Liverpool Lime Street railway station
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Lime Street Station (officially referred to as Liverpool Lime Street) on Lime Street is the mainline railway station serving Liverpool, England. The station lies on the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line to London Euston and Glasgow Central.
History
In the early days of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the Liverpool terminus was located at Crown Street, in Edge Hill, officially opened in 1830. Construction of a purpose-built station began in October 1833, the land being purchased from Liverpool Council for £9000. A tunnel was constructed between Edge Hill and the new station (starting in 1832, prior to station construction), and the station was opened to the public in August of 1836, although construction was not completed until the following year. Because of the steep incline between Lime Street and Edge Hill, trains were stopped at Edge Hill, their locomotives removed, and the passenger carriages taken down by gravity, descent controlled by brakemen. The return journey was achieved by using a stationary engine to haul the carriages up with rope.Within six years, the rapid growth of the railways meant that the original station needed to be extended, and a plan was made to erect an iron roof similar to that found at Euston station in London, ridge roofs supported by iron columns; however, Richard Turner and William Fairburn submitted a design for a single curved roof, which won the approval of the station committee. The work cost £15,000, and was completed in 1849. The station was one of the first to send mail by train. A second roof was added in the 1880s. The North Western Hotel was built in front of the station - this still stands, having been converted to accommodation for students of Liverpool John Moores University.
Lime Street was part of the first stage of electrification of the West Coast Main Line in 1959. In 1966, the station saw the launch of the first InterCity service.
Layout and future expansion
Liverpool Lime Street is divided into two sections: the mainline station, which serves national and local overground services, and the Merseyrail Wirral Line station, located underground at the foot of St George’s Hall.Mainline
The mainline station is still covered by the vast iron and glass roofs dating from the 1880s. Platforms 1 to 6 are shorter than 7 to 9, the latter dealing mainly with long-distance services to London, Sheffield and other destinations. Access to platforms 1-6 is through a ticket inspection barrier, while platforms 7-9 are open, with tickets being inspected on the trains. Toilets, booking offices, shops, left luggage office, taxi ranks and coffee bars are amongst the facilities provided.In line with Liverpool's role as European Capital of Culture in 2008, and the city's 800th anniversary in 2007, the station and its immediate surroundings will receive a £35 million redevelopment. The Lime Street Gateway Project will see the current retail parade and office block in front of the station demolished, and an improved frontage and public plaza built. The development will be overseen by English Partnerships.
Low Level
The low level station is entirely underground, and consists of a single platform, alongside the Liverpool Loop, a single track tunnel excavated in the 1970s, and a ticket hall above. The station is connected to the Main Line station by means of a pedestrian subway and escalators, and by a lift, accessed via a long passageway which crosses beneath Lime Street itself.As part of a programme of improvements by Merseytravel, the station has recently been fitted with automatic ticket barriers and machines.
Current operations
Mainline
Train operators running services from Lime Street include:- Virgin Trains - London
- Central Trains - Manchester, Sheffield, the East Midlands, Birmingham and East Anglia.
- First TransPennine Express - Manchester, Leeds, and North East England
- Northern Rail - local services to Manchester, Warrington, Preston, Blackpool, Morecambe and Wigan.
Low Level
Merseyrail is the only operator using the low level station.- Wirral Line (Liverpool Loop) services to New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port.
- Access to the Northern Line (serving Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby and Hunts Cross) is via foot or the Wirral Line to Liverpool Central station.
External links
- [Train times] and [station information] for Liverpool Lime Street railway station from National Rail
- [Street map] and [aerial photo] of Liverpool Lime Street railway station from Multimap.com
- [Station information] for Liverpool Lime Street from Network Rail
- [Station information] for Liverpool Lime Street (Underground) from Merseyrail
| West Coast Main Line |
| Principal stations (from south to north) London Euston Watford Junction Milton Keynes Central Rugby Nuneaton Tamworth Lichfield Trent Valley Stafford Crewe then >Manchester Piccadilly or >Liverpool Lime Street or Warrington Bank Quay Wigan North Western Preston Lancaster Oxenholme Lake District Penrith North Lakes Carlisle Lockerbie Carstairs Junction then Motherwell Glasgow Central or >Haymarket >Edinburgh Waverley |
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0.5em auto; text-align: center;" |- ! Preceding station ! colspan="3" | National Rail ! Following station
| Merseyrail Wirral Line Stations''' | |
|---|---|
| New Brighton Branch: | New Brighton Wallasey Grove Road Wallasey Village |
| West Kirby Branch: | West Kirby Hoylake Manor Road Meols Moreton Leasowe Bidston''' |
| Northern Branch: | Birkenhead North Birkenhead Park Conway Park |
| Liverpool Loop: | Hamilton Square James Street Moorfields Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Central |
| Southern Branch: | Birkenhead Central Green Lane Rock Ferry Bebington Port Sunlight Spital Bromborough Rake Bromborough Eastham Rake Hooton |
| Chester Branch: | Capenhurst Bache Chester |
| Ellesmere Port Branch: | Little Sutton Overpool Ellesmere Port |
| Major UK railway stations | |
|---|---|
|
Aberdeen |
Belfast Central |
Birmingham New Street |
Brighton |
Bristol Temple Meads |
Cardiff Central |
Crewe |
Derby Edinburgh Waverley | Gatwick Airport | Glasgow Central | Glasgow Queen Street | Leeds City | Liverpool Lime Street Manchester Piccadilly | Manchester Victoria | Newcastle Central | Nottingham | Reading | Sheffield | York | |
| Railway stations of London Central area | Greater London |
|---|
| Blackfriars station>Blackfriars | Cannon Street | Charing Cross | City Thameslink | Clapham Junction | Euston Fenchurch Street | King's Cross | King's Cross Thameslink | Liverpool Street | London Bridge Marylebone | Moorgate | Paddington | St. Pancras | Victoria | Waterloo |
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