East Lancashire Line
Encyclopedia
The East Lancashire Line is a railway line in the Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 region of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, which runs between Preston
Preston railway station
Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...

 and Colne
Colne railway station
Colne railway station serves the Lancashire mill town of Colne which is situated close to Pendle Hill. The station, which is managed by Northern Rail, is the terminus of the East Lancashire Line. Trains from Blackpool South run through Preston and Blackburn to Burnley and Colne.Currently the...

, through Blackburn
Blackburn railway station
Blackburn railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Blackburn in Lancashire, England. It is east of Preston and is managed and served by Northern Rail.-Description:The station is served by two lines...

, Accrington
Accrington railway station
Accrington railway station serves the town of Accrington in Lancashire, England. It is a station on the East Lancashire Line 10 km east of Blackburn railway station operated by Northern Rail....

 and Burnley (Central
Burnley Central railway station
Burnley Central railway station is a station in the town of Burnley, Lancashire and is on the East Lancashire Line. It is managed by Northern Rail, which also provides its passenger service....

 and Barracks)
Burnley Barracks railway station
Burnley Barracks railway station is on the East Lancashire Line 800 metres west of Burnley Central railway station. Following the singling of the track in 1986, Burnley Barracks has one platform in use...

.

It is operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

. Services on this line stop at every station on the line. It was designated by the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

 as a community rail
Community rail
In the United Kingdom, a community rail line is a local railway which is specially supported by local organisations. This support is usually through a Community Rail Partnerships – comprising both the railway operator, local councils and other community organisations – or sometimes by...

 line in November 2006.

Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 refers to the main part of this line, from Preston to Gannow Junction (where the mainly single-line branch to Burnley Central and Colne diverges) and onwards to Burnley Manchester Road
Burnley Manchester Road railway station
Burnley Manchester Road is a railway station serving the town of Burnley, Lancashire.-History:On 12 November 1849, the Manchester and Leeds Railway opened a single line branch – doubled in 1860 – from Todmorden to Burnley. The first station in the town, which was at Thorney-bank, was replaced by...

 and Hall Royd Junction, as the Roses line.

History

The line was built by the Blackburn and Preston Railway and the Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington and Colne Extension Railway. Both companies were absorbed by the East Lancashire Railway on 3 August 1846 and 21 July 1845 respectively. The East Lancashire Railway was, in turn, absorbed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...

 on 13 May 1859.

The line connected end-on at Colne with the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway
Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway
The Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway was an early British railway company in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It built a line from near Bradford through and to...

's line to and Bradford. This 11½ mile (18½ km) link closed in 1970. The Skipton - East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership campaigns to reinstate it.

In the 1870s the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway built the North Lancashire Loop (also known as the Great Harwood Loop), a 9 miles (14.5 km) route through Great Harwood
Great Harwood
Great Harwood is a small town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, north-east of Blackburn.-History:Great Harwood is a town with a industrial heritage. The Mercer Hall Leisure Centre in Queen Street and the town clock pay tribute to John Mercer , the 'father' of Great Harwood, who...

, Simonstone
Simonstone, Lancashire
Simonstone is a small, largely residential, village in the Ribble Valley area of East Lancashire about west of Padiham, west of Burnley and south of Pendle Hill...

 and Padiham
Padiham
Padiham is a small town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley and south of Pendle Hill, in Lancashire, England. It is part of the Borough of Burnley but also has its own town council with varied powers.-History:...

, which bypassed Accrington. The line between Padiham and Rose Grove opened in 1875; west of Padiham it opened two years later as a result of difficulties in constructing the embankments between Great Harwood and Simonstone. Regular use of the North Lancashire Loop ceased in 1957; the route closed completely in 1964, with only the section from Rose Grove to Padiham Power Station remaining until 1993.

Services

Trains from Preston to Colne usually begin at Blackpool South
Blackpool South railway station
Blackpool South railway station is a single platform stop at the end of the Fylde coast branch line from Kirkham, in Lancashire, England. It is unmanned and has an hourly service daily, except winter Sundays....

, on the Blackpool Branch Line
Blackpool Branch Line
The Blackpool Branch Line runs from Preston to Blackpool. The line diverges at Kirkham and Wesham junction - a double track branch runs to Blackpool North station , while a single track branch runs to Blackpool South station.-Preston to Blackpool North:The route is used by the bulk of Blackpool's...

, which makes the whole length of the line a total of 80 km (49.7 mi).

Services via the Roses line routing encompass the Caldervale Line
Caldervale Line
The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool...

 semi-fast trains from Blackpool North stopping at Preston, Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley Manchester Road, heading towards West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, currently terminating at York
York railway station
York railway station is a main-line railway station in the city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...

.

External links

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