Birkenhead Central railway station

Birkenhead Central
Location
Place	Birkenhead
Local authority	Wirral
Grid reference	SJ322884
Operations
Station code	BKC
Managed by	Merseyrail
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	0.411 million
2005/06	0.440 million
2006/07	0.427 million
2007/08	0.452 million
2008/09	1.032 million
2009/10	0.960 million
2010/11	0.996 million
2011/12	1.005 million
2012/13	0.948 million
2013/14	0.910 million
2014/15	1.063 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Merseytravel
Zone	B1
History
1886	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Birkenhead Central from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

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.

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 cycle rack, with 26 spaces, and a secure cycle locker with 30 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 2013-12-20
3. Birkenhead Central Station Plan Accessed 2013-12-20
4. "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Retrieved 2013-12-18.

External links

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

• Station information for Birkenhead Central railway station from Merseyrail

Coordinates: 53°23′20″N 3°01′08″W / 53.389°N 3.019°W