Port Sunlight railway station

Port Sunlight railway station serves the Port Sunlight area of the Wirral, England, a model village built for the workers of the nearby Lever Brothers soap factory. The station is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.

Port Sunlight
LocationPort Sunlight, Wirral
England
Coordinates53°20′55″N 2°59′54″W
Grid referenceSJ336840
Managed byMerseyrail
Transit authorityMerseytravel
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePSL
Fare zoneB1
ClassificationDfT category E
Passengers
2015/16 0.700 million
2016/17 0.659 million
2017/18 0.624 million
2018/19 0.742 million
2019/20 0.859 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Port Sunlight station is on the former Birkenhead Railway and opened as Port Sunlight Halt for workmen only on 1 May 1914. It became a public station (Port Sunlight) on 9 May 1927.[1] Direct train services to Liverpool began in 1985, when the line between Rock Ferry and Hooton was electrified; previously passengers for Liverpool had to change at Rock Ferry. Further electrification in early 1990s allowed electric train services to be extended, first to Chester in 1993 and then Ellesmere Port in 1994.

Facilities

The station is staffed, during all opening hours, and has platform CCTV.[2] There are toilets, a payphone, a vending machine and a booking office. There are departure and arrival screens, on the platform, for passenger information. Each of the two platforms has sheltered seating. The station does not have a car park, though there is roadside parking available. The station does have a cycle rack with 6 spaces, and a secure cycle locker with 60 spaces.[3] Access to the station booking office is by steep ramp. However, there is no easy access for passengers with wheelchairs or prams to the platforms, as this is by subway and staircase only.[4]

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.[5] 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.

  • A Merseyrail Class 507 approaches the station.
  • The station building, from the street.
  • The interior of the booking hall.
  • The view to the south of the station.

References
  1. Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations by G.Croughton page 115
  2. Station Facilities for Port Sunlight Accessed 2013-12-20
  3. Port Sunlight train station facilities, Merseyrail Accessed 2017-02-19
  4. Port Sunlight Station Plan Accessed 2013-12-20
  5. "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Chester to Birkenhead. Middleton Press. figs. 56-60. ISBN 9781908174215. OCLC 811323335.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Spital
towards Chester or Ellesmere Port		   Merseyrail
Wirral Line
Ellesmere Port/Chester		   Bebington
towards Liverpool Central
  Historical railways  
Spital
Line and station open		   GWR & LNWR
Chester and Birkenhead Railway		   Bebington & New Ferry
Line and station open
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