Wigan North Western railway station

Wigan North Western
National Rail
The station building on the main southbound platform, 2015
General information
LocationWigan, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan,
England
Coordinates53°32′35″N 2°37′55″W / 53.5430°N 2.6320°W / 53.5430; -2.6320
Grid referenceSD581053
Managed byAvanti West Coast
Transit authorityTransport for Greater Manchester
Platforms6 (5 in use)
Other information
Station codeWGN[1]
Fare zoneGreater Manchester Rail Zone 3
ClassificationDfT category B
History
Original companyNorth Union Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
31 October 1838 (1838-10-31)Opened as Wigan
2 June 1924Renamed Wigan North Western[2]
Passengers
2020/21Decrease 0.386 million
 Interchange Decrease 0.259 million
2021/22Increase 1.168 million
 Interchange Increase 0.970 million
2022/23Increase 1.183 million
 Interchange Decrease 0.695 million
2023/24Increase 1.260 million
 Interchange Increase 0.828 million
2024/25Increase 1.360 million
 Interchange Increase 0.894 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Wigan North Western is one of two railway stations that serve the town centre of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England; the other is Wigan Wallgate, 110 yards (100 m) away. It lies on the West Coast Main Line between Warrington Bank Quay and Euxton Balshaw Lane, 6 miles 47 chains (10.6 km) from Newton-Le-Willows junction.[3]

The station is suffixed North Western because it formerly belonged to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). In 2009, it was identified as one of the ten worst category B interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment[4] and was set to receive a share of £50m funding for improvements.[5]

History

Lines around Wigan in 1907

The Wigan Branch Railway opened on 3 September 1832[6] between the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Parkside Junction, in Newton-le-Willows, and Wigan. The original station in the town was located close to Chapel Lane, with three trains per day connecting with the Liverpool and Manchester trains at Parkside.[7]

The North Union Railway opened between Wigan and Preston on 31 October 1838 and so the station was relocated to its present position.[6] The LNWR was formed as a result of the progressive amalgamation of various earlier lines, including the Grand Junction Railway in 1846.

Accidents and incidents

The station was the site of a fatal accident on 2 August 1873.[8] As the train ran through Wigan North Western station the driver glanced back and saw sparks flying to the rear of the train. The first 15 carriages of the fast-moving train had passed safely through the station, but two wheels of the 16th coach had derailed at a set of facing points. A luggage van that had derailed completely, demolished a lineside shunter's cabin and lost its side in the process. However the following carriages had all derailed on the points and broken away from the train. They lay shattered at the start of the platform and on the passing loop behind it, leaving 13 dead and 30 injured. Only the last coach and rear brake-van were undamaged. The front portion of the train continued to Scotland 90 minutes later.[9]

Layout

The station platforms are generally used for the following purposes:

  • Platform 1 is used for some services to Stalybridge via Bolton and Manchester Victoria on Sundays
  • Platform 2 was a bay platform but is no longer in use after platform 3 was extended at the end of 2020.[10] The track serving it has been lifted and the face fenced off
  • Platform 3 is a bay platform, used by early morning and late evening Northern services to Manchester Victoria and Leeds, via Walkden and the Calder Valley (as the December 2022 timetable rerouted Wigan to Leeds services to operate from Wigan Wallgate); Sunday services to Manchester Victoria, via Bolton; and as a reversing siding allowing trains and locomotives for Springs Branch depot to approach from and leave south of the depot as it can only be entered from the north.
  • Platform 4 is used for Avanti West Coast services to London Euston and Birmingham New Street and Northern Trains services to Liverpool Lime Street.
  • Platform 5 is for northbound services to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. It is also used for services to Blackpool North
  • Platform 6 is used to terminate Merseyrail's City Line services arriving from the Liverpool–Wigan line, which is operated by Northern Trains, and also used rarely for Avanti services if no other platforms are available.

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Wigan North Western[11]
2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Entries and exits 1,108,080 1,253,745 1,396,601 544,313 962,171 1,038,503 960,121 1,066,546 1,073,710 1,071,012 1,154,040 1,282,076 1,380,716 1,620,278 1,583,806 1,683,184 1,604,012 386,422 1,168,204 1,182,964
Interchanges –[note 1] 167,452 204,905 331,395 229,100 332,887 342,147 318,669 461,137 443,347 501,318 543,059 578,315 649,093 778,223 1,265,458 1,347,024 259,297 970,485 694,621

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

Wigan North Western is served by three train operating companies; they run the following off-peak services in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd):

Avanti West Coast

  • 2 tpd to Blackpool North.

Northern Trains

TransPennine Express

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Avanti West Coast
Northern Trains
Euxton Balshaw Lane
Northern Trains
St Helens Central
TerminusNorthern Trains
Wigan North Western - Liverpool Lime Street
Bryn
Northern Trains
Wigan North Western - Leeds
(Limited service)
Hindley
Northern Trains
Wigan North Western - Manchester Victoria
(Limited service)
TransPennine Express
St Helens Central
Disused railways
Bryn   London and North Western Railway
Lancashire Union Railway 		  Boar's Head

See also

Notes

  1. ^ No data available.

References

  1. ^ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ^ Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. 250. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  3. ^ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. pp. 56, 132. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  4. ^ Green, Chris; Hall, Sir Peter (1 November 2009). "Better Railway Stations - An Independent Review Presented to Lord Adonis". p. 117. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  5. ^ "£50m revamp for 'worst stations'". BBC News. 17 November 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  6. ^ a b Quick 2023, p. 487.
  7. ^ Sweeney, Dennis (2008). The Wigan Branch Railway. Triangle Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-9550030-35.
  8. ^ "Accident at Wigan North Western on 2nd August 1873 :: The Railways Archive". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  9. ^ "Terrible Railway Accident". Nelson Examinaer and New Zealand Chronicle. 3 October 1873. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  10. ^ Holden, Michael (2 September 2020). "Wigan North Western station set for platform extension work". Rail Advent. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.

Bibliography

  • Holt, G.O. (1986). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain – vol.10 The North West. David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-34-8.
  • Nock, O.S. (1974). Electric Euston to Glasgow. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0530-3.
  • Quick, Michael (2023). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.
  • Sweeney, D.J. (1996). A Lancashire Triangle – Part 1. Triangle Publishing. ISBN 0-9529333-0-6.
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