Hoscar  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Hoscar,West Lancashire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 53°35′49″N2°48′14″W / 53.597°N 2.804°W /53.597; -2.804 | ||||
| Grid reference | SD469115 | ||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | HSC | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Manchester and Southport Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1 November 1870 | Opened asHoscar Moss[1] | ||||
| 1 January 1900 | RenamedHoscar[1] | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  956 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 194 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  1,024 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 914 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 800 | ||||
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Hoscar railway station serves the rural village ofHoscar in the civil parish ofLathom, near the town ofBurscough,Lancashire, England. The station stands split across Hoscar Moss Road. Only 1,060 passenger journeys started or ended at Hoscar in 2014/15. Eight trains a day call on weekdays in each direction, all provided byNorthern Trains, who also manage the station.
The station was built by theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) and opened on 1 November 1870, the line through the station site had been open since 1855.[1] The L&YR amalgamated with theLondon and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 and, in turn, was grouped into theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. WhenSectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served byRegional Railways until theprivatisation of British Rail.
The station once boasted a goods yard which was used by local farmers to get their crops to the markets of Wigan, Manchester and Southport quickly.[2] The former railway tavern is now a house[3]
In May 2019,Network Rail installed red light safety enforcement (RLSE) cameras at the station's level crossing to catch motorists flouting the crossing when the lights are on. The cameras were installed as the level crossing is anautomatic half barrier (AHB) type. This is part of an effort by network rail to improve the safety of such crossings across the UK.[4]
Hoscar has similar amenities to neighbouringNew Lane andBescar Lane, with no permanent buildings other than simple shelters (the old station house is still extant but in private ownership) and staggered platforms either side of an automaticlevel crossing. it is unstaffed and has no ticket machine, so all tickets must be purchased on the train or before travel. Step-free access is available to both platforms, and train running information can be obtained by telephone and from timetable information posters.[5]
Trains west-bound run toSouthport, and trains east-bound run toWigan Wallgate,Manchester Victoria,Stalybridge andManchester Oxford Road (peak hours only for the latter).
The basic frequency of trains calling at Hoscar is every 2 hours. The day's first train is to Southport at 06:29, and the final train is to Wigan Wallgate at 22:38.[6]
Due to these infrequent services, it has been recognized as theleast used station in Lancashire,[7] only receiving 956 entries/exists in the 2019/20 period (March 2019-April 2020).[8]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Trains (Monday-Saturday only) | ||||
The station was featured in an episode ofGeoff Marshall's seriesleast used stations in 2019[9] as the entry forLancashire, as at the time of recording, it was the least used station in the region by passengers numbers, as recorded byORR statistics.[10]
