Birkenhead North railway station
Birkenhead North Merseytravel | |
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Platforms | 3 (only 2 see regular use) |
Other information | |
Station code | BKN |
Fare zone | B1 |
Classification | DfT category E |
History | |
Original company | Hoylake Railway |
Pre-grouping | Wirral Railway |
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
Key dates | |
2 January 1888 | Opened as Birkenhead Docks[1] |
1926 | Renamed Birkenhead North |
1938 | Electrified |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 0.921 million |
Interchange | 117,198 |
2019/20 | 1.074 million |
Interchange | 124,556 |
2020/21 | 0.298 million |
Interchange | 32,163 |
2021/22 | 0.681 million |
Interchange | 68,755 |
2022/23 | 0.878 million |
Interchange | 71,783 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Birkenhead North railway station serves the town of
History
The station was built by the Wirral Railway, replacing their earlier terminus at Wallasey Bridge Road (a short distance away), which had opened in 1866. The station was originally known as Birkenhead Docks and opened on 2 January 1888 as a through station with Birkenhead Park station becoming the new terminus.[1]
The station had three through platforms prior to 1898,[2] which it still retains to the present day. However, the outer face of the north side island platform sees little use apart from trains to and from Birkenhead North depot at the start and end of service.
LMS Era
The Wirral Railway subsequently became part of the
Wrexham diesel service
From 4 January 1971 until 2 October 1978,
Signal boxes
Birkenhead North No. 1 was a 40-lever signal box which was situated at the western end of the southern platform and opened in 1888.[10][11] This signal box closed on 9 September 1994 and was demolished over the following two days.[12]
Birkenhead North No. 2 was a 25-lever signal box which was situated to the west of the station, approximately a third of the distance towards Bidston.[13][14] The box was located on the northern side of the Wirral Line at the junction with the Birkenhead Dock Branch goods line.[11][15] The signal box was closed on 15 September 1994 and was subject to arson in November 1994.[14]
Facilities
The station has a booking office, and on-street parking, which has been upgraded and replaced with a Park and Ride facility, linked directly to the platform. The station is staffed, at all times during opening hours, and has platform CCTV. Each platform has open-air seating and live departure and arrival screens, for passenger information. There is a payphone available.[16] The station provides a Park and Ride service. There are 630 car parking spaces which are free to use for travellers, with lighting columns and CCTV to meet Merseytravel's Travelsafe requirements. There is secure cycle storage for 12 cycles.[17] In 2016 charging posts were added to the car park for the recharging of electric vehicles.[18] As of 4 June 2014, there is step-free access to the platforms for passengers with wheelchairs or prams.[19]
Services
Trains operate every 15 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime) to New Brighton and West Kirby and every 5–10 minutes via
Gallery
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Facing towards Birkenhead North TMD, which is at top centre. The new station car park is visible to the top right.
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The view along the line towards Birkenhead Park.
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Looking north towards Bidston from the footbridge
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The station frontage.
References
- ^ a b Maund 2009, pp. 27–28
- ^ Maund 2009, p. 50
- ^ Butt 1995, p. 35
- ^ Maund 2009, p. 154
- ^ Maund 2009, p. 166
- ^ Gahan 1983, p. 58
- ^ Gahan 1983, pp. 53–54
- ^ a b Maund 2009, p. 189
- ^ "Railways at Bidston". Disused Stations. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ^ a b Mitchell & Smith 2014, fig. 16
- ^ a b Mitchell & Smith 2014, map VI
- ^ Maund 2009, p. 220
- ^ Maund 2009, p. 219
- ^ a b Maund 2009, p. 221
- ^ Mitchell & Smith 2014, fig. 22
- ^ "Birkenhead North Station Plan". National Rail. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ "Birkenhead North train station facilities". Merseyrail. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ "Birkenhead North station welcomes more park and riders". Merseytravel. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "New facilities to help disabled users at Birkenhead North station". Merseytravel. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
Sources
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- Gahan, John W. (1983). The Line Beneath The Liners. Birkenhead: Countryvise. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-907-76840-1.
- Maund, T.B. (2009). The Wirral Railway and its Predecessors. Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899-88938-9.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Birkenhead to West Kirby. West Sussex: Middleton Press. OCLC 885451764.
External links
- Train times and station information for Birkenhead North railway station from National Rail
- Station information for Birkenhead North railway station from Merseyrail
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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Wallasey Village towards New Brighton |
Wirral Line New Brighton/West Kirby Branches |
Birkenhead Park towards Liverpool Central | ||
Bidston towards West Kirby |
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Disused railways | ||||
Liscard and Poulton | Wirral Railway Seacombe Branch |
Terminus |