Golborne Station Feasibility Study
Client: Greater Manchester PTE, Apr 2002 - Sep 2003
Golborne is a town of around 15000 people located astride the West Coast Main Line (WCML) in Lancashire. Recent housing developments had once again raised the possibility of re-opening the station there. Greater Manchester PTE therefore commissioned the Railway Consultancy to carry out a feasibility study covering demand and operational issues, working with C Spencer, who provided engineering costings.
The Consultancy's GCOST™ model was used for the demand forecasting, although this was a relatively difficult application, because of the complex nature of the local rail network; in particular, there are many alternative rail options for those with a car available. Operational planning issues concentrated on the need to provide an additional service to call at Golborne, since those already passing were all long-distance services, for which the extra stop would have been inappropriate. Although the additional service from Wigan into Manchester could be operated, this clearly put a burden on the viability of the project. Unfortunately, the cost of installing an island platform in the middle of the four electrified tracks of the WCML also proved to be very high. However, the new station proposal is still under consideration.
Last updated: Sunday, 18th December 2016
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