Birkenhead is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, until 1974, in Cheshire. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818.
The Wirral Railway was a railway network in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway, running from Hoylake to Birkenhead Docks. After changes of name and of ownership, it was purchased by the Wirral Railway Company Limited in 1884. The network was extended to West Kirby, New Brighton, and Seacombe, and to Birkenhead Park station where it joined the Mersey Railway, enabling through trains through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. In the 1923 grouping the Wirral company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which electrified the line in 1938, allowing passenger services to be integrated with the Liverpool urban system. Most of the Wirral Railway network is still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail commuter rail network.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.
The Chester–Birkenhead line runs from Chester to Birkenhead via Hooton. It forms part of the Wirral Line network, a commuter rail system operated by Merseyrail. The line was built by the Chester and Birkenhead Railway and opened on 23 September 1840. On 22 July 1847 the railway merged with the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway which was later renamed to Birkenhead Railway.
West Kirby railway station is situated in the town of West Kirby, Wirral, England. The station is located at the end of one of the branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network, and is the westernmost terminal on the Wirral Line. There is a central island platform between two terminus tracks, and two parallel sidings for out-of-use electric trains. The beach can be reached easily from the station.
Bidston railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Bidston, Birkenhead, on the Wirral, England. The station is situated at the junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral line, which is part of the Merseyrail network, and with the Borderlands line from Wrexham Central, operated by Transport for Wales. Bidston is the northern terminal of the Borderlands Line.
Birkenhead Park railway station is a two-platform through station situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead North railway station is situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. The station is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network, close to the junction of the New Brighton and West Kirby branches. Birkenhead North TMD, situated just to the west of the station, is the main Traction Maintenance Depot for the Merseyrail fleet.
Hooton railway station is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 8 miles (13 km) north of Chester and 9+1⁄2 miles (15.3 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network, and is the junction of the branch from the Chester line to Ellesmere Port. It serves the villages of Hooton and Willaston.
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It was served by local services in Cheshire as well as long-distance services to southern England, including London.
Woodside is a small riverside locality in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England, situated almost opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.
Seacombe railway station was located in Wallasey, Wirral, England. The station was opened by the Wirral Railway in 1895 and closed in 1963.
Ince & Elton railway station, on the Hooton–Helsby line, serves both Ince and Elton in Cheshire, England. The station is unstaffed.
Rock Ferry railway station is situated in the Rock Ferry area of Birkenhead, Wirral, England. The station lies 4.5 miles (7 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station has an island platform with four platforms in total and four tracks. Two platforms are unused with two tracks used for train stabling. The Birkenhead Dock Branch line branched off the line south of the station, with freight trains passing to the western side of the station. The freight line fell into disuse in 1993.
Birkenhead Town railway station is a disused railway station in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It was located near the current entrance to the Queensway Tunnel on Grange Road.
Kirby Park railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.
Birkenhead Dock Branch is a disused railway line running from the South junction of Rock Ferry, to the site of the former Bidston Dock on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The branch is approximately 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) in length. Although called a branch, the line was accessible from both ends, from Bidston East junction and from Rock Ferry railway station. The former Mollington Street Rail Depot was branched into the line. A section of the line runs through Haymarket Tunnel and a low-level cutting through the centre of Birkenhead; visible from the road flyovers. The former Canning Street North signal box has now been demolished following fire damage, and the rails across the level crossing there have been removed due to the provision of cycle lanes on the roadway. The non-standard gates remain on the east side, but a fence has been erected on the other side despite the railway being officially out of use, rather than closed. Level crossings are also located at Duke Street and Wallasey Bridge Road. The railway lines are still partially intact.
The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting Chester and the manufacturing districts of Lancashire by making a junction near Warrington with the Grand Junction Railway. The BL&CJR took over the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1847, keeping its own name for the combined company until it shortened its name to The Birkenhead Railway in 1859. It was taken over jointly, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR). It remained a Joint Railway until Nationalisation of the railways in 1948.
Birkenhead Grange Lane was a railway station in Birkenhead, England. On opening, the station was the northern terminus of the Chester and Birkenhead Railway. The station was opened in 1840, and closed to passengers in 1844 but the site remained in use for goods until the 1970s.
Birkenhead Dock railway station was situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. The station opened as the eastern terminus of the Hoylake Railway in 1866. With the opening of the horse drawn Woodside and Birkenhead Dock Street Tramway in 1873, the station probably became the world's first tram to train interchange station. The station was closed to passengers in 1888 being superseded by Birkenhead Docks railway station which was later named Birkenhead North. The former passenger station was renamed Birkenhead Dock Goods, with the platforms still in existence in 1937, with the goods station closing the following year. The site was used as railway sidings until the 1990s.
