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General information | |
Location | Rainford, St Helens England |
Coordinates | 53°31′01″N2°47′20″W / 53.517°N 2.789°W |
Grid reference | SD478025 |
Managed by | Northern Trains |
Transit authority | Merseytravel |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | RNF |
Fare zone | A2 |
Classification | DfT category F2 |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | ![]() |
2019/20 | ![]() |
2020/21 | ![]() |
2021/22 | ![]() |
2022/23 | ![]() |
Location | |
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Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Rainford railway station is situated to the north of the village of Rainford,Merseyside,England. It is on the Kirkby branch line. The station,and all trains serving it,are operated by Northern Trains.
It was built in 1858 as Rainford Junction [1] at the junction of the Liverpool and Bury Railway,the East Lancashire Railway's Skelmersdale Branch and the St. Helens Railway,replacing an earlier station (1848) called Rainford. The main line and Skelmersdale branch were taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1859,whilst the St Helens line became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1864. The former L&BR route was subsequently upgraded by the L&YR to become its main line between Liverpool and Manchester,carrying expresses to Manchester Victoria,Bradford Exchange and Leeds Central as well as local trains to Wigan Wallgate and Bolton until after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948 and well beyond.
Services on the line to St Helens were withdrawn by the British Transport Commission on 18 June 1951 and to Ormskirk on 5 November 1956, [2] although goods traffic survived on both until the early 1960s.
Through trains from Liverpool Exchange to Bolton via Wigan continued until 1977,though the line from here westwards to Fazakerley had been reduced to single track operation in May 1970. [3] After the closure of Exchange in May 1977,the line was severed at Kirkby,with through passengers having to change between diesel and electric services there to continue their journeys. The station signal box was retained to supervise the 5+1⁄4 miles (8.4 km) single line section (since shortened to 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) since the opening of the new Headbolt Lane station) to what was now the terminus of the branch – this remains in operation today and is now the only one left on the line.
The station was renamed Rainford on 7 May 1973.
Though the station had sizeable buildings on both platforms at one time, the last of these (on the Wigan-bound platform) was demolished in the late 1990s. [3] There are now just basic shelters in place on each side, along with a footbridge to connect them. The disused branch platform faces are still visible, but heavily overgrown. The station is unmanned but contains a card only ticket machine. Train running information can be obtained by dot matrix displays, telephone or from timetable poster boards on each platform. Step-free access is available on both platforms via ramps from the nearby road. [4]
All services at Rainford are operated by Northern Trains.
The station is served by one train per hour between Headbolt Lane and Blackburn via Wigan Wallgate and Manchester Victoria. Connections for Merseyrail services to and from Liverpool Central can be made by changing at Headbolt Lane. [5]
No services call at the station during late evenings or on Sundays.
Preceding station | ![]() | Following station | ||
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Northern Trains Monday-Saturday only | ||||
Disused railways | ||||
Hey's Crossing Halt | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway | Terminus | ||
London and North Western Railway |
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lines – the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The network uses 750 V DC third rail electrified lines having 75.0 miles (120.7 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) are underground. Since January 2023, Merseyrail commenced replacing its train fleet, withdrawing the Class 507 and 508 trains and introducing 53 new Class 777 trains. The network carried 25.5 million passengers in the 2022/2023 statistical period.
The Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed in 1845 and opened on 28 November 1848. The line ran from Liverpool Exchange first using a joint line with Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway before branching off to proceed via Kirkby then Wigan and Bolton to Bury.
Ormskirk railway station in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, is a cross-platform interchange between Merseyrail services from Liverpool Central and Northern Trains services from Preston on the Ormskirk branch line, 12+3⁄4 miles (20.5 km) northeast of Liverpool. The station building and three arch road bridge are both Grade II listed structures.
Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. The station is the terminal of the Southport branch of the Northern Line of the electric Merseyrail network and the diesel-operated Manchester-Southport Line. It is the fourth busiest station on the Merseyrail network. The station and services to Liverpool and Hunts Cross are operated by Merseyrail, with Manchester services operated by Northern Trains.
Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
Wigan Wallgate railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The station serves two routes, the Manchester-Southport Line and the Manchester-Kirkby Line. It is 16 miles north-west of Manchester Victoria. The station is managed by Northern Trains, who operate all trains serving it.
Pemberton railway station serves the Pemberton area of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. It is on the Kirkby branch line from Wigan Wallgate.
Orrell railway station serves the Orrell area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is a small two-platform commuter hub on the Kirkby branch line from Wigan.
There once were four direct railway routes between Liverpool and Manchester in the North West of England; only two remain, the two centre routes of the four. The most northerly and the most southerly of the four routes are no longer direct lines. Of the remaining two direct routes, the northern route of the two is fully electric, while the now southern route is a diesel-only line. The most northerly of the four has been split into two routes: the western section operated by Merseyrail electric trains and the eastern section by diesel trains, requiring passengers to change trains between the two cities. The fourth route, the most southerly of the four, has been largely abandoned east of Warrington; the remaining section caters mainly for freight trains.
Upholland railway station serves the small town of Up Holland in the southern Lancashire/Wigan boundary area of England. It is on the Kirkby branch line from Wigan Wallgate and means the service runs through three counties on its journey from Wigan to Kirkby.
The Skelmersdale branch was a standard gauge railway (SKE) which connected the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Rainford Junction via Skelmersdale. At Rainford it connected with the Liverpool and Bury Railway and the St. Helens Railway. It was built by the East Lancashire Railway, which was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway shortly afterward. The steam railmotor which served the line was sometimes known locally as the "Skem Dodger" and other times as the "Skem Jazzer".
Salford Central railway station is in the city of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, close to Spinningfields and Deansgate. It is served by trains to and from Manchester Victoria, towards Rochdale and Wigan Wallgate.
Kirkby railway station is situated in Kirkby, Merseyside, England. It is situated 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of Liverpool Central and is on the Kirkby branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line.
Fazakerley railway station is a railway station in Fazakerley, Liverpool, England. It is situated on the Headbolt Lane branch of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network.
Hindley railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Hindley in Greater Manchester, England. It is on the Manchester to Southport line, west of where the route branches to use either the Atherton line or the Eastern Branch line via Westhoughton, Lostock and Bolton.
Westhoughton railway station is one of the two stations which serve the town of Westhoughton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, north-western England. The station is 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) north west of Manchester Piccadilly.
Atherton railway station serves the town of Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the line between Wigan and Manchester on the Manchester to Southport Line; according to Office of Rail and Road figures, it is the third busiest station on the line after Manchester Victoria and Wigan Wallgate.
Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874 and carried passengers from 1858 to 1956.
The Kirkby Branch Line is a branch railway line from Wigan to Headbolt Lane. The line's original route was from Liverpool to Bury and later the most northern of the Liverpool to Manchester lines. The line was split at Kirkby in 1977 with the western section forming a high frequency branch of the electrified Merseyrail Northern Line, also referred to as the Kirkby branch line. The Kirkby branch to Wigan remained a low frequency diesel operated service by Northern Trains from Headbolt Lane to Manchester.
Headbolt Lane is a railway station in Kirkby, Merseyside, England, which opened on 5 October 2023.