Birkenhead Central railway station

Birkenhead Central is a railway station serving the town of Birkenhead, Wirral, England. Situated on the south side of Birkenhead town centre, it lies on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. The station is in a deep cutting and reached by stairs down from the street level entrance.

Birkenhead Central
Location	Birkenhead, Wirral England
Coordinates	53.389°N 3.019°W
Grid reference	SJ322884
Managed by	Merseyrail
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BKC
Fare zone	B1
Classification	DfT category E
Key dates
1886	Opened
Passengers
2015/16	0.965 million
2016/17	0.933 million
2017/18	0.891 million
2018/19	0.836 million
2019/20	0.923 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Birkenhead Central station was opened in 1886 as part of the Mersey Railway's route from Liverpool, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. The station was the location of the Mersey Railway's headquarters. The disused building of Birkenhead Central depot, which closed in the 1990s, remains adjacent to the platforms. The station platforms were refurbished and finished in 2012.

Facilities

The station is staffed, during all opening hours, and has platform CCTV.[1] There are toilets, several payphones, a vending machine, booking office and live departure and arrival screens, on the platform, for passenger information. Each platform has a waiting shelter, as well as sheltered seating. The station does not have a car park, but does have a secure cycle locker with 28 spaces.[2] Access to the station is by ramp, and there is step-free access to the platforms, for wheelchairs and prams, via the lifts.[3] The station also has a snack bar, in the main booking hall.

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes between Chester and Liverpool on weekdays and Saturdays until late evening when the service becomes half-hourly, as it is on Sundays. Additionally there is a half-hourly service between Liverpool and Ellesmere Port all day, every day.[4] Northbound trains operate via Hamilton Square station in Birkenhead and the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. Southbound trains all proceed as far as Hooton, where the lines to Chester and Ellesmere Port divide. These services are all provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs.

Gallery

• 
  Original Mersey Railway painted sign on Birkenhead Central station, the company's former headquarters.
• 
  View northward, towards Birkenhead (Hamilton Square) and Liverpool in 1961.
• 
  The former Birkenhead Central carriage shed.
• 
  The station building.

See also

• List of underground stations of the Merseyrail network

References

1. Station Facilities for Birkenhead Central Accessed 2013-12-20
2. Birkenhead Central train station facilities, Merseyrail Accessed 2017-02-06
3. Birkenhead Central Station Plan Accessed 2013-12-20
4. "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Chester to Birkenhead. Middleton Press. figs. 82-88. ISBN 9781908174215. OCLC 811323335.

External links

• Train times and station information for Birkenhead Central railway station from National Rail

• Station information for Birkenhead Central railway station from Merseyrail