Cottam Parkway railway station
Cottam Parkway is a proposed new railway station on the north-west side of Preston, on the Blackpool to Preston railway line.
Artist's impression. Design subject to change.
The new station would deliver journey times of around 5 minutes to Preston and around 20 minutes to Blackpool.
The project aims to:
- Provide access to rail transport options for travel to jobs, business and leisure
- Reduce congestion into Preston city centre by providing a Park & Ride facility serving the North West Preston area
- Increase rail access between Preston and other parts of Lancashire, as well as the regional and national network
- Connect directly to the Preston Western Distributor scheme which opened in 2023, giving access to new housing areas and junction two on the M55
We're currently working with Network Rail to refine design proposals, carry out the necessary site investigation work which will inform the station's design and finalise the funding and construction arrangements.
The station is currently known as the Cottam Parkway Railway Station as a working title and could be subject to change.
About the new station
Artist's impression. Design subject to change.
The plans include a fully-accessible station building with a waiting area, a staffed booking and information office, and toilets. A footbridge and lifts will link the platforms and provide level platform-to-platform access.
To encourage people to use sustainable transport, the plans include a bus stop and secure cycle parking.
The plans include a free-to-use car park with around 250 spaces, which will include electric vehicle charging points.
Some of the funding has come from a successful bid to the Department for Transport's Transforming Cities Fund, as well as a local contribution and through the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal.
Environmental measures
Planned sustainability measures include electric vehicle charger points, a 'green' planted roof and solar panels on the station building itself.
The plans include a new naturally-planted area to give a 10% biodiversity net gain for the project.
The proposed planting would be on the south side of the railway line between the Ashton and Lea golf course and the bridge at Darkinson Lane and west of the railway cottages. These would boost biodiversity on this site.
Benefits of the station
The proposed station will provide more options for people to travel in and around the city and beyond, especially via Preston Railway Station, which is a regional and national hub. The current business case is based on direct rail links to Preston, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport and Blackpool North.
By providing alternative ways to get around, we want to encourage a shift in journeys from the road to rail, which helps to reduce traffic at key congestion hotspots on the surrounding road network.
Better rail access will help to support the delivery of new homes in north-west Preston and provide rail service to a catchment area of around 12,000 homes in areas such as Cottam, Ingol and Lea.
Location and access
The proposed site for the new station is on land between Lea Road and Sidgreaves Lane, close to the former site of Lea Road station which closed in May 1938
The main access to the station and a new car park would be north of the railway line. Pedestrian, cycle and bus access will be created from Lea Road.
The station would be accessed from a new road connected to Edith Rigby Way, via Avice Pimblett Way. This will be built on the west side of Sidgreaves Lane with a new bridge over the Lancaster Canal.
A segregated cycle track and footpath would also be created along a section of the existing Sidgreaves Lane and over the Quaker Bridge, linking to the local cycle network and Darkinson Lane.
The station would have cycle storage and lighting to create a safe approach for cycling and walking journeys.
Progress so far
We consulted in 2021/22 to asking the public and interested organisations for their views on the proposals. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback.
This identified several common themes and issues raised. How we took these into account is set out in the Consultation Statement within the Environmental Statement, as part of the planning application.
Planning permission was granted by the county council in September 2023.
We're currently working with Network Rail to refine design proposals, carry out the necessary site investigation work which will inform the station's design and finalise the funding and construction arrangements.
Keep updated
You can contact the project team by email to CottamStation@lancashire.gov.uk
Updates and information about the plans will be included on our X (twitter) and facebook accounts.