Widnes railway station

Widnes railway station (formerly Widnes North) is a railway station serving the town of Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] The station is operated by Northern Trains.

Widnes
Widnes railway station
Location
PlaceFarnworth
Local authorityHalton
Coordinates53.37867°N 2.73374°W / 53.37867; -2.73374
Grid referenceSJ512871
Operations
Station codeWID
Managed byNorthern Trains
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.456 million
2015/16 0.470 million
2016/17 0.515 million
2017/18 0.494 million
2018/19 0.438 million
History
Original companyCheshire Lines Committee
Pre-groupingCheshire Lines Committee
Post-groupingCheshire Lines Committee
1 August 1873Opened as Farnworth (Widnes)
5 January 1959Renamed Widnes North
6 May 1968Renamed Widnes
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Widnes from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station, opened by the CLC on 1 August 1873, was originally known as Farnworth (Widnes),[2] Farnworth being at the time a village north of Widnes, but is now a northern suburb of the town. The station was renamed Widnes North on 5 January 1959,[2][3] and finally Widnes on 6 May 1968[3] (Widnes Central and Widnes South, on other lines, having closed to passengers in 1964 and 1962 respectively).[4][5]

Plaque

Widnes railway station is generally said to be the station where Paul Simon reputedly composed the song "Homeward Bound"[6] though some think it more likely that it was Ditton railway station, part of the Widnes Loop Line and the train to London. Simon is quoted as saying "[i]f you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible."[7]

Facilities

The railway station is of the standard Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) style. A footbridge connects the two platforms. The station is staffed, but only until early afternoon. There is a car park outside. The station was refurbished in 2009 and as of 2010 houses a station shop and a beauty parlour, though there are still no toilet or waiting facilities for passengers other than the already existent shelter on the Manchester-bound platform. The platforms and footbridge have recently been refurbished. A ticket machine has been installed on the Manchester-bound platform. Digital display screens and automated announcements provide train running information.

The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis between the hours of 07:00 and 14:25 Mon-Sat. Step free access is available to both platforms.[8]

Services

There are generally two local trains (operated by Northern Trains) per hour in each direction, to Manchester Oxford Road to the east and Liverpool Lime Street to the west. Journey times from Widnes to Manchester on these local trains are around 45–50 minutes, depending on the number of stops. Journey time to Liverpool is around 25–30 minutes, again depending on stops.

An express service also operates hourly in each direction (run by East Midlands Railway), continuing beyond Manchester Piccadilly towards Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich. The journey time on most of these trains to Manchester is 30 minutes, whilst Liverpool can be reached in 18 minutes.[9]

Until the May 2018 timetable change Widnes was also served by one service to Scarborough on Mondays to Saturdays (run by TransPennine Express). All TransPennine services now operate via Newton-Le-Willows.

gollark: If everyone around you seems to be fine with it and you fear that if you seem *not* fine with it you'll be punished in some way, you'll just rationalize all the way to beeland.
gollark: The issue with "not doing it" is that humans have the whole ridiculous conformity thing going on.
gollark: Yes, they are BOTH mean.
gollark: Why would you shoot them? This would be mean.
gollark: I don't think they ever had an actual collective consciousness like that, no.

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "Widnes North Railway Station (1106340)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Butt 1995, p. 250
  4. "Disused Stations Site Record: Widnes Central". Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  5. "Disused Stations Site Record: Widnes South". Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  6. Carter, Helen (25 April 2001). "Homeward Bound: Widnes station tribute marks Paul Simon's unlikely inspiration". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. Backtrack - BACKTRACK BRIEFS . . . Northern Echo (Darlington); 21 November 2008; Mike Amos; p. 11
  8. Widnes station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 12 December 2016
  9. GB eNRT 2016-17 Edition, Table 89 (Network Rail)
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Hough Green   Northern Trains
Manchester to Liverpool Line		   Warrington West
Liverpool South Parkway   East Midlands Railway
Liverpool - Norwich		   Warrington Central
Hunts Cross    
Hough Green
(limited service)		    
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