Kirkdale railway station

Kirkdale railway station is a railway station in Kirkdale, Liverpool, England, located to the north of the city centre on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network. It acts as the interchange between the branches to Kirkby and Ormskirk; these lines diverge just north of the station.

Kirkdale TMD train maintenance depot, the largest depot on the Merseyrail Network, is located adjacent to the station.

History

The station was built by the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway and Liverpool and Bury Railway at the start of their joint line into Liverpool, opening in 1848. In 1948 with the advent of British Rail. In 1977 it became part of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.

Five tunnels

The station is aligned north-south. Facing north five tunnel portals can be seen north of the platforms.

A cluster of three very short tunnels running under a road, is to the west. The three short tunnels were to give greater throughput and are all on the same line. The extreme west left hand tunnel is used for shunting. The next tunnel is the main Merseyrail Northern Line tunnel. The third tunnel is disused.

To the east is a cluster of two tunnels. The extreme right hand eastern tunnel was an abandoned project. The adjacent tunnel to the west, nearest the station, runs to Rice Lane in Walton and was a part of the North Liverpool Extension Line. This section of line for five years from 1800 to 1885 carried passengers, however never called at Kirkdale station. The line and tunnel were used until 1979.

Freight lines

Two freight lines passed through or under the station.

The busy Canada Dock Branch freight only line serving Liverpool Docks passes under the station, roughly north-east to south-west, via a tunnel.

The North Liverpool Extension Line, also referred to as the Outer Loop, emerged from the north out of a tunnel next to the station, running parallel to the west platform. This section of line for five years from 1800 to 1885 carried passengers, however never called at Kirkdale station. The line and tunnel were used until 1979.

Refurbishment

The station was extensively refurbished in 2000 to provide an improved footbridge, new lifts on both platforms and a more modern atmosphere, similar to Wavertree Technology Park on the City Line. The refurbishment was several months behind schedule due to the contractor going into receivership, before the project was complete.

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes, Monday-Saturday daytime to either Kirkby or Ormskirk to the north, and every 5 or 10 minutes to Liverpool Central to the south. During the evenings and all day Sundays, services are every 30 minutes to Kirkby and Ormskirk, and every 15 minutes to Liverpool.

External links

• Train times and station information for Kirkdale railway station from National Rail
• Station information from Merseyrail