Rainford railway station

"Rainford Junction" redirects here. For the settlement known as Rainford Junction, surrounding the station, see Rainford.

Rainford Add→{{rail-interchange}}
General information
Location	St Helens
Coordinates	53.517°N 2.789°W / 53.517; -2.789
Managed by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	RNF
Fare zone	A2

Rainford railway station is situated to the north of the village of Rainford, Merseyside, England. It is on the Kirkby branch line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Trains.

History

A 1908 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (lower right) railways in the vicinity of Rainford

It was built in 1858 as Rainford Junction at the junction of the Liverpool and Bury Railway, the East Lancashire Railway's Skelmersdale Branch and the St. Helens Railway, replacing an earlier station (1848) called Rainford. The main line and Skelmersdale branch were taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1859, whilst the St Helens line became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1864. The former L&BR route was subsequently upgraded by the L&YR to become its main line between Liverpool and Manchester, carrying expresses to Manchester Victoria, Bradford Exchange and Leeds Central as well as local trains to Wigan Wallgate and Bolton until after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948 and well beyond.

Services on the line to St Helens were withdrawn by the British Transport Commission on 18 June 1951 and to Ormskirk on 5 November 1956, although goods traffic survived on both until the early 1960s.

Through trains from Liverpool Exchange to Bolton via Wigan continued until 1977, though the line from here westwards to Fazakerley had been reduced to single track operation in May 1970. After the closure of Exchange in May 1977, the line was severed at Kirkby, with through passengers having to change between diesel and electric services there to continue their journeys. The station signal box was retained to supervise the 5+1⁄4 miles (8.4 km) single line section to what was now the terminus of the branch – this remains in operation today and is now the only one left on the line.

The station was renamed Rainford on 7 May 1973.

Facilities

Though the station had sizeable buildings on both platforms at one time, the last of these (on the Wigan-bound platform) was demolished in the late 1990s. There are now just basic shelters in place on each side, along with a footbridge to connect them. The disused branch platform faces are still visible, but heavily overgrown. The station is unmanned and has no ticket facilities, so all tickets must be bought in advance or on the train. Train running information can be obtained by telephone or from timetable poster boards on each platform. Step-free access is available on both platforms via ramps from the nearby road.

Services

Trains operate to Kirkby (for connections to Liverpool Central) in one direction and to Manchester Victoria via Wigan Wallgate and Walkden in the other, usually every hour (Monday to Saturday). The last train of the day continues to Todmorden and Blackburn.

There is no late evening service after 19:57 or on a Sunday. A normal service operates on most bank holidays.

References

• Marshall, J. (1981) Forgotten Railways North-West England, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995) Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Yeovil. ISBN 1-85260-508-1

External links

• Train times and station information for Rainford railway station from National Rail
• The station on an 1888-1913 Overlay OS Map via National Library of Scotland

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Kirkby		Northern Trains Kirkby Branch Line		Upholland
	Disused railways
Hey's Crossing Halt		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Skelmersdale Branch		Terminus
Rainford Village		LNWR St. Helens Railway		Terminus