Burscough Curves
Burscough Junction 
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| Location | |
| Place | Burscough |
| Local authority | West Lancashire |
| Grid reference | SD444115 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BCJ |
| Managed by | Northern |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| DfT category | F2 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 37,378 |
| 2012/13 |
 36,464 |
| 2013/14 |
37,814 |
| 2014/15 |
39,226 |
| 2015/16 |
38,396 |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1849 |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Burscough Junction from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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Burscough Junction pronounced (Burs/co Junction) is one of two railway stations serving the small West Lancashire town of Burscough in the north-west of England. It is sited on the Ormskirk Branch Line, 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) north of Ormskirk and is served by Northern. The station was the scene of the Burscough Junction Station Crash in 1880.
The line sees a Monday-Saturday service of approximately every 90 minutes each way (13 departures in total in each direction) and has no Sunday service.
The station opened in April 1849, and enjoyed a regular service to numerous destinations, including Preston, Blackburn, Southport and Liverpool. From the autumn of 1968, stopping express services to Scotland and the Lake District were withdrawn. In October of the following year, through trains to Blackburn also ceased and the remaining Blackpool to Liverpool stopping service was cut back to Ormskirk, leaving only local services and a few non-stop expresses; the line was severed entirely at Ormskirk from 4 May 1970. Singling followed at the end of June 1970. Unlike the other stations at Croston and Rufford, Burscough Junction retained its station buildings for a few years. These were demolished at the end of 1973, and replaced with the current, extremely basic, arrangement.
The other station in Burscough is Burscough Bridge, and is only ten minutes away by foot. The name "Junction" is an anachronism: the station no longer serves such a purpose.
Only one platform remains in use, with basic shelters, digital information displays and a long-line P.A system. There are no ticket vending facilities of any kind available, so passengers requiring them must buy in advance or on the train. The platform is fully DDA-compliant, with step free access from the main entrance on Station Lane.
During the rail restructuring of the 1960s and 1970s, the "Burscough Curves", which formed a link between the Ormskirk-Preston and Southport-Wigan lines were removed, although the formation survives. The North Curve was taken out of use and severed in July 1969, being lifted in 1973: it was last used for a Saturdays only empty train from Blackpool to Southport. The South Curve was singled in 1970, but remained in use to serve the extensive sidings at the MOD depot located just to the north of Burscough Junction station. It saw its last train in 1982.
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Wikipedia