Smithy Bridge railway station

Smithy Bridge
Smithy Bridge railway station
General information
Location	Smithy Bridge, Rochdale England
Grid reference	SD925151
Managed by	Northern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	SMB
Classification	DfT category F1
Key dates
1868 1960 1985	Original station opened Closed Current station opened
Passengers
2018/19	0.198 million
2019/20	0.205 million
2020/21	50,430
2021/22	0.124 million
2022/23	0.140 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Smithy Bridge railway station serves the village of Smithy Bridge and Hollingworth Lake near Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The station is on the Caldervale Line 12+3⁄4 miles (20.5 km) north of Manchester Victoria on the way to Leeds.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed, but there are ticket machines available to allow intending passengers to purchase or collect tickets prior to travelling. Both platforms have waiting shelters and step-free access.

Services

Northern Trains Route 9
Calder Valley Line and East Lancashire Line
York Ulleskelf Church Fenton Micklefield East Garforth Garforth Cross Gates Leeds Bramley New Pudsey Bradford Interchange Low Moor Halifax Sowerby Bridge Mytholmroyd Hebden Bridge Manchester Victoria Moston Mills Hill Castleton Rochdale Smithy Bridge Littleborough Walsden Todmorden Colne Nelson Brierfield Burnley Central Burnley Barracks Burnley Manchester Road Rose Grove Hapton Huncoat Accrington Church and Oswaldtwistle Rishton Blackburn Mill Hill Cherry Tree Pleasington Bamber Bridge Lostock Hall Preston Salwick Kirkham and Wesham Poulton-le-Fylde Blackpool North Moss Side Lytham Ansdell and Fairhaven St Annes-on-the-Sea Squires Gate Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool South
Burnley Barracks, Hapton and Pleasington are request stops.

There is a basic half-hourly service (with peak period extras) from the station to Manchester Victoria southbound and to Todmorden northbound on weekdays. From there, trains continue alternately to Blackburn via Burnley Manchester Road and to Leeds via Brighouse. Westbound services run beyond Manchester to Wigan Wallgate and Headbolt Lane.

In the early morning and evenings trains to Leeds run via Halifax but on the same frequency, whilst in Sundays the service is hourly and provided by the Southport/Manchester to Blackburn trains.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Rochdale		Northern Caldervale Line		Littleborough

History

The station was first opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in October 1868. In 1915, the station was the scene of a tragic accident involving an express train and an empty stock train. Four people died and many others were injured. It was closed on 2 May 1960 by British Rail but reopened on its original site, albeit with a slightly different platform layout, on 19 August 1985 with financial assistance from Greater Manchester PTE. The signal box here, which controlled the level crossing and acted as a 'fringe' box to Preston PSB from 1973 onwards, was downgraded in late 2011 from a block post to a crossing box. The signalling is remotely operated from the new 'Rochdale West' panel at Castleton (which also supervises the layout at Rochdale and will eventually replace another box at Castleton East Junction) and the crossing is now automatic. Smithy Bridge Crossing box was closed early in 2014 and has since been demolished.

References

• The Weighvers Seaport by A W Colligan in association with George Kelsall (ISBN 0-9505577-0-6)

External links

• Train times and station information for Smithy Bridge railway station from National Rail

Railways in Rochdale
Past, present and future
Rossendale Lines to Bacup Calderdale Lines to Calderdale Broadley Littleborough Shawclough and Healey Smithy Bridge Wardleworth Rochdale Newbold Rochdale Town Centre Kingsway Business Park Milnrow East Lancs Rly to Bury Newhey Broadfield Oldham Lines to Oldham Heywood Castleton Mills Hill Middleton Manchester Lines North to Manchester