Maudland Bridge railway station was once the Preston terminus of the Longridge Branch Line, in Lancashire, England. It was located on Maudland Road, between a bridge over the Lancaster Canal and Cold Bath Street. The Maudlands district of Preston gets its name from the medieval St. Mary Magdalen's leper hospital, which once stood near the present-day St Walburge's Church.[2]
Although the line through Maudland Bridge station closed to passengers in 1930, it continued to be used for goods until the 1990s. Some of the tracks, now rusty and overgrown, still exist, although the station itself (which was situated on the northern side of Maudlands Street opposite where the University of Central Lancashire's Foster and JB Firth buildings are now located) is long demolished.[5]
Accidents
The disused Miley Tunnel has been the site of several accidents in recent years. Two young men were injured in separate incidents in 1998 and 2000, each falling over 30 feet (10 m) into the tunnel off a wall near Moor Lane. On Christmas Day 2002, a drunken youth fell to his death at the same point. Network Rail erected 10-foot (3 m) fences six weeks later.
In October 2003 another drunken man fell onto the disused line at Maudland Bank but escaped serious injury.[6]
The future
In 2003, the Preston City Link Canal Trust was formed with a plan to reopen part of the Lancaster Canal to a new marina to be constructed in the vicinity of the former Maudland Bridge station. One option being considered is to reopen the Longridge line as far as Deepdale or Ribbleton, the line passing by viaduct over the new marina.[7][8]
