General information | |
---|---|
Location | Warrington, Borough of Warrington England |
Coordinates | 53°23′30″N2°35′35″W / 53.3918°N 2.5930°W |
Grid reference | SJ606885 |
Managed by | Northern Trains |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | WAC |
Classification | DfT category D |
History | |
Original company | Cheshire Lines Committee |
Pre-grouping | Cheshire Lines Committee |
Post-grouping | Cheshire Lines Committee |
Key dates | |
9 June 1873 | Opened for goods |
1 August 1873 | Opened as Warrington for passengers |
1875 | Renamed Warrington Central |
1 October 1965 | Closed for goods |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 1.695 million |
Interchange | 0.348 million |
2019/20 | 1.450 million |
Interchange | 0.253 million |
2020/21 | 0.305 million |
Interchange | 63,059 |
2021/22 | 0.939 million |
Interchange | 0.145 million |
2022/23 | 1.103 million |
Interchange | 0.303 million |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Warrington Central is one of three main railway stations serving the town of Warrington in Cheshire,England. It is located on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Lines,the former Cheshire Lines Committee route between Liverpool and Manchester;the station is situated approximately halfway between the two cities.
The second station in the town is Warrington Bank Quay,which accommodates electrified lines on the West Coast Main Line with services to London Euston,Birmingham New Street,Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central. The third is Warrington West,which opened in 2019 and has the same services as Central.
The station opened as Warrington on 1 August 1873 when the Cheshire Lines Committee opened the line between Glazebrook and Cressington &Grassendale to passengers. The suffix Central was added in 1875. [lower-alpha 1] [2] [3]
The station is located on a raised embankment on the eastern side of where the line crosses Winwick Street,on the northern edge of the town centre. [4] The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) 1865 plan had Warrington station positioned to the north on the straight route,halfway between Padgate and Sankey stations in a direct line;this would have been about 1,000 yards (910 m) further from the town. As a result of Warrington residents agitating to have the railway come closer to the town centre. A loop was constructed into the town and Warrington station and goods yard was constructed on it. The loop and station opened in 1873;the direct route,otherwise known as the Warrington avoiding line,was not opened until 1883. [3] [5]
The original station building,which faces away from the town and is not easily seen by passengers,is an impressively long one-storey fine Italianate building of twenty bays in yellow brick with decorative stonework,numerous rusticated round-headed windows,a projecting central block with balustrades. The western end has a pavilion with a pyramidal roof. [6] [7]
It had (and still has) two platforms on either side of two running lines with a subway between them at the Winwick Street end. This subway was later opened out to provide access direct from Winwick Street to each platform. Although the train timetable has often included passenger train services terminating at Warrington Central,there have never been any bay platforms. Terminating services use one of the two through platforms and usually proceed afterwards,as empty coaching stock,into the sidings to the east of the station [8]
The station was rebuilt in 1983 with a street-level entrance facing on to Winwick Street. [9] Lifts to both platforms were installed in June 2008. [10] The station was refurbished in 2011 with improvements to "customer facilities". [11]
There was a goods yard and shed to the north of the lines and east of the station. [12]
The original goods shed was adjacent to the main running lines,it had one line running through it,with a further goods platform to its north. The goods yard was able to accommodate most types of goods including live stock and was equipped with a five ton crane. [13] [14]
It was replaced in 1897 by a larger building set further back from the main lines,on the site of the original goods platform. [15] This warehouse was a three-storey buff-red brick with segmental windows set in brick panels decorated with moulded Accrington brick. The dominant feature of the warehouse is the series of large concrete panels under the roofline displaying the name of the CLC and its owning companies. [7] It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. [16]
There were several cattle pens to the north-west of the goods yard and several short sidings immediately to the east of the passenger station. The goods yard crane had been upgraded to ten-tons. [15] [17]
The goods depot was the last on the line,goods traffic ceased and the depot closed in 1982. [18]
The warehouse has been redeveloped into apartments with several new build blocks occupying the former goods yard site. [16]
Sometime prior to 1893 a single road engine shed was provided to the south of the station,immediately behind the Liverpool bound platform. The shed was a sub-shed of Brunswick which usually supplied three locomotives. Turntable facilities were available on the spur to Whitecross Ironworks approximately half a mile away from the station. [19] The shed had been demolished by 1938,leaving just a stabling road. [20] By 1955 there were two stabling sidings with a headshunt. [19] It became a sub-shed of Trafford Park when Brunswick closed in 1961 and probably closed around 1966. [19]
On 4 November 1880 a Cheshire Lines passenger train from Liverpool came slightly into collision with the rear of a Midland goods train,there were no injuries. [21]
From street level,passengers climb six steps or a short ramp to reach the booking office,and climb further steps or use the lifts to reach the platforms. The station has a customer service office,toilets,waiting rooms,a newsagent and a coffee stall. [22] Outside there is a car park and a taxi rank. The station is located close to Warrington Bus Interchange. [23]
As of the May 2023 timetable,an average of eight trains an hour stop at Warrington Central at off-peak times. Northern Trains operates one through stopping service in each direction each hour between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road plus a second service each hour to/from Liverpool that starts/finishes here. Some extra peak and early morning/late evening services also operate between here and Manchester. On Sundays the service is hourly. [24]
East Midlands Railway operates an hourly service to and from Liverpool Lime Street calling at Liverpool South Parkway and Widnes,which continues via Manchester,Sheffield and Nottingham to Norwich. Late services run to Nottingham only. [24]
TransPennine Express also operates hourly services from Liverpool to Manchester,Sheffield,Doncaster and Cleethorpes [25] This calls at Birchwood,Irlam and Urmston en-route to Manchester Mondays to Saturdays (Birchwood only on a Sunday).
