Preston Station - really poor and needs urgent improvement

[The Planner]

It's used as a goods line now, but it originally was used by trains that used the now lifted line that branched off to the east.

Deepdale? That's going back a bit, must be 35 years since that saw a train of any sort.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Deepdale? That's going back a bit, must be 35 years since that saw a train of any sort.

I think it would have been the direct lines to East Lancashire via what is now the car park, rather than their current route via Farington Curve?

The platform hasn't that I can recall been used in my lifetime and I'm 47...

 

[Acathater]

Deepdale? That's going back a bit, must be 35 years since that saw a train of any sort.

No, that ran east through a tunnel to the north of the station, somewhere under the university buildings now

 

[Merle Haggard]

I think it would have been the direct lines to East Lancashire via what is now the car park, rather than their current route via Farington Curve?

The platform hasn't that I can recall been used in my lifetime and I'm 47...

Not really, there was a complete set of platforms (called predictably the 'East Lancs' side) on a curve to the east of the present station, from which trains left for East Lancs via Bamber Bridge. The present station was the 'Northern Union' side. Northern Union was the LNWR/L&Y Joint line that formed the West Coast main line around Preston. The East Lancs Railway was a constituent of the L&Y.
The branch via Deepdale to Longridge branched off Eastwards North of the station. This was the Preston & Longridge Joint (LNWR/L&Y) and I think closed to passengers a long time ago. Scrap traffic to (?from) Deepdale lasted until in my mind recently. I would guess that Longridge trains left from the East Lancs side, but I'm far from sure.
Another use of the East lancs side was to enable trains to run from Glasgow (and other Northern destinations) to Blackpool without reversing. They turned left through the EL platforms then turned right at a junction to pass under the West Coast, with another right turn at another junction to rejoin the West Coast via yet another junction. I did it once but frustratingly train stopped for water so nit wasn't non-stop.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Deepdale? That's going back a bit, must be 35 years since that saw a train of any sort.

I saw a weed killing train that ran as far as Skeffington Rod and Perhaps beyond about 1985. I think the Coal Concentration depot was the last bit to go.

 

[Acathater]

I saw a weed killing train that ran as far as Skeffington Rod and Perhaps beyond about 1985. I think the Coal Concentration depot was the last bit to go.

the track is still there but you'd need a forestry team to clear the trees growing between the sleepers
it must have been a long time since any weedkiller got sprayed along there. Makes a total nonsense of putting a low-cost tramway along it, you'd have to rip out and replace the whole trackbed

 

[GRALISTAIR]

the track is still there but you'd need a forestry team to clear the trees growing between the sleepers

I thought it was being preserved because they might eventually run a tram up to the Deepdale retail park.

 

[Acathater]

I thought it was being preserved because they might eventually run a tram up to the Deepdale retail park.

All you can say is it hasn't been ripped up and the level crossing is still there....but in reality it's a linear silver birch wood

 

[Kite159]

Just got back and the toilets were not too bad at all. Perhaps a slight odour but goodness me they are toilets -what do you expect?

The only issue I've got with the toilets at Preston (the ones located on P3/P4) is they seem too small for the size of the station, so at times you end up queuing.

 

[Parallel]

I don’t think it has been mentioned yet, but I find platforms 5 and 6 terrible for when Avanti are scheduled to use them - they have no facilities whatsoever, and are too narrow for large crowds of passengers with lots of luggage.

Platforms 3 and 4 are fine, but the toilets are too small, and heavily used.

 

[Acathater]

I don’t think it has been mentioned yet, but I find platforms 5 and 6 terrible for when Avanti are scheduled to use them - they have no facilities whatsoever, and are too narrow for large crowds of passengers with lots of luggage.

Platforms 3 and 4 are fine, but the toilets are too small, and heavily used.

Avanti rarely use 5/6 unless something is running late or there's disruption - e.g. switching sets, or caping a late running train to move passengers to P4.
5/6 are mainly used southbound by Northern & TPE

 

[Elecman]

Won't meet standards to be used now I expect in terms of lighting, signage etc..

Would also need the panelling and locked door ar the bottom of plat1&2 removing as it’s only got a small pedestrian staff door now

 

[Starmill]

They're unused, I'm not sure what you expect from them, why waste money on the irrelevant? Personally I'd bring it back into regular use to avoid having to deal with moving the Blackpool South train empty but that'd cost too much for relatively limited benefit.

They're not actually unused, they're used by train crew. Their state is very poor indeed even for them.

 

[pr1]

I don’t think it has been mentioned yet, but I find platforms 5 and 6 terrible for when Avanti are scheduled to use them - they have no facilities whatsoever, and are too narrow for large crowds of passengers with lots of luggage.

Platforms 3 and 4 are fine, but the toilets are too small, and heavily used.

I've often lost myself in thought about what to do with 5/6. You're right that there are no facilities and I have yet to solve that issue. There's no space for toilets, not even portable ones, there's no space for even a vending machine. It needs a wholesale rethink.

