Bidston railway station
Bidston  | |
|---|---|
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Bidston station in 2007, seen from the footbridge, facing west towards Leasowe | |
| Location | |
| Place | Bidston |
| Local authority | Wirral |
| Grid reference | SJ283908 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BID |
| Managed by | Merseyrail |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | E |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2004/05 | 0.095 million |
| 2005/06 |
 0.100 million |
| 2006/07 |
0.109 million |
| 2007/08 |
0.119 million |
| 2008/09 |
0.286 million |
| 2009/10 |
 0.263 million |
| 2010/11 |
0.273 million |
| 2011/12 |
0.275 million |
| - Interchange | 0.102 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.265 million |
| - Interchange |
0.105 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.293 million |
| - Interchange |
0.097 million |
| 2014/15 |
0.321 million |
| - Interchange |
0.093 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | Merseytravel |
| Zone | B1 |
| History | |
| 2 July 1866 | Opened[1] |
| 4 July 1870 | Closed[1] |
| 1 August 1872 | Reopened[1] |
| June 1890 | Closed[1] |
| 18 May 1896 | Reopened as a junction[1] |
| 1938 | Electrified |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bidston from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
| UK Railways portal | |
Bidston railway station is a railway station in Bidston, Birkenhead, on the Wirral, England. The station is situated at the junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, which is part of the Merseyrail network, and with the Borderlands Line from Wrexham Central, operated by Arriva Trains Wales.
History
The station was originally built by the Hoylake Railway, opened on 2 July 1866, as an intermediate station on their line from Birkenhead to Hoylake, but closed on 4 July 1870, reopening on 1 August 1872.[1] The line was extended to West Kirby in 1878 to the west and into a new station to the east at Birkenhead Docks (the current Birkenhead North station). After its closure in June 1890[1] due to low passenger numbers, the station was permanently reopened as a junction on 18 May 1896[1] and the North Wales and Liverpool Railway opened their line to Hawarden Bridge, which joined the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway line to Wrexham Central.
Through trains to Liverpool commenced in 1938 when the London Midland and Scottish Railway electrified the line to West Kirby. During the earlier half of the twentieth century, Bidston station was known as Bidston Dee Junction and was a busy interchange between the Wirral line electric services and the Seacombe to Wrexham and Chester Northgate steam trains. In 1960 the Wrexham service (by now operated by diesel trains) was diverted east of Bidston to terminate at New Brighton and later to Birkenhead North.[2] However it was subsequently cut back to start and terminate at Bidston in October 1978[3] and this remains the situation today. Subsequently, the line between Bidston West and North Junctions was severed, after its closure on 28 November 1983,[1] removing the direct route to New Brighton and Bidston Dock.
The station has always been primarily a transfer point between trains, relatively isolated from everywhere, by foot, except Bidston Village, which remains the position today. Until 1970, the approach road was just a track and not properly surfaced.
Signal Boxes
Bidston had four signal boxes in 1899.[4] These signal boxes were situated alongside the Dee, West, East and North junctions. The nearest to the station was the Bidston Dee Junction box.[4] The second Dee Junction signal box was built in the 1930s by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and was much larger than the earlier signal box which had been built by the Wirral Railway.[5] This signal box had a 65-lever frame and also took over the operation of Bidston North Junction, when built.[5] Bidston Dee Junction signal box was closed on 17 September 1994,[6] and demolished two months later on 20 November.[5]
Engine shed and freight use
Bidston station had a nearby engine shed. Bidston engine shed, shed code 6F,[7] which principally operated the Wrexham line. The building was somewhat south of the running lines, halfway between Bidston and Birkenhead North stations.[3][1][4] The shed was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1897 and had two tracks inside.[7] The shed had a water tank and a coaling stage for steam locomotives. Examples of locomotives, which could be found at the shed, included the LNER Class J94 Austerity, which was used around the Birkenhead docks, and the BR Standard Class 9F, which hauled iron ore trains from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton.[7] The engine shed closed on 11 February 1963, and its allocation of locomotives was transferred to Birkenhead Mollington Street depot.[8] The shed remained intact for several years after closure.[8]
Several sidings were situated adjacent to the eastern side of the station, south of the running lines.[1][4][9] These sidings had been built prior to 1899,[4] and were removed after goods traffic ended on 29 July 1968.[10] A Tesco supermarket now occupies the site of these sidings.
