Rose Grove railway station

Rose Grove railway station is located in the western part of Burnley in Lancashire, England, 11 miles (17 km) east of Blackburn railway station. The railway reached here in 1848 when the East Lancashire Railway Company opened a station

Rose Grove
Rose Grove railway station in 1985
Location
Place	Burnley
Local authority	Burnley
Grid reference	SD815322
Operations
Station code	RSG
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	43,176
2015/16	57,258
2016/17	71,916
2017/18	80,874
2018/19	61,064
History
Original company	East Lancashire Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
18 September 1848	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Rose Grove from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The Caldervale Line from Hebden Bridge and the East Lancashire Line converge at Gannow Junction, just east of Rose Grove. The semi-fast Blackpool North to York service via Burnley Manchester Road does not call at Rose Grove, but the recently introduced Blackburn to Manchester Victoria via Todmorden service does. Trains either take the now single track line to Burnley Central and on to terminate at Colne or travel over Copy Pit summit into West Yorkshire en route to Todmorden and hence to Rochdale & Manchester.

The station as it was in 1951

The station is a long island platform, with a disused bay platform at each end - one formerly used by local trains to Blackburn via Padiham and the other for services to Todmorden and Colne.

It is unstaffed, but there are passenger information screens and a long-line PA system in place to provide train running information. Waiting shelters & a ticket vending machine are also available. Access to the platform is via a staircase from the road above, so there is currently no step-free access on offer for disabled users.[1][2]

Rose Grove was formerly the site of an engine shed, which was one of the last to house steam locomotives on British Railways.[3] The site is now beneath the M65 motorway, which runs beside the railway at this point.

LYR Class 0-6-0 at Rose Grove shed in 1959 with the buildings in the background

During the mid to late 1980s,[4] Rose Grove was the starting point for an Inter City "Holidaymaker" Saturday service - in the 1989 timetable this ran as the 06:50 to Paignton via Preston and Birmingham New Street and the terminus for the 14:10 from Paignton return journey.

The Blackpool North-York service initially called at Rose Grove after its reinstatement in 1984 to allow interchange with trains to and from Colne, Nelson, Brierfield and the two other Burnley stations at Burnley Barracks and Central. However this stop was removed from the service in the early 1990s with East Lancashire Line passengers wishing to travel eastwards towards Yorkshire having to change at Accrington instead.

The station became unstaffed in the 1980s, following the demolition of the station buildings. The last remnants of the Great Harwood Loop towards Padiham have also disappeared, the line having been closed in 1993 with the end of oil traffic to the power station there.

Services

On weekdays and Sundays, there is an hourly service from Rose Grove to Colne (eastbound) and Preston (westbound).[5] Sunday trains continue to Blackpool South.

Following the re-opening of the Todmorden Curve to passengers in May 2015 (all structural work having been completed by Spring 2014 but with no available trains and unfinished signalling upgrades, delaying the introduction of the new service), trains on the Blackburn - Burnley - Manchester route now call at the station once per hour each way (including Sundays),[6] enabling interchange facilities from Colne, Nelson, Brierfield and Burnley's Central and Barracks stations. This reinstates the link with Todmorden and the Calder Valley that was originally lost in November 1965.

References

1. "Rose Grove railway station, Lancashire" Thompson, Nigel Geograph.org; Retrieved 21 November 2016
2. Rose Grove station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 25 November 2016
3. Burnley Borough Council. Accessed 27 October 2007.
4. "Devon Memories"Derby Sulzers website; Retrieved 16 August 2016
5. GB eNRT May 2018 Edition, Table 97
6. Magill, Peter (30 April 2013). "New Manchester route will revitalise Burnley branch station". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2013.

External links

• Train times and station information for Rose Grove railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hapton		Northern East Lancashire Line		Burnley Barracks
Accrington		Northern Caldervale Line		Burnley Manchester Road
	Historical railways
Hapton Line and station open		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway		Burnley Manchester Road Line and station open
	Disused railways
Padiham Line and station closed		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Great Harwood Loop		Terminus