Kirkdale railway station

Kirkdale railway station is a railway station in Kirkdale, Liverpool, England, located to the north of the city centre on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network. It acts as the interchange between the branches to Kirkby and Ormskirk; these lines diverge just north of the station.

Kirkdale
The platforms, footbridge and ticket office.
LocationKirkdale, Liverpool
England
Coordinates53.4408°N 2.9811°W / 53.4408; -2.9811
Grid referenceSJ349942
Managed byMerseyrail
Transit authorityMerseytravel
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeKKD
Fare zoneC1
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
20 November 1848 (1848-11-20)Opened as Bootle Lane
1 February 1876Renamed Kirkdale
2000Refurbished
Passengers
2015/16 0.869 million
2016/17 0.893 million
2017/18 0.884 million
2018/19 1.068 million
2019/20 1.272 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
A 1909 map showing Kirkdale station

Kirkdale TMD train maintenance depot, the largest depot on the Merseyrail Network, is located adjacent to the station.

History

The station originally opened as Bootle Lane was built by the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway and Liverpool and Bury Railway at the start of their joint line into Liverpool, opening in 1848. In 1977 it became part of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.

Five tunnels

The station is aligned north–south. Facing north five tunnel portals can be seen north of the platforms.

A cluster of three very short tunnels running under a road, is to the west. The three short tunnels were to give greater throughput and are all on the same line. The extreme west left hand tunnel is used for shunting. The next tunnel is the main Merseyrail Northern Line tunnel. The third tunnel is disused, but was in use up until 1968 as the fast line for expresses to Yorkshire and Manchester.

To the east is a cluster of two tunnels. The extreme right hand eastern tunnel was an abandoned project. The adjacent tunnel runs in tunnels and cuttings to the disused Walton On The Hill station and was a part of the North Liverpool Extension Line. This section of line was used from 1879 to 1979, however never called at Kirkdale station.

Freight lines

Two freight lines passed through or under the station.

The busy Canada Dock Branch freight only line serving Liverpool Docks passes under the station, roughly north-east to south-west, via a tunnel.

The North Liverpool Extension Line, also referred to as the eastern section of the Outer Loop, emerged from the north out of a tunnel next to the station, running parallel to the west platform. This section of line was used from 1879 to 1979.

Facilities

The station (as is usual for most on Merseyrail) is fully staffed throughout the hours of service all week. The platforms are fully accessible and step free (as noted above) and there are shelters, customer information screens and timetable poster boards on each platform. Train running information is also offered by automated announcements. The station has two car parking spaces for disabled users and cycle racks for 10 cycles.[1]

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes, Monday-Saturday daytime to either Kirkby or Ormskirk to the north, and every 5 or 10 minutes to Liverpool Central to the south. During the evenings after 20:00 and all day Sundays, services are every 30 minutes to Kirkby and Ormskirk, and every 15 minutes to Liverpool.[2]

  • The railway tunnel to Rice Lane, viewed from the end of the platform.
  • The A5090 road bridge, at the end of the platform.
  • A Merseyrail Class 508 arrives with a service to Liverpool.
  • The station with Kirkdale TMD in the distance.

References
  1. "Kirkdale train station | timetable | ticket prices & facilities". www.merseyrail.org. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  2. Table 104 & 105 National Rail timetable, December 2016
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Walton
towards Ormskirk		   Merseyrail
Northern Line
Ormskirk Branch		   Sandhills
towards Liverpool Central
Rice Lane
towards Kirkby		   Merseyrail
Northern Line
Kirkby Branch		  
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