Southport railway station

Railway station in Merseyside, England

This article is about the current station in England. For the American railroad station, see Southport (Metro-North station). For other uses, see Southport station.

Southport

Southport Railway Station, June 2012

General information
Location| Southport, Sefton,
England
Coordinates| 53°38′49″N 3°00′07″W﻿ / ﻿53.647°N 3.002°W﻿ / 53.647; -3.002
Grid reference| SD338171
Managed by| Merseyrail
Transit authority| Merseytravel
Platforms| 6
Other information
Station code| SOP
Fare zone| D1
Classification| DfT category D
History
Original company| Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway
Pre-grouping| Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping| London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
5 August 1851 (1851-08-05)| Opened as Southport Chapel Street
5 May 1969| Renamed Southport
Passengers
2018/19|  4.272 million
Interchange|  65,271
2019/20|  4.711 million
Interchange|  37,087
2020/21|  1.267 million
Interchange|  4,401
2021/22|  3.094 million
Interchange|  13,212
2022/23|  3.340 million
Interchange|  16,208

Location

Notes

Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

* v
* t
* e

Southport/Aintree lines

Legend

| West Lancashire Rly

to Preston

|  |
|  |

|  | Meols Cop
Ash Street |  |

|  | Butts Lane Halt
Southport Central |  |

|  |
Southport London Street |  |

|  | St Luke's
Southport Chapel Street |  |

|  |
Southport Lord Street |  |

|  |

Manchester–Southport line

Birkdale Palace |  |

|  | Kew Gardens
Ainsdale Beach |  |

|  | Heathey Lane Halt
Ainsdale |  |

|  | Shirdley Hill
|  |

|  | New Cut Lane Halt

| Liverpool, Crosby &

Southport Railway

|  | Halsall
Woodvale |  |

|  | Plex Moss Lane Halt
Mossbridge |  |

|  | Barton

| Southport & Cheshire

Lines Extension Rly

|  |

| Liverpool, Southport &

Preston Junction Rly

Altcar and Hillhouse |  |

|  |
Lydiate |  |

|  |

Northern line to Ormskirk

Sefton and Maghull |  |

|  | Old Roan
Aintree (CLC) |  |

|  | Aintree

(L&Y)

|  |

|  |

Northern line to Kirkby

| Ford

North Mersey Branch

|  | Aintree Racecourse
|  |

|  | Fazakerley Aintree

(L&Y)

Orrell Park |  |

|  |

Northern line to Liverpool

Northern line to Liverpool

|  |

|  |

| North Liverpool

Extension Line

|  |  |  |  |  |

Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. The station is the terminal of the electricified Southport branch of the Northern Line of the electric Merseyrail network and the diesel-operated Manchester-Southport Line. It is the fourth busiest station on the Merseyrail network.[1] The station and services to Liverpool and Hunts Cross are operated by Merseyrail, with Manchester services operated by Northern Trains.

## History[edit]

The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway (LC&SR) opened a line on 24 July 1848 from Liverpool to a temporary station at Eastbank Street, about half a mile short of the current terminus.[2]

The LC&SR line was extended on 5 August 1851 to the current station which opened as Southport Chapel Street.[2] The LC&SR refused to allow the Manchester and Southport Railway (M&SR) to use its station and therefore the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) (one of the co-owners of the M&SR) built Southport London Street station next door.[3]

London Street station was closed on 1 April 1857 and passenger services were transferred to Chapel Street.[2][4]

From 1882 the West Lancashire Railway opened a line from Southport Derby Road (later known as Southport Central and situated close to Chapel Street Station) to Preston Fishergate Hill.[5]

In 1884, another line from Southport to Liverpool opened: the Cheshire Lines Committee's (CLC) North Liverpool Extension Line from Liverpool Central to Southport Lord Street.[6] The West Lancashire Railway sponsored the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway to provide a connection to the CLC line, joining it at Altcar and Hillhouse.[7] These lines ultimately proved uncompetitive, however, and the Southport services were withdrawn in January 1952.[8]

In July 1897, both the West Lancashire and the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railways were absorbed into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&Y).[9] The L&Y had a large terminus at Southport Chapel Street and could see no sense in operating two termini at very close proximity. On 1 May 1901, the L&Y completed a remodelling of the approach lines to Southport Central to allow trains to divert onto the Manchester to Southport line and into Southport Chapel Street Station. Southport Central was closed to passengers, and it became a goods depot, eventually amalgamating with Chapel Street depot.[10] It survived intact well into the 1970s.

In 1904, the line from Liverpool was electrified by the L&YR, which also extended the third rail out as far as Crossens on the WLR line to Preston that year and out to Meols Cop in 1909.[4][11]

In 1914 the station was enlarged taking in the land to the side of London Street which involved demolishing the former ELR station, the London Street excursion platforms were built about the same time (although called London Street, they were actually platforms belonging to Chapel Street station).[12]

The Preston line was closed to passengers on 7 September 1964,[13] although a small section to Hesketh Park station was used for freight until 1967. This line had its electric local services to Crossens and its through steam services withdrawn on consecutive days immediately before the official closure date - the only such route to suffer that fate during the Beeching-era closures. Nowadays, the towns of Southport and Preston are linked only by the (largely dual-carriageway) A565 and A59 roads.

