Hoscar railway station

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Hoscar
National Rail
Hoscar railway station.JPG
LocationHoscar, West Lancashire
England
Coordinates53°35′49″N 2°48′14″W / 53.597°N 2.804°W / 53.597; -2.804Coordinates: 53°35′49″N 2°48′14″W / 53.597°N 2.804°W / 53.597; -2.804
Grid referenceSD469115
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeHSC
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyManchester and Southport Railway
Pre-groupingLancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
c. 1871Opened as Hoscar Moss[1]
1 January 1900Renamed Hoscar[1]
Passengers
2016/17Increase 1,024
2017/18Increase 1,432
2018/19Decrease 1,242
2019/20Decrease 956
2019/20Decrease 194
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Hoscar railway station serves the rural village of Hoscar in the civil parish of Lathom, near the town of Burscough, Lancashire, England. The station stands split across Hoscar Moss Road. Only 1,060 passenger journeys started or ended at Hoscar in 2014/15. Eight trains a day call on weekdays in each direction, all provided by Northern Trains, who also manage the station.

History[]

The station was built by the Manchester and Southport Railway and opened c.1871, and from January 1885 was part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The L&YR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 and in turn was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Rail.

The station once boasted a goods yard which was used by local farmers to get their crops to the markets of Wigan, Manchester and Southport quickly.[2] The former railway tavern is now a house [3]

In May 2019 Network Rail installed red light safety enforcement (RLSE) cameras at the station's level crossing to catch motorists flouting the crossing when the lights are on. The cameras were installed as the level crossing is an automatic half barrier (AHB) type this is part of an effort by network rail to improve the safety of such crossings across the UK.[4]

Facilities[]

Hoscar has similar amenities to neighbouring New Lane and Bescar Lane, with no permanent buildings other than simple shelters (the old station house is still extant, but in private ownership) and staggered platforms either side of an automatic level crossing. it is unmanned and has no ticket machine, so all tickets have to be purchased on the train or prior to travel. Step-free access is available to both platforms and train running information can be obtained by telephone and from timetable information posters.[5]

Services[]

Trains west-bound run to Southport, and trains east-bound run to Wigan Wallgate, Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge and Alderley Edge (peak hours only for the latter).

The basic frequency of trains calling at Hoscar is every 2 hours. The first train of the day is to Southport at 06:29, and the final train is to Wigan Wallgate at 22:38.[6]

Due to these infrequent services, it has been recognized as the least used station in Lancashire,[7] only receiving 956 entries/exists in the 2019/20 period (March 2019-April 2020).[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  2. ^ "Hoscar". Community Rail Lancashire. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Railway Tavern, Hoscar". WhatPub. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. ^ "New cameras installed at level crossings to catch motorists breaking the law". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  5. ^ Hoscar station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 19 December 2016
  6. ^ Ltd, Swlines. "Realtime Trains - Departures from Hoscar". www.realtimetrains.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  7. ^ Hoscar - Least Used Station in Lancashire, retrieved 12 July 2021
  8. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2021.

External links[]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Burscough Bridge   Northern Trains
Manchester-Southport Line 		  Parbold
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