line.
I have said fifteen minutes, as that would be needed for four trains per hour.
This might not be possible with the current Class 508 and Class 142 trains, unless they were extremely well driven, but Merseyrail’s new Stadler trains and Northern’s 100 mph Class 319 trains, would probably be able to handle the service.
It would be a unique way to serve a town like Skelmersdale, which is a few miles from a double-track line.
The only complicated track-work needed would be where the branch joined the Kirkby Branch Line.
Electrification
Merseyrail’s network is electrified using 750 VDC third-rail, whereas if the line to Manchester were to be electrified it would probably use 25 KVAC overhead wires, as has been used all over North-West England.
Keeping the two lines independent would enable each to have its own system. This layout has been used between Dalston Junction and Highbury and Islington stations on the London Overground and it has worked successfully for over seven years.
The article in the Southport Visiter also says this.
Merseyrail’s new trains will be running on the existing network from 2020, and trials to run them beyond the existing electrified ‘third rail’ track could help inform the scope of the Skelmersdale scheme, potentially meaning that major changes to install electrified track wouldn’t be needed. Developments in Northern trains over the next few years could also remove the requirement for lineside infrastructure and power connections as part of the project.
In Battery EMUs For Merseyrail, I talked about how Stadler were going to fit batteries to two of the new Merseyyrail trains.
I’m sure that if the third-rail electrification was extended from Kirkby to Rainford, that one of the new Stadler trains will be able to reach Skelmersdale and return.
The Stadler trains might even be able to travel from the existing electrification at Kirkby to Skelmersdale and back.
Northern could run the service between Skelmersdale and Manchester, using their new Class 769 trains, which can operate on lines with or without electrification.
This could mean that the link to Skelmersdale station could be built without electrification.
Kirkby Station
Kirkby station would only need minor rebuilding as it is effectively a single long platform, where Liverpool and Manchester trains meet head-on.
The barrier in the middle of the single-track under the bridge would need removing and there would be some moving of signals, but nothing very expensive would be needed.
Headbolt Lane Station
Headbolt Lane station would be another single platform station, which would serve trains going between Liverpool and Skelmersdale.
Rainford Station
Rainford station wouldn’t need any modification, but it might be reduced to a single step-free platform.
A Co-Operative Project
The article in the Southport Visiter says this.
The Skelmersdale Project is led by Lancashire County Council, involving Merseytravel, West Lancashire Borough Council, Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Network Rail.
This must be the key to the success of the project.
The Cost Of The Project
The article in the Southport Visiter says that the current estimate of the project cost is £300 million.
These actions will need to be done.
- Create the track to connect Skelmersdale station to the Kirkby Branch Line.
- Build a shared double-platform station at Skelmersdale.
- Build a single-platform station at Headbolt Lane.
- Upgrade the signalling.
- Deliver the new Stadler trains and ascertain their range on batteries.
- Northern must acquire some trains for Skelmersdale to Manchester.
It looks to me, that a budget of £300 million would be adequate.
Building The Project
The major work would be creating the junction East of Rainford station and the route to Skelmerrsdale and its new station.
If it could be built without any major electrification, it shouldn’t be the most difficult of construction projects.
Headbolt Lane station could be built as a single platform alongside the existing line.
It looks to me, that this is a classic project that fits into Network Rail’s new philosophy as outlined in this article in Rail echnology Magazine, which is entitled Carne: I’m determined for private sector to directly invest in railway.
Conclusion
It is an excellent plan!
The Anonymous Widower 