Lostock Hall - wow!

[PR1Berske]

Someone has been adding the 2010/11 usage figures onto Wiki, and I couldn't help noticing the surge in use for Lostock Hall - from 27k to 33k in one leap, the first increase in use for the six/seven years those stats are available to see on-line.

LOH is not the best placed station, nor the most welcoming, so this surge is both welcome and unexpected. I can only assume there's been a spike because of....car use changes? Maybe bus fare increases? More jobs in Blackburn and Preston? Er....okay, I can only GUESS.

In my far off daydreams, where money is no object, LOH would have all that greenery wiped away in favour of a proper station, with platforms on the WCML spur, connecting with Leyland and beyond. That'd get people off the road, and if you know the area, anything to persuade people away from clogging up the route to Preston in their cars would be a good thing!

Still, there we go - three cheers for Lostock Hall!

 

[Lampshade]

Me

And yes, I was surprised, especially Pleasington breaking the 10,000 barrier just after being made a request stop hock:

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Usage has plummeted over recent years though; it is still a way off what it was between 04-05. All other local stations on the stretch of line have seen usage improve quite well too - Bamber Bridge 7,000; Pleasington 1,500; Cherry Tree 4,500; and Mill Hill 8,000. It is good to see LOH doing well again, but it isn't anything special in itself.

 

[PR1Berske]

No absolutely, it's still underused compared to its past and surrounding stations.......Well, Brig.

 

[driver9000]

And yes, I was surprised, especially Pleasington breaking the 10,000 barrier just after being made a request stop hock:

It's not a request stop until 14 May.

Any increase in ridership is good news and Lostock Hall does seem busier than a few years ago especially towards Preston but Pleasington and some other East Lancs stations seem quieter. Some services seem to act as a staff bus for Virgin. Lostock Hall was suffering from anti social behaviour a couple of years ago, kids hanging out in the shelter drinking,smoking,vandalising the station and trespassing but since CCTV and new shelters were installed this has stopped. I don't know if this is linked to the increase in passengers using the station though but it does seem that the anti social behaviour stopped and soon after the station got a little busier.

 

[button_boxer]

Someone has been adding the 2010/11 usage figures onto Wiki, and I couldn't help noticing the surge in use for Lostock Hall - from 27k to 33k in one leap, the first increase in use for the six/seven years those stats are available to see on-line.

LOH is not the best placed station, nor the most welcoming, so this surge is both welcome and unexpected. I can only assume there's been a spike because of....car use changes? Maybe bus fare increases? More jobs in Blackburn and Preston? Er....okay, I can only GUESS.

Has there been a programme of regular revenue blocks at Preston? I wonder if it's a similar situation to Burley Park/Leeds.

 

[Lampshade]

Has there been a programme of regular revenue blocks at Preston? I wonder if it's a similar situation to Burley Park/Leeds.

G4S sometimes 'check' tickets of passengers arriving in on platforms 1/2, which would probably account for the increase in usage at the South Fylde stations. I've noticed Northern have been using AFCs on East Lancs services as well.