At its largest, Chapel Street station had eleven regular platforms and two excursion platforms. Now six truncated platforms are in use (platforms 1-3 for Liverpool trains & 4-6 for Manchester), the rest having been demolished and the land used for car parking. In 1970 the former terminal building was replaced with a shopping centre. Platform 7 was originally going to be saved and used as an excursion platform for when mainline specials were to visit the resort, but this failed, and it, too, was demolished along with platforms 8, 9 & 10\.

Remains of the signal box, carriage & wagon works & substation are still visible today.

The sidings next to the former South Curve still remain today but are not much used except for if a unit or engine needs turning.

A new M to Go shop opened in 2007, incorporating a ticket office, and the station itself underwent a £3.5 million renovation project which included a renewed roof, new lighting, glazed screens, floor tiles and toilets, plus a retail unit.[14]

## Facilities[edit]

Two Merseyrail Class 507 units stand in Platforms 2 and 3. A Northern Rail-liveried Class 156 stands in Platform 5. LMS 8F 2-8-0 no 48151 at Southport's Chapel Street station after working "The Roses Express" on Wed 4th April 2012.

The main entrance to this staffed station is located on the pedestrianised Chapel Street, one of Southport's main shopping areas. The car park immediately next to the station is reserved for taxis and staff only, but a large pay car park further along London Street is available for general public use.[15]

The station is staffed 15 minutes before the first service and 15 minutes after the last service. There are toilets, platform CCTV and a Mtogo shop & booking office. There are departure and arrival screens on the platform for passenger information. There are cycle racks for 16 cycles and secure storage for 80 cycles.[16]

## Services[edit]

### Merseyrail[edit]

Monday to Saturday, trains depart every 15 minutes to Hunts Cross via Liverpool Central.[17]

Fewer trains operate on Sundays, with the frequency reduced to one service every 30 minutes.

Merseyrail services can utilise only the electrified platforms. These are Platforms 1, 2 and 3. Platforms 2 and 3 are used more frequently than Platform 1.

### Northern Trains[edit]

The Monday to Saturday service pattern underwent a major revamp at the May 2018 timetable change, with the loss of all direct trains to Bolton and Manchester Piccadilly, except for two a.m peak trains to Alderley Edge. The basic pattern was 2tph to Manchester Victoria via Wigan Wallgate and Atherton, which then continued to Rochdale and then alternately to Blackburn via the East Lancashire Line or Leeds via Brighouse. Travellers for destinations on the south side of Manchester (such as Manchester Airport or Stockport) had to change at Hindley or Salford Crescent. On Sundays, there is an hourly service to Blackburn via Wigan and Manchester Victoria.[18]

From the winter 2019 timetable change, the timetable was revamped again on weekdays and Saturdays, with all trains running via Bolton off-peak and serving both main Manchester terminals. One ran to Alderley Edge via Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport, whilst the other runs to Manchester Victoria and onward to Stalybridge. Direct services to stations on the Atherton line no longer run and passengers wishing to travel towards Rochdale and further east have to change at Wigan Wallgate.[19] The Sunday service pattern remains unchanged, with the hourly service to Manchester and Blackburn running via Atherton. Connections for Westhoughton and Bolton can be made at Hindley.

From the December 2022 timetable change, services to Alderley Edge stopped and now terminate at Manchester Oxford Road.[20]

Northern Trains services normally depart from platforms 4, 5 or 6, although services can also use platform 3 if required.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Busiest stations in Britain".
2. ^ a b c Quick 2023, p. 424.
3. ^ Marshall 1969, p. 158.
4. ^ a b Gell 1986.
5. ^ Marshall 1969, p. 167.
6. ^ Holt & Biddle 1986, p. 77.
7. ^ Holt & Biddle 1986, p. 78.
8. ^ Marshall 1981, pp. 80–81.
9. ^ Grant 2017, pp. 321 & 599.
10. ^ Marshall 1969, p. 172.
11. ^ Gleaves 2015, p. 29.
12. ^ Marshall 1969, p. 173.
13. ^ Marshall 1981, p. 152.
14. ^ "Station transformation well under way", Network Rail, 6 November 2007. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
15. ^ Station facilities at Southport station, National Rail. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
16. ^ "Southport train station | timetable | ticket prices & facilities". www.merseyrail.org. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
17. ^ Table 82 National Rail timetable, May 2023
18. ^ Table 82 National Rail timetable, May 2018
19. ^ Table 101 National Rail timetable, May 2023
20. ^ "Timetable change December 2022". www.northernrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2022.

