Gathurst railway station is a two-platform

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the outskirts of the

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Greater Manchester, Atherton, Ashton-in-Ma ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England. The station is on the

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

line north west of Wigan Wallgate station. It is currently operated by

Northern Trains Northern Trains, Trade name, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates Commuter rail, commuter and Inter-city rail, medium-distance intercity services in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Dep ...

. The main stone-built station building survives adjacent to the Wigan-bound platform, but is now in use for non-railway purposes (as a public house), modest shelters now being provided on both platforms for rail travellers.

History

The station opened on 9 April 1855 when the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company before the Railways Act 1921, 1923 Grouping. It was Incorporation (business)#Incorporation in the United Kingdom, incorpo ...

(L&YR) opened the line from to , the line and station had been planned, authorised and construction started by the

Manchester and Southport Railway The Manchester and Southport Railway in England was formed by an Act of 22 July 1847 to link Manchester and Southport. Before the line opened it was acquired jointly by the L&YR and the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) on 3 July 1854. Wigan are ...

before it was acquired by the L&YR on 3 July 1854. The main stone-built station building (no longer in use) was built during this time, in the standard L&YR style which had been described as "solid, substantial, well built of stone in the Elizabethan style, neat without undue ornament". The station was renamed ''Gathurst for Shevington'' around 1934 and then back to ''Gathurst'' on 5 May 1975. The L&YR amalgamated with the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

on 1 January 1922 and in turn was grouped into the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

(LMS) in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by

Regional Railways Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after Privatisation of British Rail. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most sub ...

until the

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...

. The goods yard served as an exchange with the ICI Nobels Roburite Works narrow gauge railway.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has no ticket machine, so all tickets must be bought prior to travel or on the train. Train running information can be obtained by phone and timetable posters. There is step-free access to both platforms.

Services

On Monday to Saturday daytimes, there are two trains an hour westbound to

and eastbound to

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. Beyond here, services run via to either via

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England, is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was c ...

or (services beyond there towards

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...

and points south ended at the winter 2022 timetable change). Only a limited number now run via , mainly at peak times and late evenings (travellers to these destinations and for stations along the Calder Valley line now need to change at Wigan). Sunday services are hourly each way and continue to eastbound.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan DfT Category F1 stations Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations Railway stations served by Northern Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1855 {{GreaterManchester-railstation-stub