Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874 and carried passengers from 1858 to 1956. History The station was one of several built by the East Lancashire Railway on their branch line from Ormskirk to Rainford Junction. It opened on 1 March 1858, but after a year became part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway system when the ELR was taken over by that company. The station consisted of two platforms with the main building on the northbound side. A wooden signal box was provided to control the adjacent level crossing, passing loop and nearby goods yard. The line towards Ormskirk was subsequently doubled in 1875, the year after the station was renamed. Throughout its life the route operated as a self-contained branch, though connections were available for , Liverpool & Blackpool at Ormskirk and for , and Manchester Victoria at Rainford. The service was also generous, with the L&Y running a steam railmotor service of 19 trains per day in each direction from 1906. A similar pattern continued after the route became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in January 1923, but increasing road competition after World War II and the subsequent nationalisation of the railways in 1948 saw traffic levels decline. The station was closed to passenger traffic by the British Transport Commission on 5 November 1956, with the line south to Rainford closing completely on 16 November 1961 and the rest on 4 November 1963, when goods traffic at the station ceased. The track was lifted in 1968 and station was demolished soon afterwards; the B5312 road (known as Railway Road) now passes through the site. Ironically this was done just as the town was undergoing a significant increase in population levels and associated housing development, having been designated as one of the second wave of new towns in 1961 (it was chosen, along with Runcorn as an overspill town for Liverpool). Reopening proposals Skelmersdale has been described as the largest town in North-West England that doesn't have a railway station, although Leigh, Greater Manchester, which also has no station is larger. There have been many discussions about reopening a railway station in Skelmersdale. This would require a three-mile rail restoration. In January 2009, the Liverpool Echo newspaper reported that recommendations have