 

[Starmill]

They didnt look particularly refurbished on first glance, even the slightly "on the cheap" Euston toilet refurb looks far more refurbed than those. Also I think there needs to be an extra set elsewhere as numbers on that platform not sufficient for the size of the station

The loos at both London Euston and Preston stink at all times of day in my experience, and are always covered in ingrained dirt and urine crystals. They're never presentable. In both cases they're also too small for the flow of people with excessive queues for the ladies which is really not OK.

Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road, Glasgow Central, London Kings Cross and London St Pancras are exactly the same. And probably a hundred other stations we could name.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would also need the panelling and locked door ar the bottom of plat1&2 removing as it’s only got a small pedestrian staff door now

It was like that when they were last in passenger use. The door was just propped open.

 

[Andrew1395]

I'm fairly sure it's listed so that wouldn't be a possibility.

No part of the station was a listed building in 1985. Maybe the old AM made his views known and the council put in a listing. We had in my time lost the L&Y side for a big supermarket and car park development. lots of Grade 2 listed buildings get altered and some even demolished. It’s a question of the perceived benefit of a planning application compared to the perceived loss. A 150 year old station will continue to be altered and changed to serve customer needs. Forty years ago the main island building was mostly abandoned above the ground floor, With the AM offices confined to the fishergate end of the run. The big concern was the poor state of the roof. After I moved on they did demolish the Blackburn and Bolton stations. Both enormous and run down structures. The replacements were not great.

 

[Trackman]

The loos at both London Euston and Preston stink at all times of day in my experience, and are always covered in ingrained dirt and urine crystals. They're never presentable. In both cases they're also too small for the flow of people with excessive queues for the ladies which is really not OK.

Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road, Glasgow Central, London Kings Cross and London St Pancras are exactly the same. And probably a hundred other stations we could name.

It's a case of grin and bear it and 'needs must' in my experience.

 

[Falcon1200]

I think it would have been the direct lines to East Lancashire via what is now the car park, rather than their current route via Farington Curve?

there was a complete set of platforms (called predictably the 'East Lancs' side) on a curve to the east of the present station,

IIRC the south end of Platform 7 still curves away from the track, ie towards the former East Lancs lines. If that could be straightened, and maybe extended, a useful additional platform would be available.

The platform hasn't that I can recall been used in my lifetime and I'm 47...

I have been on a train which called at Platform 7! It was however a Voyager training run, not in public service. I do remember the date well, it was the 11th September 2001.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

The only issue I've got with the toilets at Preston (the ones located on P3/P4) is they seem too small for the size of the station, so at times you end up queuing.

Happened to me about 3 weeks back. I was waiting for a stall rather than a urinal.

 

[Dr Hoo]

When there were midweek Rail Replacement Buses between Preston and Lancaster earlier this year the RRB coordinators were advising passengers of the free toilets on the ground floor of the Fishergate Centre - across the road from the RRB stop.
All level access. I thought that was a good move. Not available later on, of course.

Preston is like Sheffield. A traditional station at which the morphology and layout are completely out of tune with modern needs.

 

[yorksrob]

I don't think Sheffield station is "out of tune with modern needs" by any stretch of the imagination.

It has a good concourse with good facilities, wide, well covered platforms with good facilities. About the only thing that could be doing with being a bit bigger is the footbridge.

Preston is a bit trickier. Perhaps a large new building and concourse area could be built on the east side where all the car parks are, as with Darlington. This could link into an expanded subway to access the platforms and have various shops and cafes etc.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Building at the bottom suffers from a major problem of "desire lines" which results in the small P5/6 entrance being the de-facto main one as it has been for years. People just won't use it unless you close that off, and if you do you will really annoy them.

Anything new would have to be done at the top end to work. It would be possible in theory to build onto the pick up/drop off car park (doesn't really matter where that is, it could be right over the other side) and widen the P5/6 bridge, potentially even creating a paid and non-paid side or even a mezzanine.

 

[D6130]

Building at the bottom suffers from a major problem of "desire lines" which results in the small P5/6 entrance being the de-facto main one as it has been for years. People just won't use it unless you close that off, and if you do you will really annoy them.

Anything new would have to be done at the top end to work. It would be possible in theory to build onto the pick up/drop off car park (doesn't really matter where that is, it could be right over the other side) and widen the P5/6 bridge, potentially even creating a paid and non-paid side or even a mezzanine.

Do you mean the platform 3/4 entrance?

 

[Acathater]

Do you mean the platform 3/4 entrance?

No he means the side entrance above platform 7 which leads directly onto the bridge (there isn't an entrance on P4/5). It's next to the car park and he keeps claiming it as the "de facto" main entrance even when it isn't. Actually the P4/5 ramp is by far the busiest despite the past changes around ten years ago to the car park area. Those were done to try and get people to use the entrance on P7 which leads directly to the underpass ramp. What needs to happen is for a new entrance/ticket office/refreshment/toilet complex to be built next to that P7 entrance. With that then leading directly to the underpass the bridge could be removed. It's old, narrow, steep and by any modern standards isn't safe for the volume of traffic using it, especially to get to P1/2

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Aug 2026 ==

Off-the-wall idea while thinking about Preston station, I wonder if there's a ready-made solution as to where to terminate the Blackpool South trains if these were ever converted to tram-trains....
It seems there is a hidden siding under the taxi ramp which connects to the undercroft subways. It's briefly discussed at

