Warrington Central railway station
Warrington Central  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Warrington Central Railway Station | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Warrington, Warrington England | ||||
| Coordinates | 53°23′30″N 2°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 | |||||
| 2017/18 |  1.764 million | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| |||||
Warrington Central railway station is one of three main railway stations serving the town of Warrington in the north-west of England. It is located on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Lines (the former Cheshire Lines Committee route between Liverpool and Manchester), being situated approximately halfway between the two cities. Central station is served by diesel trains to Liverpool, Manchester, Manchester Airport and East Anglia.
The second station in Warrington is Warrington Bank Quay, which accommodates electrified lines on the West Coast Main Line with express services to London Euston, Birmingham New Street and Scotland, and also an electrified service to Liverpool Lime Street. The third is Warrington West, which has much of the same services as Central, and opened in 2019.
History
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.[a][2][3]
Passenger station
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 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.[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]
Goods station
There was a goods yard and shed to the north of the lines and west 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 bay platforms immediately to the west 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]
Engine shed
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]
Accidents and incidents
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]
Facilities
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]
Services
As of the May 2022 timetable, an average of eight trains an hour stop at Warrington Central at off-peak times. Northern Trains operates two through stopping services in each direction each hour between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road. Some early morning and late evening services only operate between Warrington and either Manchester or Liverpool. On Sundays the service is extended to Manchester Airport.[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]
| 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 | ||||
| Future services | ||||
| Liverpool Lime Street | Northern Connect Liverpool Lime Street – Manchester Airport |
Manchester Piccadilly | ||
Notes
References
- ^ Bolger 1984, pp. 4–6.
- ^ Quick 2019, p. 414.
- ^ a b Bolger 1984, p. 12.
- ^ Lancashire Sheet CXVI.1 (Map). 25 inch. Ordnance Survey. 1907.
- ^ Griffiths & Goode 1978, p. 6.
- ^ Biddle 1973, p. 201.
- ^ a b Biddle 2003, p. 474.
- ^ Warrington - Lancashire CXVI.1.6 (Map). 1:500. Ordnance Survey. 1890.
- ^ "Warrington Central rebuilt". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 129, no. 990. October 1983. p. 421. ISSN 0033-8923.
- ^ Stockman, Vicki (6 September 2007). "Lifts edge a step closer at Central Station". Warrington Guardian.
- ^ "Minister Theresa Villiers unveils new look Warrington Central Station". 11 July 2011.
- ^ Bolger 1984, p. 82.
- ^ Oliver & Airey 1894, p. 324.
- ^ Lancashire Sheet CXVI.1 (Map). 25 inch. Ordnance Survey. 1894.
- ^ a b Lancashire Sheet CXVI.1 (Map). 25 inch. Ordnance Survey. 1907.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Cheshire Lines Committee Warehouse (1139376)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ The Railway Clearing House 1970, p. 557.
- ^ Shannon, Paul (January 2004). "How time flies". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 150, no. 1233.
- ^ a b c Bolger 1984, p. 110.
- ^ Lancashire Sheet CXVI.1 (Map). 25 inch. Ordnance Survey. 1947.
- ^ Board of Trade (November 1880). "Accident at Warrington on 4th November 1880". Railways Archive.
- ^ "Warrington Central". National Rail.
- ^ "Onward Travel Information - Warrington Central" (PDF). National Rail.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "eNRT May 2022 Edition Liverpool to Runcorn, Warrington (Central) and Manchester". Network Rail. Table 86.
Bibliography
- Biddle, Gordon (1973). Victorian stations; railway stations in England & Wales, 1830-1923;. Newton Abbot [England]: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5949-5. OCLC 812317.
- Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: An Oxford Gazeteer of Structures and Sites. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198662471.
- Bolger, Paul (1984). An illustrated history of the Cheshire lines committee. Heyday. ISBN 978-0-947562-00-7.
- Griffiths, R. Prys; Goode, C.T. (1978). The Cheshire Lines Railway (Revised edition (1947) with additional notes ed.). Oakwood Press.
- Oliver, Henry; Airey, John (1894). Hand-book and Appendix of Stations, Junctions, Sidings, Collieries, &c., on the Railways in United Kingdom.
- Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
- The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
External links
- Train times and station information for Warrington Central railway station from National Rail
