Accrington railway station

Accrington railway station serves the town of Accrington in Lancashire, England. It is a station on the East Lancashire line 6+1⁄4 miles (10.1 km) east of Blackburn railway station operated by Northern Trains.

Accrington
General information
Location	Accrington, Hyndburn England
Grid reference	SD757285
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	ACR
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	East Lancashire Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland & Scottish Railway
Key dates
19 June 1848	Station opens
Passengers
2019/20	0.466 million
2020/21	0.119 million
2021/22	0.386 million
2022/23	0.460 million
2023/24	0.474 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail & Road

It is also served by Calder Valley Line express services between Blackpool North, Leeds and York.

History

The station was opened on 10 June 1848 by the East Lancashire Railway,^[1] which amalgamated with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1859. Taken into the London, Midland & Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

The station was formerly a major junction on the ELR, with the line to Bury and Salford diverging southwards from that towards Blackburn and Preston at the western end of the station, just before the impressive viaduct that carries the line over the town centre.

This was, for many years, a busy commuter route carrying regular trains from Skipton and Colne to Manchester Victoria, but it fell victim to the Beeching cuts in the sixties and closed to passengers on 5 December 1966.^[2] Few traces of this route remain today, the formation through the town (including part of the notorious 1 in 40 Baxenden Bank) having been built over.

When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Railways.

In April 2006, the body of a dead man was found slumped on the platform, thus closing the station for twelve hours.^[3] In July 2006, it was reported the dead man was in a very drunk state.^[4] In February 2008, another dead body of a man was found on the station.^[5]

Buildings and structures

The station has two side platforms, flanking the twin-track railway line. Other than three small shelters (two on platform 2 and one on platform one) there is no protection from the elements; indeed, even with the recent improvements, the whole impression is one of a basic halt. It offers disabled access via ramps adjacent to the platforms.

In 2011, the station underwent a major rebuild, as part of a project to create a model of sustainable energy use for a railway station. This redevelopment cost £2 million, of which £500,000 was funded by the European Union's Interreg IVB programme. The previously existing ticket office has been demolished, and was replaced by a new build and constructed, where possible, with local materials including recycled stone. The building uses a rainwater harvesting system, photovoltaic cells and solar hot water generation panels on the new tower.^[6]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Accrington^[7]

	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Entries and exits	465,758	119,210	385604	459,616

Services

As of May 2025, the weekday off-peak service pattern is as follows:^[8]

• 1 tph to Blackpool North via Blackburn, Preston and Poulton-le-Fylde
• 1 tph to Preston via Church & Oswaldtwistle, Blackburn and Bamber Bridge
• 1 tph to Blackburn
• 1 tph to York via Hebden Bridge, Bradford Interchange and Leeds
• 1 tph to Headbolt Lane via Rochdale, Manchester Victoria and Wigan Wallgate
• 1 tph to Colne via Rose Grove, Burnley Central and Nelson

The service between Blackpool North and York has ran hourly on Sundays since the May 2009 timetable change,^[9] Before this, services were much more infrequent.

There was a solitary Mon to Fri morning commuter service from Colne to Manchester Victoria that formerly called here, along with a corresponding return working during the evening. This was however withdrawn at the May 2009 timetable change^[10] (it was diverted to run to Clitheroe instead).

Additionally, on Sundays, the service between Preston and Colne is extended to Blackpool South. These call at all stops (except Salwick), including the major stations of Preston, Blackburn and Burnley Central.

From May 2015, direct services to Manchester Victoria resumed (after a gap of almost fifty years) with the reopening of the Todmorden Curve.^[11] These start at Blackburn and continue onwards through Burnley Manchester Road, using the Caldervale Line south of Todmorden to reach Rochdale and Manchester. An hourly service each way operates on this route throughout the week.^[12] Most of these trains continue beyond Manchester, to Wigan Wallgate and Headbolt Lane or Southport (Sundays-only)^[13]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Church & Oswaldtwistle		Northern Trains East Lancashire Line		Huncoat
Blackburn		Northern Trains Calder Valley Line		Rose Grove
	Disused railways
Church & Oswaldtwistle Line and station open		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway East Lancashire Railway		Huncoat Line and station open
Baxenden Line and station closed