Hightown railway station

Railway station in Merseyside, England

53°31′30″N 3°03′25″W / 53.525°N 3.057°W / 53.525; -3.057Grid referenceSD300036Managed byMerseyrailTransit authorityMerseytravelPlatforms2Other informationStation codeHTOFare zoneD2ClassificationDfT category EHistoryOriginal companyLiverpool, Crosby and Southport RailwayPre-groupingLancashire and Yorkshire RailwayPost-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayKey dates24 July 1848 (1848-07-24)Opened as Hightownby 1852Renamed Hightown & Ince1861Renamed Hightown7 September 1964Closed for goodsPassengers2018/19Increase 0.353 million2019/20Increase 0.394 million2020/21Decrease 98,6242021/22Increase 0.248 million2022/23Increase 0.267 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Hightown railway station serves the village of Hightown in Merseyside, England. The station is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.

History

Hightown railway station opened as Hightown on 24 July 1848 when the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway (LC&SR) opened its line from Waterloo to Southport Eastbank Street.[1]

The station was situated on the north side of Alt Road which was crossed using a level crossing.[2][3]

The station had two platforms, one each side of the double-track with brick and stonework buildings, both sides had glazed awnings and waiting facilities.[4][5]

There were goods facilities with a siding on the down side and a small goods and coal yard on the up to the south of the level crossing.[a][7][8]

By 1852 the station had been renamed Hightown & Ince and in 1861 it reverted to Hightown.[1]

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922 and in turn was Grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948.[9]

The goods facilities closed on 7 September 1964.[10]

The level crossing was closed by British Rail in March 1967 when a road bridge was constructed nearby. The footbridge was replaced in 1972 with a pre-fabricated ramp and stair footbridge more suitable to the needs of mothers with children and the elderly.[11]

In 1978 the station became part of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line (operated by British Rail until privatised in 1995).[12]

Facilities

The station is staffed, from 15 minutes before the first train until 15 minutes after the last train.

Platform 1 (Southbound) has a waiting room, ticket office, cycle storage and a photo booth, whilst Platform 2 (Northbound) has a shelter, a payphone and cycle storage. There are live dot-matrix departure screens, for passenger information and platform CCTV on both platforms. The platforms are linked via a stepped bridge but both may be accessed via road.[13]

Services

Northbound trains operate to Southport, and Southbound trains to Hunts Cross via Liverpool Central.

On Mondays to Saturdays there are four trains an hour throughout the day in each direction; on Sundays there are two per hour.[14]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Formby
towards Southport 		  Merseyrail
Hunts Cross - Southport Line 		  Hall Road
towards Hunts Cross
  Historical railways  
Formby
towards Southport 		  Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway 		  Crosby (until 1874)
Hall Road (since 1874)

towards Liverpool Exchange

Gallery

  • The station booking office.
    The station booking office.
  • The Alt Road footbridge.
    The Alt Road footbridge.
  • The waiting shelter on the Southport-bound platform.
    The waiting shelter on the Southport-bound platform.
  • Merseyrail Class 508s pass at the station.
    Merseyrail Class 508s pass at the station.
  • Hightown station in 1948-showing older footbridge and level crossing.
    Hightown station in 1948-showing older footbridge and level crossing.

References

Notes

  1. ^ Up trains usually headed towards the major conurbation, usually London, some railway companies ran 'up' to their headquarters location. In this case 'up' was towards Liverpool.[6]

Citations

  1. ^ a b Quick 2023, p. 242.
  2. ^ Lancashire Sheet XC (Map). Six-inch. Ordnance Survey. 1848.
  3. ^ Gahan 1985, p. 86.
  4. ^ Gahan 1985, pp. 86–87.
  5. ^ Gell 1986.
  6. ^ Simmons 1997, p. 548.
  7. ^ Gahan 1985, p. 87.
  8. ^ Lancashire Sheet XC (Map). Six-inch. Ordnance Survey. 1848.
  9. ^ Ferneyhough 1975, pp. 164 & 176–177.
  10. ^ Clinker 1978, p. 63.
  11. ^ Desmond, Paul (1 December 1971). "New bridge cost is almost double". Liverpool Daily Post. p. 9. Retrieved 5 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Pettitt & Comfort 2015, pp. 59 & 171.
  13. ^ "Hightown train station". www.merseyrail.org. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  14. ^ Table 82 National Rail timetable, May 2023

Bibliography

  • Clinker, C. R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1977. Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 0-905466-19-5. OCLC 5726624.
  • Ferneyhough, Frank (1975). The History of Railways in Britain. Reading: Osprey. ISBN 0-85045-060-8. OCLC 2120140.
  • Gahan, John W. (1985). Seaport to Seaside: Lines to Southport and Ormskirk - 13 decades of trains and travel. ISBN 978-0-907768-07-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  • 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)
  • Pettitt, Gordon; Comfort, Nicholas (2015). The Regional Railways Story. ISBN 978-0-86093-663-3.
  • Quick, Michael (2023) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.05. Railway & Canal Historical Society.
  • Simmons, Jack (1997). "'up' and 'down'". In Simmons, Jack; Biddle, Gordon (eds.). The Oxford Companion to British Railway History From 1603 to the 1990s (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 548. ISBN 0-19-211697-5.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hightown railway station.
  • Train times and station information for Hightown railway station from National Rail
  • Station information for Hightown railway station from Merseyrail
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