Hoscar railway station
Hoscar railway station serves the rural village of Hoscar in the civil parish of Lathom, near the town of Burscough, Lancashire, England. The station stands split across Hoscar Moss Road. Only 1,060 passenger journeys started or ended at Hoscar in 2014/15. 8 trains a day call on weekdays in each direction, all provided by Northern Trains, who also manage the station.
Hoscar | |
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Location | |
Place | Lathom |
Local authority | West Lancashire |
Coordinates | 53.597°N 2.804°W |
Grid reference | SD469115 |
Operations | |
Station code | HSC |
Managed by | Northern Trains |
Number of platforms | 2 |
DfT category | F2 |
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2014/15 | |
2015/16 | |
2016/17 | |
2017/18 | |
2018/19 | |
History | |
Original company | Manchester and Southport Railway |
Pre-grouping | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway |
Post-grouping | London Midland and Scottish Railway |
c. 1871 | Opened as Hoscar Moss[1] |
1 January 1900 | Renamed Hoscar[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 Hoscar from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. |
History
The station was built by the Manchester and Southport Railway and opened c.1871, and from January 1885 was part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The L&YR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 and in turn was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Rail.
The station once boasted a goods yard which was used by local farmers to get their crops to the markets of Wigan, Manchester and Southport quickly.[2] The former railway tavern is now a house [3]
In May 2019 Network Rail installed red light safety enforcement (RLSE) cameras at the station's level crossing to catch motorists flouting the crossing when the lights are on. The cameras were installed as the level crossing is an automatic half barrier (AHB) type this is part of an effort by network rail to improve the safety of such crossings across the UK.[4]
Facilities
Hoscar has similar amenities to neighbouring New Lane and Bescar Lane, with no permanent buildings other than simple shelters (the old station house is still extant, but in private ownership) and staggered platforms either side of an automatic level crossing. it is unmanned and has no ticket machine, so all tickets have to be purchased on the train or prior to travel. Step-free access is available to both platforms and train running information can be obtained by telephone and from timetable information posters.[5]
Services
Trains run to Southport and to Wigan Wallgate, Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.
The basic frequency of trains calling at Hoscar is every 2 hours. The last train to Southport is at 21:15 and the last service to Wigan Wallgate and Manchester is at 22:35. There are no trains on Sundays.[6]
References
- 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. 124. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
- "Hoscar". Community Rail Lancashire. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- "Railway Tavern, Hoscar". WhatPub. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- "New cameras installed at level crossings to catch motorists breaking the law". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- Hoscar station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 19 December 2016
- Great Britain eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 82
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hoscar railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Hoscar railway station from National Rail
- Hoscar - Least Used Station in Lancashire on YouTube by Geoff Marshall
Preceding station | Following station | |||
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Burscough Bridge | Northern Trains Manchester-Southport Line |
Parbold |