Daisy Hill railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daisy Hill
Location
Place	Westhoughton
Local authority	Bolton
Operations
Station code	DSY
Managed by	Northern Rail
Platforms in use	2
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Rail Passenger Usage
2004/05 *	0.106 million
2005/06 *	0.115 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Greater Manchester
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Daisy Hill from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Daisy Hill railway station serves the Daisy Hill area of Westhoughton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.

Daisy Hill is one of the principal stations that lie on the Atherton line, between Wigan and Manchester. The station is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of Manchester Victoria with regular Northern Rail services to these towns as well as Salford, Swinton and Hindley, with onward trains to Kirkby and Southport. Due to considerable housing development in the area, it is now a well-used commuter station and according to official Strategic Rail Authority Figures was until recently (after Atherton) the most used station on the line, although in 2005-2006 this second place is awarded to Walkden station.

An interesting aspect of Daisy Hill station is that, even when in the 1970s the service was sporadic (see BR Timetable 1973), the station was fully staffed. This peculiarity continues today, for Daisy Hill station (unlike the more frequently used next station of Hindley and the stations of many other major towns and even cities in Britain) is continuously staffed from before the first train to after the last – just over 18 hours. (see: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/DSY.html ). The town's other station (Westhoughton) which enjoys almost exactly the same patronage has been unstaffed since 1974.

In the late 1960's the two "fast lines" (which unlike Hindley and Atherton never had plaforms) were removed leaving the only lines as those which were adjacent to the platforms. In 1974 Daisy Hill station was to some extent modernised. The old British Rail London Midland maroon signage was replaced, the platform canopy removed, the platform toilets and waiting room demolished (to be replaced by a "bus shelter") and the gas lighting replaced with modern electric lighting. The roadside building and ticket office, however, remained relatively untouched (see picture right). The station's island platform remains totally inaccessible (even with assistance) to wheelchair users (see national rail site above).

For a further picture of the station (and pictures of the locality) see: http://www.bolton.org.uk/daisyhill.html a site which, inter alia shows the public house Rose Hill Tavern (known locally as The Bug) which is but a few yards from the station (turn right when leaving the station). Across the road is a post-office and shop, and bus-stops which provide connections to much of Westhoughton. Daisy Hill village with its few shops, church and cricket ground is five minutes by foot (turn left outside the station. Westhoughton Town Centre is fifteen minutes (leisurely) walk from the station (turn right) or three or four minutes by bus (service 540). There is no taxi rank, although a pay phone is found in the booking hall with taxi numbers and other local information.

[edit] Location

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|BL5%202JQ

[edit] Accommodation/Hotels/Pubs

http://www.daisyhillhotel.co.uk/

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/results.shtml/tr/2128

[edit] Service

For many years Daisy Hill enjoyed what was virtually a peak only service (although those peak hour trains were well used): the 1973 British Rail timetable (table 95) shows a gap between 9.45am to 3.45pm for trains to Manchester Victoria. Since then the service has dramatically improved. First hourly and then half-hourly services were introduced. The present service is as follows:

Monday to Saturday daytimes:

• 2 trains per hour to Rochdale via Manchester Victoria.

• 1tph operates a local service stopping at:

Hag Fold, Atherton, Walkden, Moorside, Swinton, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Victoria, and Rochdale

• 1tph operates a faster service stopping at:

Atherton, Walkden, Swinton, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Victoria and Rochdale

• 1tph to Kirkby stopping at:

Hindley, Ince, Wigan Wallgate, Pemberton, Orrell, Up Holland, Rainford, Kirkby

• 1tph to Southport stopping at:

Hindley, Wigan Wallgate, Gathurst, Appley Bridge, Parbold, Burscough Bridge, New Lane, Bescar Lane, Meols Cop, Southport

• Recent timetables provide an hourly convenient connection (5-7 Mins.wait)at Hindley (although a platform change must be made which is not possible for wheelchair users)for services to/from Bolton.

There are a few extra services during the peak hours (Mondays to Fridays).

In the evening there is only one train an hour in each direction, the last train stops at Daisy Hill at 23:48; the station is locked up at midnight.

There are no trains serving Daisy Hill on Sundays, although Northern Rail have aspirations to provide one for the line: http://www.walkdenstation.org.uk/campaigns.shtml#sundayservice

In the summer there is sometimes one train each way to Blackpool North (Via Wigan North Western)

[edit] Railway Geek Information

The services are operated solely by Diesel Multiple Units (Rail-buses), often ex-British Rail Class 142 (Known as 'Pacers']) and Class 150 'Sprinter' units, with Class 156s and 153s making occasional appearances. These trains are relatively modern, introduced in the mid 1980s. They are often seen working in multiple (that is, combined with each other).

Freight services are limited in number through Daisy Hill. A freight service is normally diverted through Daisy Hill only when engineering works takes place on its booked route, normally taking place overnight.

[edit] External links

• Train times and station information for Daisy Hill railway station from National Rail

Coordinates: 53°32′22″N 2°30′55″W / 53.5394, -2.5153