Westhoughton railway station - <>

Westhoughton railway station is one of the two stations which serve the town of Westhoughton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, north-western England. The station is 15+1/2mi north west of Manchester Piccadilly.HistoryIt is the only station located on a connecting line between the Manchester-Preston Line at Bolton and the Manchester-Southport Line at Hindley near Wigan. It was opened in 1848, along with the line, by the Liverpool and Bury Railway, when the route between the two via Wigan and Bolton was completed. It subsequently became part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's system.The station is located in Church Street, about ten minutes' walk from the town centre. The town of Westhoughton is also served by Daisy Hill railway station, which is around 15 minutes on foot from the centre of Westhoughton and is situated on the Manchester-Southport Line, via Atherton.Unlike the town's other station at Daisy Hill, Westhoughton station has been unstaffed since 1974, when all the track-side and road-side buildings were demolished. This is despite the fact that Westhoughton enjoyed similar levels of patronage (see usage figures right). From 2004 to 2012 passenger usage increased by some 231%. The station's passenger usage seems set to grow further, as there has been considerable housing development on brownfield land, which was the site of a mine, within a few hundred yards of the station. Indeed, the town continues to grow, overall, as a commuter suburb.

Tags: Train Station