To enable the Merseyrail and Northern trains to use the same two platforms, the required signalling changes would have been much more complex (=costly). The single line between Rainford and Kirkby is token controlled (one train working), with antique electric token machines at the Rainford signal box and at the ground frame controlling the junction to the Knowsley freight terminal (the latter to enable freight trains to be locked in the terminal). For a through connection at Headbolt Lane, TCB signalling would have had to be extended at least as far as Rainford.
I am pretty sure that the existing single line (before construction commenced) was on the south side of the formation, adjacent to the Knowsley headshunt siding. This can be seen on Google Maps satellite imagery. The station design leaves the track in situ, just adding a buffer stop next to the existing siding buffer stop.
www.stockport.gov.uk
You frequently make these claims @Bletchleyite: but as a fellow WL native I'm not sure I'd agree. I think south of Ormskirk (and probably Burscough) you have a point, but the villages of the so-called Northern Parishes really more naturally look towards Preston and into Lancashire- and the villages of the rural east area are much more aligned to Wigan and Greater Manchester.
Clearly it'd have a car and cycle park, but let's class it as a 'multimodal transport interchange' rather than concentrating solely on cars. It could have buses direct to various parts of Skem and good footpath and cycle links to nearby housing and workplaces. The existing Upholland station might be upgraded. If Merseyrail ever gets that far, they might as well carry on to Wigan, as it's only another 5 miles or so.
Is it that the challenge is less to do with a station (or its location, assuming that it's somewhere in or near Skem) and more to do with providing a sufficiently frequent service to a useful destination that people will actually want to use the train rather than driving or the bus? Would a half-hourly train from Upholland to Wigan and Headbolt Lane actually meet most of the demand without having to build anything in the way of new stations? (Accepting that through services to Liverpool at one end and Manchester at the other would be even better.)
I doubt if there is space for a bus terminal at Upholland. Maybe there is at the other suggested interchange, Maghull North. It's essential that something needs to be done to enable easy interchange between buses serving all parts of Skelmersdale, and trains (minimum 2ph at Upholland I'd have thought).
Could have a bus stop on Prescott Rd, which would also bring a bus service into that large trading estate on the south side of the motorway which appears not to have any stops in it today.
quite agree.There's a thread on how that's going
But yes, in principle.
Yep. Really, West Lancashire (all of it, possibly even including Wigan which slightly falsely sits in Greater Manchester, but certainly Ormskirk, Skem and surrounds) needs to be in the Liverpool City Region and the Merseytravel area. If it was, I would be astonished if there was not already such a service.
I do think the Lancashire unitary proposals miss a trick in not doing this (plus the "Bay Authority" proposal which has also been ignored despite having great strengths).
Runcorn Busway - a segregated system of roads in Runcorn New Town by Mwmbwls, on Flickr
Truck on the M58 - pedestrian underpass between Digmoor and Pimbo - Skelmersdale by Mwmbwls, on FlickrAppley Bridge (which is the first station in the Greater Manchester ticketing area) could have much better parking than it has, if the industrial premises that occupy the station yard were relocated. There is room to enlarge the car parking area quite significantly.
I am not sure why you are thinking in terms of a bus terminal - something similar to the arrangement on the Runcorn Busway at Runcorn East would suffice. If buses run clockwise round the Pimbo Industrial estate you only need pick up and drop off, As at Runcorn East there should/would be no need to terminate at Pimbo. For cyclists and pedestrians there is a handy underpass under the motorway that links the paths from Digmoor to Crawford. Lighting and CCTV would be a requirement. A taxi bay/drop off would also be needed.
Pimbo would require a car park (and on road no parking enforcement) to cater for those for whom a bus would not meet their needs but this could be within reasonable walking distance rather than adjacent to the station..
Shifting to a different point - OPSTA found during passenger surveys that in addition to Skem residents (and others from West Lancashire) using Maghull North to get into Liverpool - they also use Appley Bridge to travel to Manchester - (much to chagrin of the local Parish Council who find their village is always parked up).Appley Bridge also gas te advantage of trains to both Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly whereas Upholland trains only offer Victoria - but that is a part of a wider debate on Manchester's orphan spurs elsewhere,
"Aye, that's the rub" Whilst commuters see journeys to work - the Council values local employment rather than people who make little or no contribution to the Appley Bridge economy . An invidious either/or.
I was wondering that, too. Housing perhaps? I suppose it's down to whether LCC think the new station idea is dead and buried or whether they will try again in future.
You could draw a comparison to the very large social housing area of Wythenshawe in the Greater Manchester area where much new areas of private housing have now been established.
