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General information | |||||
Location | St Helens, St Helens England | ||||
Coordinates | 53°27′10″N2°43′48″W / 53.4529°N 2.730°W | ||||
Grid reference | SJ516953 | ||||
Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
Transit authority | Merseytravel | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | SNH | ||||
Fare zone | A1/A2 | ||||
Classification | DfT category D | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | St Helens Canal and Railway | ||||
Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway | ||||
Post-grouping | London Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
Key dates | |||||
1 February 1858 | Opened as St Helens | ||||
1 March 1949 | Renamed St Helens Shaw Street | ||||
11 May 1987 | Renamed St Helens Central | ||||
Passengers | |||||
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St Helens Central railway station (previously known as St. Helens Shaw Street) is a railway station serving the town of St Helens,Merseyside,England. It is on the Liverpool to Wigan Line from Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western. The station and all trains calling at it are operated by TransPennine Express or Northern Trains.
The station is on the Merseytravel City Line. The City Line is the name given to local rail routes out of Liverpool Lime Street operated by companies other than Merseyrail. The City Line appears on Merseytravel network maps as red,and covers the Liverpool-Wigan Line.
The station was originally opened by the St Helens Canal and Railway as St Helens on 1 February 1858 to replace two earlier (1833 and 1849) nearby stations. The original 1833 route from Widnes Dock through the town (along with the branch from St Helens Junction) and onwards to Rainford Junction (opened along with the station in 1858) was joined a decade later by the Lancashire Union Railway to Wigan North Western and Blackburn in December 1869,whilst the route southwestwards to Huyton was opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1871. It was renamed St Helens Shaw Street in 1949.
The station was completely rebuilt in 1961 [1] to a design by the architect William Robert Headley [2] which included and advertised a significant amount of the local Pilkington Vitrolite Glass. The fully glazed ticket hall was illuminated by a tower with a valley roof on two Y-shaped supports. The platform canopies were free standing folded plate roofs on tubular columns.
By this time,the original St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway routes had both closed to passenger traffic,services having ceased on 18 June 1951. The short branch to St Helens Junction suffered the same fate in June 1965 as a result of the Beeching Axe,though freight traffic would continue to operate on both lines until the 1980s.
It then became St Helens Central in 1987 (the original GCR St Helens Central station situated on Corporation Street having been completely closed in 1952 and demolished in the late 1960s). Two years later the through link to St Helens Junction was severed,though the section as far as the Hays Chemicals plant at Sutton Oak remained open until 2002 (the track remains in place but out of use to the present day). [3] This left only the Liverpool to Wigan line in operation,along with a short section of the old Rainford line serving the Pilkington Glass factory at Cowley Hill (near Gerards Bridge) though this has also been disused for several years.
An accident occurred on 11 November 1988,when a train from Blackpool North to Liverpool Lime Street became derailed after it departed from St Helens Central at 23:15. Leaving the station,the driving cab struck a bridge abutment;the driver was killed and 16 passengers received minor injuries. [4]
In 2005,Merseytravel and Network Rail invited tenders for the reconstruction of the station,including a new station building,footbridge and lifts. The new station building and facilities were assembled just a few yards from the 1960s station building and is the third build on the same site. The project came in at a total estimated cost of £6 million, [5] with the European Union contributing £1.7 million towards the total funding. [6] The new footbridge was lifted into place in the early hours of 22 January 2007. Construction work was completed in the summer,with the new waiting rooms and footbridge opened to passengers on 19 September. The new station building was officially opened on 3 December 2007.
Overhead electrification of the Liverpool to Wigan line was completed in 2015. [7] Earlier,modifications to the adjacent bridgeworks were undertaken in 2012 and during 2014 electrification masts and new signals were installed,overhead wiring taking place in early 2015. Northern Rail,the then train operating company,announced the introduction of electric services on the line from the commencement of the new timetable changeover in 2015.
There is a booking office,with a ticket vending machine is provided next to it. Disabled access is facilitated by lifts on both platforms.
Car parking (including disabled bays) is available and is free for rail users,provided a parking ticket for the vehicle is obtained from the ticket office first. Re-charging facilities have recently been provided for electrically powered vehicles.
Cold drink and snack vending machines are provided in the waiting room on the Wigan-bound platform. In March 2012,a dedicated coffee shop serving hot and cold food was opened upstairs in the main station building but closed in September 2012,the franchise remaining vacant up to the present.
As of 2017,St Helens Central operates automatic ticket barriers,replacing a temporary staffed barrier operated by Northern (Arriva Rail North).
During Monday to Saturday daytimes,there is a half-hourly local stopping service between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western,and an hourly fast service between Lime Street and Blackpool North via Preston. [8] Until the May 2018 timetable update,this service started and terminated at Huyton or Liverpool South Parkway. [9] Two TransPennine Express trains call per day from Liverpool Lime Street to Preston and Glasgow Central each way. On Sundays,this is extended to three trains per day in both directions.
On Sundays,there is an hourly service to Wigan/Blackpool and Liverpool,calling at all stations bar Edge Hill.
The typical off-peak service is (Monday-Friday):
3 trains per hour to Liverpool Lime Street 3 trains per hour to Wigan North Western,one of which continues to Blackpool North railway station via Preston railway station
Edge Hill railway station is a railway station that serves the district of Edge Hill, Liverpool, England and is one of the oldest railway stations in the world.
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Broad Green railway station is a railway station serving the Broadgreen district of Liverpool, England, 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street. Established in 1830, it is the world's oldest actively operating railway station.
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Lea Green railway station is in St Helens, Merseyside, England, three miles south of the town centre near the suburb of Clock Face. The station is on the electrified northern route of the two Liverpool to Manchester lines, 10+3⁄4 miles (17 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street. Northern Trains operates the station with Merseytravel sponsorship displaying Merseytravel signs. Constructed in 2000, the station has a park and ride car park fitted with charging points for electrically-powered vehicles, a modern CCTV security system and a booking office at street level.
St Helens Junction railway station is a railway station serving the town of St Helens, Merseyside, England. It is in Sutton, three miles southeast of St Helens town centre. The station is on the electrified northern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line, 12 miles (19 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street. The station and all trains calling there are presently operated by Northern Trains.
Newton-le-Willows railway station is a railway station in the town of Newton-le-Willows, in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, and at the edge of the Merseytravel region. The station is branded Merseyrail. The station is situated on the northern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line, the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. It is a busy feeder station for nearby towns which no longer have railway stations, such as Golborne, Billinge and Haydock. There is also a complimentary bus shuttle service to Haydock Park Racecourse on certain racedays.
The Liverpool–Wigan line is a railway line in the north-west of England, running between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western via St Helens Central station. The line is a part of the electrified Merseyrail Liverpool to Wigan City Line. The stations, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Trains, however the stations are branded Merseyrail using Merseyrail ticketing.
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.
Roby railway station serves the village of Roby, Merseyside, England. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street on the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and 1⁄2 mile (800 m) west of Huyton. It is operated by Northern Trains, as part of Merseytravel's electrified City Line to Manchester and Wigan North Western.
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Garswood railway station serves the village of Garswood in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. It is situated on the electrified Merseytravel Liverpool to Wigan City Line, 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Liverpool Lime Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Trains, however the station is branded Merseyrail using Merseyrail ticketing.
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