The station was the nearest to the former Bidston Dock. The adjacent Bidston East Junction gives access to the former Birkenhead Dock Branch line, but this has been disused by freight workings since the mid-1980s and is still so at present.[11]
Facilities
The station has a booking office, and a 19-space car park. Each side of the island platform can receive six carriages.[12] The station is staffed at all times during opening hours, and has platform CCTV. Each platform has open-air seating. There is a payphone, next to the ticket office, on platform 1.[13] The station provides a "Park and Ride" service. There are a further 198 car parking spaces,[14] which are free to use for travellers, with lighting columns and CCTV to meet Merseytravel's Travelsafe requirements. Construction of the new car park was completed in 2010. As yet, there is no access, to the platform, for passengers with wheelchairs or prams, as access is by staircase only. Platform access has not been modernised to the standard of that at Hooton.
In early 2014 a new waiting shelter opened which includes a new ticket office, new seating and a new toilet.
On 3 August 2015, a new Bike & Go shelter opened at the station.[15]
Services
Currently, services run every 15 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime) to West Kirby & Liverpool,[16] and every hour to Wrexham. Services to and from Wrexham usually terminate/start from platform 2, which is also used by West Kirby trains. Liverpool-bound trains use platform 1.
During the evenings, trains operate every 30 minutes to West Kirby & Liverpool and every two hours to Wrexham (all day on Bank Holidays), with an approximately 2.5 hourly service (six departures total) on Sundays.[17]
Merseyrail services are provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs. Services to Wrexham are usually provided by an Arriva Trains Wales, double-carriage, Class 150/2 "Sprinter" DMU. Though, in the past, services have been provided with an Arriva Trains Wales, single-carriage, Class 153 "Super Sprinter" DMU.
Future
Proposals have been made to electrify some or all of the Borderlands Line and possibly incorporate it into the Wirral Line services, but no commitment has been made.[18]
Gallery
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.jpg)
The A554 road bridge and the view toward Birkenhead.
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The new station car park, built in 2010.
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A Mersyerail Class 508 waits with a service to Liverpool.
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The junction of the Borderlands Line and Wirral Line, just west of the station.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mitchell & Smith 2013, map XXXIII
- ↑ Boumphrey & Boumphrey 1994, p. 58
- 1 2 "Disused Stations - Railways around Bidston". Disused Stations. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Maund 2009, p. 49
- 1 2 3 Maund 2009, p. 225
- ↑ Mitchell & Smith 2013, fig. 98
- 1 2 3 Pearce 2011, p. 125
- 1 2 Pearce 2011, p. 127
- ↑ "44897 Bidston Stn. 19.7.67". Flickr. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Mitchell & Smith 2013, fig. 100
- ↑ Baker 2001, p. 59
- ↑ Mitchell & Smith 2013, fig. 102
- ↑ Station Facilities for Bidston Accessed 2013-12-17
- ↑ Bidston train station facilities, Merseyrail Accessed 2013-12-18
- ↑ New Bike & Go Shelter
- ↑ "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- ↑ GB National Rail Timetable 2013, Table 101
- ↑ Written Answer from Transport Minister Tom Harris to Wirral South MP Ben Chapman, 2007-03-02 Accessed 2008-10-15
Sources
- Baker, S.K. (2001). Rail Atlas of Great Britain & Ireland (9th ed.). Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-553-1.
- Boumphrey, Ian; Boumphrey, Marilyn (1994). Railway Stations of Wirral. Merseyside Railway History Group. ISBN 1-899241-02-7.
- Maund, T.B. (2009). The Wirral Railway and its Predecessors. Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899-88938-9.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Wrexham to New Brighton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781908174475. OCLC 859543196.
- Pearce, Kenn (2011). Shed Side on Merseyside - The last days of steam. Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-6048-2.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bidston railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Bidston railway station from National Rail
- Station information for Bidston railway station from Merseyrail
- The Wrexham-Bidston Line
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leasowe towards West Kirby |
Merseyrail Wirral Line |
Birkenhead North towards Liverpool Central | ||
| Upton | Arriva Trains Wales Borderlands Line |
Terminus | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Liscard and Poulton | Wirral Railway Seacombe Branch |
Terminus | ||
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Coordinates: 53°24′32″N 3°04′44″W / 53.409°N 3.079°W