Roby railway station

Roby railway station serves the village of Roby, Merseyside, England. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street on the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and 1⁄2 mile (800 m) west of Huyton. It is operated by Northern Trains, as part of Merseyrail's electrified City Line to Manchester and Wigan North Western.

Roby
LocationRoby, Knowsley
England
Grid referenceSJ432906
Managed byNorthern Trains
Transit authorityMerseytravel
Platforms4
Other information
Station codeROB
Fare zoneC1
ClassificationDfT category E
Passengers
2015/16 0.283 million
2016/17 0.304 million
2017/18 0.338 million
2018/19 0.183 million
2019/20 0.210 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Roby station was opened in 1830 as part of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,[1] and is one of the oldest passenger railway stations in the world. These early intermediate stations were often little more than halts, usually positioned where the railway was crossed by a road or turnpike.[2] This probably accounts for variations in the names of these stopping places,[3] Roby station was originally known as Roby Lane Gate,[1] or just Roby Gate before finally becoming Roby at an unknown date.[3] Originally Roby station had four platforms, but the two platforms on the northern side of the station (Platforms 3 and 4) were closed in the 1970s, and the track was lifted. As part of the electrification of the Liverpool-Manchester Line, Platforms 3 and 4 have been re-instated.[4] The station has also received new customer information screens and a P.A system as part of this work.

Facilities

It is staffed throughout the day (as is the norm for Merseytravel-sponsored stations), with the ticket office (located in the main building on platform one) open from 05:30 until 00:10 Mondays to Saturdays and 09:45 to 17:45 on Sundays.[5] Shelters are available on the other three platforms, along with digital information screens, timetable poster boards, automatic train announcements and customer help points.[6] Full step-free access is offered to the platforms (to 2, 3 and 4 via lifts).

Services

During the daytime, Monday to Saturday, the station is served by 3 trains per hour in each direction. All Westbound trains run to Liverpool Lime Street.[7]

Eastbound trains serve Huyton, then continue to Wigan North Western (2 trains per hour), Warrington Bank Quay (1 train per hour) or Crewe via Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport (1 train per hour). Services are less frequent in the evenings and the service to Manchester starts/terminates at Wilmslow.

For many years, Roby was closed on Sundays. However, from December 2006, the station gained a Sunday service, with 2 trains per hour to Liverpool, 1 train per hour to Manchester and 1 train per hour to Blackpool North via Wigan. A second hourly stopping service to and from Wigan began at the spring 2018 timetable change.

  • A Northern Rail Class 142 departs towards Liverpool. Engineering work for the reinstatment of platforms is visible.
  • The station booking office, from the platform.
  • The station booking office, from the street.
  • The engineering work for the reinstatement of track between Roby and Huyton.

References
  1. Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  2. Ferneyhough, Frank (1980). Liverpool & Manchester Railway, 1830-1980. R. Hale. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7091-8137-8.
  3. G O Holt (1965). A short history of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (Second ed.). The Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 22.
  4. "Roby and Huyton Station Upgrade" (PDF). Merseytravel. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  5. Roby station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved
  6. Roby railway station., Merseyside (2015) Thompson, Nigel Geograph.org; Retrieved 22 December 2016
  7. Table 90 National Rail timetable, May 2019
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Broad Green   Northern Trains
Liverpool-Manchester Line		   Huyton
  Northern Trains
Liverpool-Wigan Line		  

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