Preston Station’s secret World War I underground platform and stables – Blog Preston

<p>Underneath Preston Station there is a little known area, the bakehouse siding. The siding is still there as of 2023….</p>

www.blogpreston.co.uk

Looks to me as if using this (assuming it's wide enough) would minimise conflicts at the north end of P1/2 and keep the trams out of the way
It was known as "the bakehouse siding" and here's a photo (not mine)


and an old map showing the location

 

[driver9000]

Off-the-wall idea while thinking about Preston station, I wonder if there's a ready-made solution as to where to terminate the Blackpool South trains if these were ever converted to tram-trains....
It seems there is a hidden siding under the taxi ramp which connects to the undercroft subways. It's briefly discussed at

Preston Station’s secret World War I underground platform and stables – Blog Preston

<p>Underneath Preston Station there is a little known area, the bakehouse siding. The siding is still there as of 2023….</p>

www.blogpreston.co.uk

Looks to me as if using this (assuming it's wide enough) would minimise conflicts at the north end of P1/2 and keep the trams out of the way
It was known as "the bakehouse siding" and here's a photo (not mine)
View attachment 209332

and an old map showing the location

View attachment 209333

It still is known as the Bakehouse. Believe me it's in poor condition and would need a fortune spending on it to bring it anywhere near close to an operable platform for passenger trains. The platform faces aren't long enough or wide enough in their present state but the Pigeons seem to like it. You would be better upgrading the PCD or the North Bay siding to keep Blackpool services away from crossing the Fast lines to reach the Bakehouse.

 

[najaB]

Off-the-wall idea while thinking about Preston station, I wonder if there's a ready-made solution as to where to terminate the Blackpool South trains if these were ever converted to tram-trains....
It seems there is a hidden siding under the taxi ramp which connects to the undercroft subways. It's briefly discussed at

Preston Station’s secret World War I underground platform and stables – Blog Preston

<p>Underneath Preston Station there is a little known area, the bakehouse siding. The siding is still there as of 2023….</p>

www.blogpreston.co.uk

Looks to me as if using this (assuming it's wide enough) would minimise conflicts at the north end of P1/2 and keep the trams out of the way
It was known as "the bakehouse siding" and here's a photo (not mine)
View attachment 209332

and an old map showing the location

View attachment 209333

I guess that is this line here:


Marked as No. 2 Siding on the sectional appendix:

 

[Bletchleyite]

Do you mean the platform 3/4 entrance?

No, the little side one facing the Fishergate Centre which is quite busy for its size and if there's going to be major redevelopment of that land will get even busier.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Aug 2026 ==

No he means the side entrance above platform 7 which leads directly onto the bridge (there isn't an entrance on P4/5). It's next to the car park and he keeps claiming it as the "de facto" main entrance even when it isn't. Actually the P4/5 ramp is by far the busiest despite the past changes around ten years ago to the car park area.

I assume you mean the 3/4 ramp via the booking office? That I'd say is second busiest, personally, though maybe it's different at different times of day.

Those were done to try and get people to use the entrance on P7 which leads directly to the underpass ramp. What needs to happen is for a new entrance/ticket office/refreshment/toilet complex to be built next to that P7 entrance. With that then leading directly to the underpass the bridge could be removed. It's old, narrow, steep and by any modern standards isn't safe for the volume of traffic using it, especially to get to P1/2

This would be a bad plan. The subway would then get congestion issues (it's quite narrow) and it would be perceived as moving the entrance further away from where people want to be, which is poor customer service (the railway is good at that of course!)

It actually in my view works better with the subway near enough only being used for interchange. It's sometimes busy even then!

That entrance though was a prime waste of money. It was never going to be used by anyone other than those parking in the multi storey and cyclists using the cycle hub. It's inconveniently located for all other major use-cases.

 

[yorksrob]

No, the little side one facing the Fishergate Centre which is quite busy for its size and if there's going to be major redevelopment of that land will get even busier.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Aug 2026 ==



I assume you mean the 3/4 ramp via the booking office? That I'd say is second busiest, personally, though maybe it's different at different times of day.



This would be a bad plan. The subway would then get congestion issues (it's quite narrow) and it would be perceived as moving the entrance further away from where people want to be, which is poor customer service (the railway is good at that of course!)

It actually in my view works better with the subway near enough only being used for interchange. It's sometimes busy even then!

That entrance though was a prime waste of money. It was never going to be used by anyone other than those parking in the multi storey and cyclists using the cycle hub. It's inconveniently located for all other major use-cases.

I've been dropped off at that entrance on occasion, so it's quite useful from that point of view.

If you look at Darlington, the new concourse is now on the opposite side to the town centre, so the East side at Preston is far less 'remote' by comparison.

If this were to become the main entrance, I'd still retain the footbridge for interchange.

 

[Dr Hoo]

The subway ramps at Preston are a long way from compliant with modern standards in terms of gradient, lack of break landings and chicanes. Quite apart from 1/2 having no ramp at all.

(A similar syndrome to Derby, Crewe, Peterborough and some others.)