Rainhill railway station

Rainhill
Rainhill railway station
Location
Place	Rainhill
Local authority	St Helens
Grid reference	SJ491914
Operations
Station code	RNH
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12	0.470 million
2012/13	0.450 million
2013/14	0.346 million
2014/15	0.349 million
2015/16	0.381 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Merseytravel
Zone	A2
History
1830	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Rainhill from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Rainhill railway station serves the district of Rainhill in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the electrified northern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line, forming part of the Liverpool City Line. The original Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern on behalf of Merseytravel and are branded as Merseyrail services.

Rainhill has an important place in railway history, as the location of the Rainhill Trials where the proposed designs of locomotive for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway were tested in competition. Rainhill is one of the oldest stations in the world, opening in 1830.

George Stephenson designed and had constructed the skew arch bridge across the railway for the opening of the station. The bridge was the first skew to ever cross a railway and is now a listed building.

Facilities

As with most Merseytravel stations, it is fully staffed throughout the day (06:00 - 23:50 Mondays to Saturdays, 08:30 to midnight on Sundays) The booking office and waiting room (also grade-II listed)^[1] is on the westbound platform, with a brick shelter on the opposite side and a lattice footbridge linking them. Digital information displays, help points and timetable poster boards are located on each side and there is step-free access to both platforms.^[2]

Services

Rainhill is served by Northern services between Liverpool Lime Street and either Manchester Victoria or Warrington Bank Quay every half-hour on Monday to Saturday daytimes. Prior to the May 2014 timetable change, some trains continued beyond Manchester to destinations such as Stalybridge or Huddersfield. During the evenings there is an hourly service to Manchester Victoria and Liverpool.^[3]

On Sundays, trains run once per hour between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly (instead of Victoria), and continue to Manchester Airport.

Following completion of electrification of the line in Spring 2015, the Liverpool to Manchester Airport, Liverpool to Manchester Victoria and Liverpool to Warrington Bank Quay services are now operated by 4-Car Class 319 Electric Units.

Gallery

• 
  The station booking office.
• 
  A Northern Rail Class 156 waits at the station.
• 
  Stephenson's Skew Bridge.
• 
  The "Rocket" garden.

Notes

See also

• Listed buildings in Rainhill

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rainhill railway station.

• Train times and station information for Rainhill railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Whiston		Northern Liverpool to Manchester Line		Lea Green

Coordinates: 53°25′02″N 2°46′03″W / 53.417112°N 2.767604°W / 53.417112; -2.767604