General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Upton, Wirral England | ||||
Grid reference | SJ279882 | ||||
Managed by | Transport for Wales | ||||
Transit authority | Merseytravel | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | UPT | ||||
Fare zone | B1 | ||||
Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
Key dates | |||||
1896 | Opened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 22,502 | ||||
2020/21 | 2,974 | ||||
2021/22 | 12,784 | ||||
2022/23 | 18,278 | ||||
2023/24 | 15,360 | ||||
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Upton railway station serves the village of Upton and the Noctorum area of Birkenhead,on the Wirral Peninsula,England. The station is situated on the Borderlands line. Transport for Wales operates the station and all trains serving it.
Upton Station was opened to passengers on 18 May 1896,as part of the Dee and Birkenhead Railway. [1] The station became part of the North Wales and Liverpool Railway,less than three months later,on 7 July 1896. [1]
The station had a booking office on the road bridge which spans the two platforms. [2] [3] [4] Staffing ended on 20 April 1969, [5] with the booking office removed during redevelopment of the station and expansion of the road bridge in the 1970s. The station had a brick-built waiting room situated on each platform. [4] [6]
Adjacent to the station there was a coal and goods yard with a cattle pen. [7] From 1 February 1965,the goods yard only handled coal,and closed on 28 April 1969. [7] The site of the goods yard now has a Co-operative supermarket. Access to the yard was operated by a small signal box with a 24-lever frame,which was used until 25 June 1969. [8] The signal box was situated at the southern end of the Bidston-bound platform. [9]
Iron ore freight trains also passed through the station. [3] [9] These freight trains operated from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton. The Class 9F locomotive 92203,later named as Black Prince,worked the final steam-hauled iron ore train in November 1967. [10] [11] [12] The freight service itself ended around 1980.
Proposals have been put forward to electrify the track as part of the proposed Borderlands line electrification scheme. Merseyrail would like to see the line electrified and incorporated into the Wirral line to link with its own third-rail service,with a doubling of the frequency of services. [13] This would allow the station to serve as a part of a direct service to Liverpool.
Transport for Wales have an Adopt a Station initiative. Upton station is on their list of adopted stations and has been adopted by a member,or members,of the public. [14]
In June 2018 it was announced that,as part of the new KeolisAmey operation of the Wales &Borders franchise,the frequency of trains on the line would increase to 2tph from December 2022. [15] It is expected to be increased by December 2021,but is currently experiencing delays that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. [16]
The station facilities are somewhat rudimentary. Although longer,each platform is surfaced to receive four carriages only. [17] The station is unstaffed at nearly all times,but has platform CCTV. [18] Each of the two platforms has a waiting shelter with seating. There is no payphone or booking office,but there are electronic departure and arrival screens for live information to passengers. There is no official station car park,but very limited parking outside the station,at the drop-off point,on the old Ford Road bridge. Wheelchair and pram access to each of the two platforms is possible,and relatively easy,via the ramp-staircases. Though,as yet,platform access has not been modernised to the standard of that at Hooton.
From Monday to Saturday,there is a service every 45 minutes between Bidston and Wrexham Central (two-hourly in the evening and on Bank Holidays). [19] There is a service every 90 minutes each way on Sundays. Services are timed according to a Class 153 Super Sprinter DMU, [20] although usually provided by a Transport for Wales Class 150/2 Sprinter DMU.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Heswall | Transport for Wales Borderlands Line | Bidston | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Storeton | Great Central Railway North Wales and Liverpool Railway | Bidston |
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.
The Borderlands line, also known as the Bidston–Wrexham or Wrexham–Bidston line, is a railway line between Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula in England and Wrexham Central in the north-east of Wales. Passenger train services are part of the Wales & Borders franchise and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester line at Wrexham General. Parts of the line in Wales are used by freight trains, serving Deeside Industrial Park and the Hanson Cement works to the south of Buckley.
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.
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.
Hawarden Bridge railway station is a railway station near Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. It is situated on the Borderlands line 13 miles (21 km) north of Wrexham Central, on the north side of Hawarden Bridge over the River Dee. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Transport for Wales.
Wrexham General is the main railway station serving the city of Wrexham, north-east Wales, and one of the two serving the city, alongside Wrexham Central. It is currently operated and mostly served by Transport for Wales, with some additional services provided by Avanti West Coast to London Euston.
Wallasey Village railway station serves the Wallasey Village suburb of Wallasey, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Line 6¼ miles (9 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Wallasey Grove Road railway station serves the town of Wallasey in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Line 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Heswall railway station is a railway station on the eastern edge of the town of Heswall on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is on the Borderlands Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Transport for Wales. In 2008 the station was refurbished. The station was previously known as Heswall Hills, as there was previously another station serving Heswall, on the Birkenhead Railway's branch line from West Kirby to Hooton, that is now a footpath known as the Wirral Way.
Wrexham Central railway station is the smaller of two railway stations serving the central area of Wrexham in Wales, the other being Wrexham General. The platform can accommodate a three car diesel train, but has room for platform extension. It is the southern terminus of the Borderlands Line, also known as the Wrexham-Bidston line, which links north-east Wales to Merseyside.
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station located at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It served both local services within Cheshire and 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.
Neston railway station serves the town of Neston, Cheshire, England. It is the southernmost station on the English part of the Borderlands Line before it reaches Wales. The station is 8¾ miles (14 km) south of Bidston.
Buckley railway station serves the town of Buckley in Flintshire, Wales. The station is 8½ miles (14 km) north of Wrexham Central on the Borderlands Line.
Penyffordd railway station serves the village of Penyffordd in Flintshire, Wales. The station is 7¼ miles (12 km) north of Wrexham Central on the Borderlands Line.
Hope railway station serves the village of Hope in Flintshire, Wales. The station is 5+1⁄4 miles (8.4 km) north of Wrexham Central on the Borderlands Line. The name of the station in Welsh is Yr Hôb.
Caergwrle railway station serves the village of Caergwrle in Flintshire, Wales. The station is 4¾ miles (7 km) north of Wrexham Central on the Borderlands Line.
Cefn-y-bedd railway station serves the village of Cefn-y-bedd in Flintshire, Wales. The station is 4 miles (6 km) north of Wrexham Central on the Borderlands Line. It was opened in 1866 by the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway, which later became part of the Great Central Railway system.
Gwersyllt railway station serves the area of Gwersyllt in the city of Wrexham in North Wales. It is one of five stations in the Wrexham County Borough.
Upton Station is on the list of stations adopted as part of the Adopt a Station initiative of Transport for Wales.