Huyton railway station

Huyton railway station serves Huyton in Merseyside, England. The station is an interchange between the Liverpool-Wigan Line and the northern route of the Liverpool-Manchester Line which diverge soon after the station. It is one of the busier stations on the lines and close to the shopping centre and bus station.

Huyton
Northern Rail Class 150 heading to Liverpool in 2014
Location	Huyton, Knowsley England
Grid reference	SJ440906
Managed by	Northern Trains
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	HUY
Fare zone	C1/A3/C2/C3
Classification	DfT category D
Key dates
1830	Opened
2010	Renovated
2015	Electrification and reopening of disused platforms
Passengers
2015/16	1.003 million
Interchange	18,728
2016/17	1.008 million
Interchange	20,407
2017/18	1.150 million
Interchange	23,526
2018/19	0.595 million
Interchange	17,898
2019/20	0.640 million
Interchange	17,385
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Huyton station was opened in 1830 on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,[1] and is one of the oldest passenger railway stations in the world. The early intermediate stations were little more than halts, usually where the railway was crossed by a road or turnpike.[2] This probably accounts for variations in their names,[3] Huyton station was probably known as Huyton Lane Gate, then as Huyton Lane by 1839, and Huyton around 1852.[3] The oldest surviving station buildings are from the LNWR period.[4] Until the 1970s, Huyton station had four platforms, but two on the northern side of the station (Platforms 3 and 4) were closed, and the track lifted.

2010 modernisation

Almost £1 million was spent modernising the station in 2010. The works include a canopy on Platform 1, a waiting shelter on Platform 2 and a disability compliant toilet was installed. Improvements included updating the subway to provide better lighting, state-of-the-art CCTV and new seating areas.[5]

Liverpool to Manchester electrification

In the Liverpool-Manchester Line electrification scheme, Platform 3 was brought back into use in time for the December 2014 timetable change.[6] The station signal box, which controlled the line between Roby and Rainhill (Earlestown line)/Prescot (Wigan line), was closed and demolished in the associated resignalling scheme. The last few semaphore signals that it controlled were removed in September 2012. Electrification has been in place since March 2015.

Platform 4 was re-instated in the improvements connected with the Liverpool to Manchester and Wigan electrification in 2015.[6]

Future

From December 2019, the northern rail franchisee Arriva Rail North - operating under the brand 'Northern' - had published plans to run through trains from here to Leeds via Manchester and Bradford Interchange.[7] The proposals have since been postponed until at least 2020, due to stock shortages and capacity constraints in the Manchester area.

Facilities

Huyton is staffed and open for approximately 18 hours a day and has a booking office, a payphone and a vending machine. There is undercover seating on each platform, customer help points and live departure and arrival screens. Recent improvements include lifts to the platforms and ramped walkways[8] from the subway, to allow step-free access to the platforms for passengers with wheelchairs or prams. Portable ramps are available to access trains.[9] The station is close to Huyton bus station and shopping centre.[10] The station has a car park, taxi rank and cycle racks.[11]

Services

The station is on the Liverpool to Wigan Line and Stephenson's Liverpool to Manchester Line. The junction between the lines is to the east of the station. The station has regular services of approximately 20–30 minutes, to Liverpool, Manchester and Wigan. Ten trains per hour call at the station, operated by Northern Trains (TransPennine Express services between Liverpool and Newcastle/Scarborough pass through but do not stop). After electrification was finished in 2015, most services were operated by Class 319 EMUs under the Northern Electrics sub-brand. When Liverpool to Manchester services were extended to Crewe in May 2018, Class 323 units started to be introduced on this route as well as the Liverpool to Warrington Bank Quay line. In September 2019, brand new Class 331 units commenced operation on the semi-fast Liverpool to Blackpool service.[12] Northern has confirmed that the Class 319 units are to be replaced in 2021 by extra class 323s from West Midlands Trains.[13]

A Northern Electrics Class 319 at the newly reopened platform 3, in 2015.

• 1tph to Warrington Bank Quay
• 2tph to Wigan North Western (local)
• 1tph to Crewe via Manchester Airport
• 1tph to Preston and Blackpool North (semi-fast)
• 5tph to Liverpool Lime Street

A limited service to Manchester Victoria operates at peak times and in the early morning/late evening.

On Sundays, there is a less frequent service - 3tph to Lime Street and 1tph each to Manchester Airport via Manchester Piccadilly, Wigan North Western and Blackpool North via Wigan.[14]

During modernisation and resignalling work at Lime Street in summer 2017 and again in June–July 2018, the station is a temporary terminus for trains in the evenings and weekends, with a replacement bus shuttle service to and from central Liverpool.

Gallery

• 
  The station building, viewed from the road.
• 
  The station building, viewed from the platform.
• 
  A First TransPennine Class 185 passes the signal box.
• 
  The former signal box at the end of platform 2, demolished in 2014.

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
2. Ferneyhough, Frank (1980). Liverpool & Manchester Railway, 1830-1980. R. Hale. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7091-8137-8.
3. G O Holt (1965). A short history of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (Second ed.). The Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 22.
4. "The Liverpool and Manchester". The 8D Association. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
5. Bartlett, David (1 December 2009). "Revamp for Huyton train station". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
6. "Roby and Huyton Station Upgrade" (PDF). Merseytravel. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
7. "Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT". Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
8. "Improving the railway at Huyton and Roby". Network Rail. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
9. "Huyton (HUY)". National Rail. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
10. "Huyton bus station" (PDF). Merseytravel. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
11. "Huyton Station Plan". National Rail. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
12. "New trains launched for Blackpool North". Northern News. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
13. "Class 323s to remain with Northern". www.railmagazine.com. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
14. Table 90 National Rail timetable, May 2019

External links

• Train times and station information for Huyton railway station from National Rail