St Helens Central railway station

St Helens Central
General information
Location	St Helens
Managed by	Northern Rail
Platforms	2
Other information
Fare zone	A1/A2
Key dates
1949 1980s	Renamed Renamed

St Helens Central railway station is a railway station serving the town of St Helens, Merseyside, England. It is on the Liverpool to Wigan Line from Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western. The station, and all trains calling at it, are operated by Northern Rail.

The station opened by the London & North Western Railway as St Helens on 1 February 1858 to replace a nearby 1833 station, was renamed St Helens Shaw Street in 1949, and became St Helens Central in 1987. The original St Helens Central station, the terminus of a branch from Lowton St Marys, was closed in 1952.

In 2005, Merseytravel and Network Rail invited tenders for the reconstruction of the station, including a new station building, footbridge and lifts. The new station building and facilities, designed by SBS Architects of Manchester [1] were rebuilt at a total estimated cost of £6m, just a few yards from the site of the 1960s-built station building. The new footbridge was lifted into place in the early hours of 22 January, 2007. Construction work was completed in the summer, with the new waiting rooms and footbridge opened to passengers on 19 September. The new station building was officially opened on 5 December.

Services

During Monday to Saturday daytimes, there is a half-hourly local service between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western, and an hourly fast service from Liverpool Lime Street which continues beyond Wigan to Preston and usually to Blackpool North, although some continue to either Morecambe or Barrow-in-Furness. On Sundays, there is an hourly semi-fast service from Liverpool to Wigan, with a number of trains continuing to Blackpool.

See also

• St Helens Junction railway station

External links

• Train times and station information for St Helens Central railway station from National Rail
• Contract Journal – invitation to tender for the reconstruction of the station

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Thatto Heath		Northern Rail Liverpool to Wigan Line		Garswood
Huyton		Northern Rail Liverpool to Blackpool/Preston Line		Wigan North Western
Terminus		Northern Rail Plans to reinstate railway line		St Helens Junction
Liverpool Lime Street		Glasgow Trains Proposed Open-Access Operator		Wigan North Western
	Disused railways
Gerards Bridge		LNWR St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway		Peasley Cross