## Bibliography[edit]

* Gell, Rob (1986). An Illustrated Survey of Railway Stations Between Southport & Liverpool 1848-1986. Heyday Publishing Company. ISBN 0-947562-04-4. (No page numbers.)`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
* Gleaves, Graeme (2015). Electric Railways of Liverpool and Manchester. ISBN 978-1-4456-3989-5.
* Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78803-768-6.
* Holt, Geoffrey O.; Biddle, Gordon (1986). The North West. A Regional history of the railways of Great Britain. Vol. 10 (2nd ed.). David St. John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-34-1. OCLC 643506870.
* Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Vol. 1\. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4352-4.
* Marshall, John (1981). Forgotten Railways:North-West England. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6.
* Quick, Michael (2023) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.05. Railway & Canal Historical Society.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southport railway station.

* Train times and station information for Southport railway station from National Rail

* Station information for Southport railway station from Merseyrail
* 'Altcar Bob' at southport.gb.com

Preceding station  |  National Rail | Following station

|
|

Terminus |  | Merseyrail
Northern Line |  | Birkdale
towards Hunts Cross
Terminus |  | Northern Trains
Manchester Victoria-Southport or
Manchester Oxford Rd-Southport |  | Meols Cop
towards Wigan Wallgate
| Historical railways |
Terminus |  | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Manchester and Southport Railway |  | St Luke's
Line open, station closed
| Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
West Lancashire Railway |
| Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Liverpool, Southport and
Preston Junction Railway |

* v
* t
* e

Railway stations in Merseyside

Knowsley|

* Halewood
* Headbolt Lane
* Huyton
* Kirkby
* Prescot
* Roby
* Whiston

Liverpool
(city centre stations in italics)|

* Aigburth
* Bank Hall
* Broad Green
* Brunswick
* Cressington
* Edge Hill
* Fazakerley
* Hunts Cross
* James Street
* Kirkdale
* Liverpool Central
* Liverpool Lime Street
* Liverpool South Parkway
* Liverpool Baltic (proposed)
* Moorfields
* Mossley Hill
* Orrell Park
* Rice Lane
* St Michaels
* Sandhills
* Walton
* Wavertree Technology Park
* West Allerton

Sefton|

* Ainsdale
* Aintree
* Birkdale
* Blundellsands & Crosby
* Bootle New Strand
* Bootle Oriel Road
* Formby
* Freshfield
* Hall Road
* Hightown
* Hillside
* Maghull
* Maghull North
* Meols Cop
* Old Roan
* Seaforth & Litherland
* Southport
* Waterloo

St Helens|

* Earlestown
* Eccleston Park
* Garswood
* Lea Green
* Newton-le-Willows
* Rainford
* Rainhill
* St Helens Central
* St Helens Junction
* Thatto Heath

Wirral|

* Bebington
* Beechwood (proposed)
* Bidston
* Birkenhead Central
* Birkenhead North
* Birkenhead Park
* Bromborough
* Bromborough Rake
* Conway Park
* Eastham Rake
* Green Lane
* Hamilton Square
* Heswall
* Hoylake
* Leasowe
* Manor Road
* Meols
* Moreton
* New Brighton
* Port Sunlight
* Rock Ferry
* Spital
* Town Meadow (proposed)
* Upton
* Wallasey Grove Road
* Wallasey Village
* West Kirby
* Woodchurch (proposed)

Outside Merseyside, but
within the Merseytravel area|

* Hooton
* Hough Green
* Town Green
* Aughton Park
* Ormskirk

* Transport in Merseyside
* Merseytravel
* Merseyrail

* v
* t
* e

Railway stations served by Merseyrail

Northern Line|

* Aigburth
* Ainsdale
* Aintree
* Aughton Park
* Bank Hall
* Birkdale
* Blundellsands & Crosby
* Bootle New Strand
* Bootle Oriel Road
* Brunswick
* Cressington
* Fazakerley
* Formby
* Freshfield
* Hall Road
* Headbolt Lane
* Hightown
* Hillside
* Hunts Cross
* Kirkby
* Kirkdale
* Liverpool Central
* Liverpool South Parkway
* Maghull
* Maghull North
* Moorfields
* Old Roan
* Ormskirk
* Orrell Park
* Rice Lane
* St Michaels
* Sandhills
* Seaforth & Litherland
* Southport
* Town Green
* Walton
* Waterloo

Wirral Line|

* Bache
* Bebington
* Bidston
* Birkenhead Central
* Birkenhead Hamilton Square
* Birkenhead North
* Birkenhead Park
* Bromborough
* Bromborough Rake
* Capenhurst
* Chester
* Conway Park
* Eastham Rake
* Ellesmere Port
* Green Lane
* Hooton
* Hoylake
* Leasowe
* Little Sutton
* Liverpool Central
* Liverpool James Street
* Liverpool Lime Street
* Manor Road
* Meols
* Moorfields
* Moreton
* New Brighton
* Overpool
* Port Sunlight
* Rock Ferry
* Spital
* Wallasey Grove Road
* Wallasey Village
* West Kirby

Rail transport in the United Kingdom
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template