Newton-le-Willows railway station

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Newton-le-Willows
General information
LocationSt Helens
Managed byNorthern
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeNLW
Fare zoneA1
History
Original companyLondon and North Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1861Opened as Earlestown
June 1868Renamed Newton Bridge
14 June 1888Renamed Newton-le-Willows

Newton-le-Willows railway station is a railway station in the town of Newton-le-Willows, in the borough of St Helens in the north-west of England, and at the edge of the Merseytravel region. It is situated on the northern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line, the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. It is a busy feeder station for nearby towns which no longer have railway stations, such as Golborne, Billinge and Haydock. There is also a bus shuttle service to Haydock Park Racecourse on race weekends.

History

The station was opened in 1861 (more than 30 years after the Liverpool & Manchester line itself) by the London and North Western Railway, and was originally named Earlestown. It was renamed twice: to Newton Bridge in June 1868, and to the present name of Newton-le-Willows on 14 June 1888.[1]

When first opened, it was also on the main LNWR line from London to Preston and Scotland (what is now the West Coast Main Line) thanks to a number of company mergers & acquisitions - the former North Union Railway's branch from Parkside Junction (east of the new station) to Wigan North Western had opened back in 1832 and the completion of a north to west curve round to Lowton on 1 January 1847 by the Grand Junction Railway[2] had allowed through running to commence from London Euston and Birmingham New Street via the original Newton Junction (the modern day Earlestown), then over the L&M and onwards to Wigan and the north from that date. Within three years however, the heavily congested section of the L&M through the station was bypassed for north-south traffic with the opening of a cut-off line from Winwick Junction to Golborne, though local stopping trains between Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan continued to call thereafter. The station was also well served by trains between Manchester Exchange and Liverpool Lime Street (many of which were routed via Leigh) and also to Chester General via Warrington and the Birkenhead Joint Railway. The connections to the WCML also provided a useful diversionary route for trains to Preston & beyond from both Manchester & Liverpool - these were utilised by British Rail when they set up a Motorail terminal at the station in the 1960s, which offered through trains to Stirling[3] & Inverness and to St Austell.[4]

The station avoided the Beeching Axe in the 1960s, though the Warrington to Wigan local trains along the WCML ended in 1969 along with services via Leigh. The Motorail terminal closed in the early 1980s as British Rail cut back the number of routes on offer across the network, though the sidings into it weren't finally removed until August 2013.

Relocation proposal

There have been proposals to move the station eastwards, due to the poor accessibility of the approach roads and very limited parking, to a site possibly near the M6. However, this could cause some political issues, as it may place the station partially over the Merseyside border into the Transport for Greater Manchester area. Some benefits of this though, would be an opportunity to create a substantial interchange with the West Coast Main Line which passes just east of the existing station, and a large park and ride, reducing car traffic into both Liverpool, Warrington and Manchester. The proposed plans were scrapped in June 2009.[5]

Redevelopment

Merseytravel put forward proposals in December 2015 for the station to be developed as an interchange station.[6] The proposals included:

  • A new South side entrance to the station
  • A 400 space car park
  • Improved ticket office and passenger waiting rooms
  • A rail-bus interchange.

The proposals were later approved with the work scheduled to be completed by March 2018.[7][8]

Electrification

The line through the station was electrified by British Rail in 1973 as part of the WCML scheme and the station was served by electrically-hauled mail trains, but no regularly scheduled electric passenger trains called here. This changed when the remaining sections of the L&M main line (from here to Castlefield Jcn & Manchester Victoria and Earlestown to Edge Hill) had their electrification work completed in 2015. Local trains over the route between the two cities and Manchester Airport are now electrically worked, with 4-car Class 319 Electrical Multiple Units. Longer distance services - most likely to Leeds, York, Scarborough and Newcastle will be possible once the main line via Huddersfield is electrified (through Liverpool to Scotland trains over the WCML could also potentially operate via this route as they did back in the 1970s and 80s) and the new TransPennine Express franchise starts (see below).

Services

Northern operates an hourly fast train service between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Airport via Manchester Piccadilly, and also an hourly all-stations service between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria, which both call at Newton-le-Willows.[9] The station is also served (hourly) by Arriva Trains Wales services from the North Wales Coast Line and Chester to Manchester Piccadilly,[10] and a limited service from Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime Street at peak times. Also if the southern Warrington line is closed due to engineering works, diverted TransPennine Express and East Midlands Trains services stop here (with an onward Rail Replacement bus to Warrington Central).

Following completion of electrification of the whole Liverpool to Manchester (Chat Moss) line in Spring 2015, the Liverpool to Manchester Airport and Liverpool to Manchester Victoria services are now operated by 4-Car Class 319 Electric Units.

The new Northern & TransPennine Express franchises (both beginning in April 2016) will bring service & rolling stock improvements to the station - TPE services from Liverpool to Newcastle & Scarborough will begin calling here regularly,[11] whilst the new "Northern Connect" services from Liverpool and Chester to Leeds via Manchester Victoria and Bradford will also stop at Newton-le-Willows.[12]

Gallery

  • The station building from the roadside.
    The station building from the roadside.
  • An Arriva Trains Wales Class 175 waits at the station.
    An Arriva Trains Wales Class 175 waits at the station.
  • A Northern Class 156 waits at the station.
    A Northern Class 156 waits at the station.
  • The view along platform 2.
    The view along platform 2.

See also

References

  1. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 87, 171. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  2. ^ "Disused Stations - LowtonDisused Stations; Retrieved 30 March 2016
  3. ^ "D1842 on the 08.55 Newton-le Willows to Stirling Motorail service in 1967"Railscot; Retrieved 30 March 2016
  4. ^ "Devon Memories"Derby Sulzers; Retrieved 30 March 2016
  5. ^ Turner, Alex (5 July 2010). "Newton le Willows rail interchange plans scrapped at Parkside colliery site". Liverpool Daily Post. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  6. ^ http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/about-us/local-transport-delivery/Pages/Newton-le-Willows.aspx
  7. ^ "Newton-Le-Willows train station: what will the new station look like?"Belger, Tom; Liverpool Echo new article 8 December 2015
  8. ^ "Newton-Le-Willows train station to get new building, bus stop and car park"Belger, Tom, Liverpool Echo article 9 December 2015
  9. ^ GB eNRT 2016 Edition, Table 90
  10. ^ GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 81
  11. ^ TransPennine Express Franchise Improvements - DfT
  12. ^ Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Newton-le-Willows railway station.
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Earlestown   Arriva Trains Wales
Chester to Manchester Line 		  Manchester Oxford Road
Earlestown   Northern Electrics
Liverpool to Manchester Line
(Northern Route) 		  Patricroft
Eccles on Sundays
St Helens Junction   Northern Electrics
Liverpool to Manchester Airport Line 		  Manchester Oxford Road
  Historical railways  
Earlestown
Line and station open 		  London and North Western Railway   Lowton
Line open, station closed
    Parkside
Line open, station closed
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