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Warrington West | Northern Trains Liverpool Lime Street –Manchester Airport | Birchwood | ||
Widnes | Northern Trains Liverpool to Manchester Line | Padgate | ||
Warrington West | Birchwood | |||
Widnes | East Midlands Railway Liverpool –Norwich | Manchester Oxford Road | ||
Birchwood Limited Service | ||||
Warrington West | TransPennine Express South TransPennine | Birchwood | ||
Liverpool South Parkway | ||||
Future services | ||||
Liverpool Lime Street | Northern Connect Liverpool Lime Street –Manchester Airport | Manchester Piccadilly |
Manchester Oxford Road railway station is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the second busiest of the four stations in Manchester city centre.
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated 143 miles (230 km) of track in the then counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The railway did not become part of the Big Four during the implementation of the 1923 grouping, surviving independently with its own management until the railways were nationalised at the beginning of 1948. The railway served Liverpool, Manchester, Stockport, Warrington, Widnes, Northwich, Winsford, Knutsford, Chester and Southport with connections to many other railways.
Warrington Bank Quay is one of three railway stations serving the town centre of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is a principal stop on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central. The station is a north–south oriented main-line station on one side of the main shopping area, with the west–east oriented Warrington West and Warrington Central operating a more frequent service to the neighbouring cities of Liverpool and Manchester.
Sankey for Penketh railway station, also known as just Sankey, is a railway station in the west of Warrington, Cheshire, England, serving the Great Sankey, Penketh and Whittle Hall areas of the town. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Trains. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.
Widnes railway station is a railway station serving the industrial town of Widnes, Halton, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The station is operated by Northern Trains.
Hough Green railway station is a railway station to the west of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade listed building. The station is on the Liverpool–Warrington–Manchester line 10 miles 42 chains (16.9 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street and all trains serving it are operated by Northern Trains.
Southport Lord Street was a railway station located on Lord Street, Southport, Merseyside, England. It was the terminus of the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway from Liverpool.
Altcar and Hillhouse was a railway station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway near Great Altcar, Lancashire, England.
Stockport Tiviot Dale was one of two main railway stations serving the town of Stockport, Cheshire, England; the other being Stockport Edgeley.
Northenden railway station in Sharston, Manchester, England, was built by the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway (ST&AJ) and opened for passenger and goods traffic on 1 February 1866.
Stockport Portwood railway station was a railway station in Stockport, England on the Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway
Cheadle North railway station served the village of Cheadle, six miles south of Manchester. It was renamed from Cheadle to Cheadle North on 1 July 1950.
Manchester Oldham Road station opened in 1839 as the terminus station of the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) in Collyhurst, Manchester. When the M&LR opened Manchester Victoria in 1844 as its new Manchester passenger station Oldham Road was converted to a goods station which it remained until its closure in 1968.
Leigh was a railway station in Bedford, Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom, on the London and North Western Railway. Leigh was in the historic county of Lancashire. Its station opened as Bedford Leigh in 1864, was renamed Leigh & Bedford in 1876 and Leigh in 1914. The station closed in 1969.
Widnes South railway station was located in the town of Widnes in Cheshire, England on the east side of Victoria Road. It was built by the London and North Western Railway and situated on their Widnes Deviation Line, opening to passengers and goods in March 1870. This route was constructed by the LNWR to improve traffic flow on the busy Ditton Junction to Warrington Bank Quay Low Level and Manchester. It replaced an earlier station on the G&WR line located slightly further south and also had a connection to the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway, providing access towards the north.
St Helens Central (GCR) railway station served the town of St Helens, England with passenger traffic between 1900 and 1952 and goods traffic until 1965. It was the terminus of a branch line from Lowton St Mary's.
Parkside railway station was an original station on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It then became the interchange station between lines when the Wigan Branch Railway opened in 1832, moving to the physical junction of the two lines in 1838. The station continued as an interchange until being by-passed in 1847 when a west curve was opened to facilitate north–south links that did not go through the station. Traffic declined further after the Winwick cut-off opened in 1864 leading to closure in 1878.
Golborne South railway station was one of two stations serving the town of Golborne, to the south of Wigan.
Lowton railway station served the village named Town of Lowton to the east of Newton-le-Willows and south of Golborne.
Preston Brook railway station was a station on the Grand Junction Railway serving the villages of Preston Brook and Preston on the Hill in what was then Cheshire, England. It opened on 4 July 1837 when the line opened.