Burnley - Transport

Transport

Burnley is served by Junctions 9, 10 and 11 of the M65 motorway, which runs west to Accrington, Blackburn and Preston (where it connects to the M6), and northeast to Nelson and Colne. From the town centre, the A646 runs to Todmorden, the A679 to Accrington, the A671 to Clitheroe, and the A682 (a nearby rural section of which has been classified as Britain's most dangerous road) south to Rawtenstall and north east to Nelson and the Yorkshire Dales. The A56 dual carriageway skirts the western edge of the town, linking to the M66 motorway heading towards Manchester and the M62.

Rail services to and from Burnley are provided by Northern Rail. The town has four railway stations: Burnley Manchester Road, Burnley Central, Burnley Barracks and Rose Grove. A fifth station, Hapton, serves Padiham and Hapton to the west of the town, but inside the borough. Manchester Road station has an hourly semi-fast service west to Preston (the nearest station on the West Coast Main Line) and Blackpool North, and east to Leeds and York, whilst the Central and Barracks stations provide an hourly stopping service west to Blackpool South and Preston, and east to Nelson and Colne.

There are also plans for direct trains to Manchester by reinstating a section of track at the Hall Royd Junction of the Caldervale Line (known as the Todmorden curve). This will allow for direct train travel to Manchester Victoria, reducing the journey time to approximately 45 minutes. On 31 October 2011 it was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that the scheme had been granted the money as part of the Regional Growth Fund and would go ahead.

Burnley bus station, designed by Manchester-based SBS Architects, won the UK Bus Award for Infrastructure in 2003. The main bus operator is Transdev Burnley & Pendle, with Tyrer Bus operating some tendered town services. Other services are provided by Coastlinks Express (X27 to Southport), First (589 to Rochdale, 592 to Halifax), Transdev Lancashire United (152 to Preston), Pennine (215 to Skipton), and Rossendale Transport (483 to Bury). National Express operates three coach services to London each day, and one to Birmingham. The town has good bus links into Manchester. The X43/X44 Witch Way service (operated by Burnley & Pendle) runs from Nelson to Manchester via Burnley and Rawtenstall, using a fleet of specially branded double-decker buses. The fastest journeys take 59 minutes.

Burnley does not have an airport, but there are four international airports within an hour's travel of the town: Manchester Airport at 31 miles (50 km), Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 41 miles (66 km), Leeds Bradford Airport at 24 miles (39 km), and Blackpool Airport at 33 miles (53 km).

Since 2009, the Reedley Marina has provided a 100-berth facility, on the Leeds and Liverpool canal on the northern edge of town.