General information | |
---|---|
Location | Hoylake, Wirral England |
Grid reference | SJ216887 |
Managed by | Merseyrail |
Transit authority | Merseytravel |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | HYK |
Fare zone | B2 |
Classification | DfT category E |
Key dates | |
1866 | Opened |
1938 | Rebuilt and electrified |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 0.574 million |
2019/20 | 0.645 million |
2020/21 | 0.160 million |
2021/22 | 0.369 million |
2022/23 | 0.418 million |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Hoylake railway station serves the town of Hoylake,Merseyside,England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
The station was opened to regular service on 2 July 1866,as part of the Hoylake Railway to Birkenhead Dock railway station. [1] [2] The station originally had low cinder-filled platforms. [3] An extension to West Kirby was opened on 1 April 1878,and the line from West Kirby was doubled in 1896. [4] [5] The station had a signal box which was originally built at the eastern end of the station and provided in 1889. [5] [6] The 21-lever signal box was moved,to be adjacent to the level crossing,in 1895. [6]
From no later than 1901,there were several sidings to the east of the station. [7] There was a carriage shed and a Wirral Railway paint shop from prior to 1912. [8] [9] [10] The paint shop was closed after the LMS takeover. [11]
Prior to 1938,the station was of varying architectural styles. [12] Built in 1938 adjoining the Up platform,the current station building,designed by the architect William Henry Hamlyn,is in the Art Deco style,with a circular clerestory over the booking hall,becoming a Grade II Listed Building in 1988. [13] [14] [15] [16] The sign currently on display in front of the station was recently restored during a renovation. [17] The adjoining footbridge was built at the same time as the Art Deco building,and new level crossing gates were installed. [9] [18] The goods yard had a 5-ton crane from 1938. [19]
Through electric services to Liverpool Central commenced on 13 March 1938,when the LMS electrified the lines from Birkenhead Park to West Kirby. [20] [21] The service was provided by the then-new LMS electric multiple units. However,on Sunday mornings,the service was provided by the older Mersey Railway electric units which,up until that point,had only ever run from Liverpool to Birkenhead Park. [22]
The multiple sidings to the east of the station continued to be used until 1965.[ citation needed ] They were used both to store out-of-service electric trains and to serve a freight depot receiving coal for domestic distribution,and also to fuel the gasworks situated alongside the line at this point [23] [7] which lasted until 1954. [24] The signal box,which had a manual gate wheel for the level crossing,was closed on 17 September 1994 and demolished a few days later. [6] [25]
When the Open Golf Championship was held at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club (situated between West Kirby and Hoylake) in July 2006,September 2012,July 2014 and July 2023,services terminated here during the tournament. [26] This was to allow competitors and public to cross the tracks from the practice course on one side to the championship course on the other. [26] [27] This caused some controversy in West Kirby locally in 2006,especially given the increase in passengers during the championship. [28] [29] A rail replacement bus service was put in place between Hoylake and West Kirby. [30]
The station is staffed during all opening hours,and has platform CCTV. [31] Each of the two platforms has a seated waiting shelter. There is a payphone,booking office and live departure and arrival screens,for passenger information. [31] The station provides a "Park and Ride" service. There are a further 167 car parking spaces, [32] which are free to use for travellers,with lighting columns and CCTV to meet Merseytravel's Travelsafe requirements,as well as a 14-space cycle rack. [32] There is step-free access available to both platforms by the use of the level crossing.
Current services are every 15 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime) to West Kirby and Liverpool. At other times,trains operate every 30 minutes. [33] Services are provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 777 EMUs.
The Wirral Railway was a railway network in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula,England. Its route was from Birkenhead Park in the east of the Wirral to West Kirby in the west. A branch off this line at Bidston went north to Secombe and New Brighton. 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 rail network.
Liverpool James Street is a railway station located in the centre of Liverpool,England;it is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. James Street is an underground station,with access to the platforms via lifts from the booking hall. At certain times,the platforms are accessed via a pedestrian tunnel from the India Buildings on Water Street. As of 2013/14,James Street was the fifth-busiest station on the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Hamilton Square railway station serves the town of Birkenhead,in Merseyside,England,on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station is close to Hamilton Square in Birkenhead.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside,England,the other being the Northern line.
West Kirby railway station serves the town of West Kirby in Merseyside,England. The station is the terminus of the West Kirby branch line,which is one of the two branches of the Wirral Line on the Merseyrail network. There is a central island platform between two terminus tracks and two parallel sidings for out-of-use electric multiple units. A second station,which was the terminus of a branch line from Hooton,lay to the east of the Wirral Line station;it was closed in 1962.
Bidston railway station serves the village of Bidston,Merseyside,England. The station is situated at a junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral line,which is part of the Merseyrail network;it also serves as the northern terminus for the Borderlands line from Wrexham Central,with services operated by Transport for Wales.
New Brighton railway station serves the suburb of New Brighton in Wallasey,Merseyside,England. It is situated at the end of the New Brighton branch of the Wirral Line 8.25 miles (13.28 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Conway Park railway station is situated in the centre of Birkenhead,Merseyside,England. It lies on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Park railway station is a station serving the town of Birkenhead,in Merseyside,England. It lies on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead North railway station serves the town of Birkenhead,in Merseyside,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.
British Rail Class 503 passenger trains were 65 mph (105 km/h) electric multiple units. They were introduced in two batches:the first were in 1938,by the London,Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS),with a further batch in 1956 by the then nationalised British Railways (BR). When introduced by the LMS,they were known officially as Class AM3. They were designed for,and operated on,the Wirral &Mersey lines from Liverpool to West Kirby,New Brighton and Rock Ferry. There were few places on their network of closely-spaced stations to attain their maximum speed,except for the open section between Moreton and Meols. All but one set were withdrawn and scrapped by 1985. The final set was used on special Merseyrail services until 1988;it was preserved and kept at the Electric Railway Museum near Coventry,until it moved on to the Locomotive Storage Ltd warehouse at Margate.
Spital railway station is a railway station serving the village of Spital in Merseyside,England. The station is located on the Wirral Line operated by Merseyrail and there are frequent third rail electric train services to Liverpool,Chester and Ellesmere Port.
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.
Leasowe railway station is a station serving the village of Leasowe,in Merseyside,England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
Moreton railway station serves the town of Moreton,in Merseyside,England. The station is on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,which is part of the Merseyrail network.
Meols railway station is a station serving the village of Meols,in Merseyside,England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
Manor Road railway station is a station in Merseyside,England that serves the towns of Hoylake and Meols. It is located on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
Rock Ferry railway station is situated in the Rock Ferry area of Birkenhead,Merseyside,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.
The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in North West England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead,Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting the port of Birkenhead and the city of Chester with 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.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
West Kirby Terminus | Merseyrail Wirral Line West Kirby Branch | Manor Road towards Liverpool Central |