Croston railway station

Croston railway station serves the small village of Croston, near Chorley in Lancashire, England; the station is on the Ormskirk Branch Line 7 miles (11 km) south west of Preston. It is unstaffed and the old station buildings are now privately occupied.

Croston
Location
Place	Croston
Local authority	Chorley
Coordinates	53.668°N 2.778°W / 53.668; -2.778
Grid reference	SD487192
Operations
Station code	CSO
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	45,228
2015/16	46,322
2016/17	47,870
2017/18	48,582
2018/19	35,598
History
Original company	Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
2 April 1849	Opened[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Croston from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station was built & opened by the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway (later taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) along with the line in April 1849.[2] "Line" is the suitable word here, as along the way are clear signs of the former double track trunk route from Preston to Liverpool Exchange, which was severely rationalised (including the reduction to single line working) in 1970.

The line once carried numerous express trains to Glasgow Central Edinburgh, Blackpool North and the Lake District, though Croston was usually served only by local stopping services from Liverpool to Preston and Blackburn.

Trains connect at Ormskirk with Merseyrail services to Liverpool Central. Croston enjoys bus connections to nearby Leyland, Chorley, Southport, and Preston. It is on the B5247 into Bretherton.

The single platform still in use has a shelter & digital information screen, but has no ticket vending facilities. Step-free access is available for disabled travellers.[3]

Services

Monday to Saturdays sees an hourly service operate each way, with northbound trains continuing to Blackpool South since the May 2018 timetable change (though not advertised as such). There is no Sunday service.[4]

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (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. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
2. CRL - Croston Community Rail Lancashire; Retrieved 22 November 2016
3. Croston station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 28 November 2016
4. Table 99 National Rail timetable, May 2019

External links

• Train times and station information for Croston railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Preston		Northern Trains Ormskirk Branch Line Mondays-Saturdays only		Rufford