New Stations Feasibility Work

New stations feasibility study – Blackburn with Darwen

A feasibility study into the potential delivery of three new rail stations on the Ribble Valley Line, through Blackburn with Darwen, has recently been undertaken. 

 

The study considered stations at the following locations:

• Ewood
• Lower Darwen
• Spring Vale

For each location, three possible site options (North, Central and South) were assessed. 

 

The study considered a range of factors, including:

• How the stations would fit into the rail network 
• How easy they would be to get to on foot, by bike, or by car 
• Access from nearby roads 
• How much land would be needed 
• How many people might use the stations 
• Opportunities for park and ride 
• Feedback from the public and local organisations 
• How a station at Ewood could link with Blackburn Rovers and Ewood Park

 

Community engagement

More than 800 people responded to a public consultation exercise, which highlighted strong support for improved rail access in the area. 

 

Key findings included:

• Residents’ most common journey destinations are already well served by the rail network, including Manchester, Blackburn, Darwen, Preston, Bolton, Burnley and Salford, either directly or via interchange
• Around 30% of respondents already use rail, many of whom currently travel by car to existing stations and could instead access a new local station by walking or cycling
• 96% of residents and 75% of visitors said they would use rail services if a station were provided locally
• 62% of respondents to the Blackburn Rovers Travel Survey indicated they would use rail if a station were opened at Ewood

 

Key Findings

The study found:

• It is possible to accommodate one additional station on the Blackburn–Rochdale service, with minimal timetable and infrastructure changes, at either Ewood or Lower Darwen
• While stations with two platforms are recommended for operational resilience and to manage delays, it is technically feasible at this stage to deliver single-platform stations at Ewood and Lower Darwen
• Ewood and Lower Darwen station options were recommended to be progressed to Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) stage
• A new station at Spring Vale was not recommended for further progression

Each potential station had three presented options which were assessed by the consultants.  The Spring Vale options all had a variety of issues that presented barriers to going forward to the Strategic Outline Business Case, particularly that they needed double tracks as opposed to single track options for the other two and also require greater infrastructure improvements to allow 1 or 2 trains per hour which the station would need to provide. It would also have a greater impact on the existing services currently operating along this line.  Thus in terms of value for money it was well below Ewood and Lower Darwen options.