Liverpool South Parkway railway station
Encyclopedia
Liverpool South Parkway station is a railway station and bus interchange in the Garston
Garston, Merseyside
Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, and Speke.-History:Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name....

 district of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England. It serves, via a bus link, Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...

 in the neighbouring suburb of Speke.

The station is located towards the southern end of Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...

's Northern Line
Northern Line (Merseyrail)
The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...

 and on the junction of two main lines: the City Line
City Line (Merseyrail)
The City Line is the name given to local rail routes out of Liverpool Lime Street station, Liverpool, Merseyside. It appears on maps of the Merseyrail network as red, and covers the Liverpool-Wigan Line as well as the two routes of the Liverpool-Manchester Line...

 from Liverpool to Manchester
Manchester Oxford Road railway station
Manchester Oxford Road Railway Station is a railway station in the city of Manchester, England. The station is located at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street, on an elevated line between Deansgate and Piccadilly stations....

 via Warrington
Warrington Central railway station
Warrington Central railway station is one of two main railway stations serving the town of Warrington in the north-west of England. It is located on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line , and is situated around halfway between the two cities...

 and the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

 to London
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...

 via .

Allerton Traction Maintenance Depot
Allerton TMD
Allerton TMD is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in Liverpool. The depot is opposite Liverpool South Parkway and is visible to the north on the way to Hunts Cross. The depot is now owned and soon to be operated by Northern Rail, but used to be owned by EWS...

 is situated to the immediate east of the station.

History

The station was built to improve public transport access to Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...

, and also to provide new journey opportunities for rail passengers in south Liverpool by allowing easy interchange between Northern Line, City Line and West Coast Main Line services. Proposals for the station, originally called Allerton Interchange, existed as far back as 1999, but it was not until 2004 that construction began.

The main line platforms at Liverpool South Parkway are on the site of the former Allerton station
Allerton railway station
Allerton railway station was a railway station on the City Line of the Merseyrail network, located in the suburbs of Liverpool, England. It opened on 15 February 1864 with the opening of the St Helens Railway's extension to Edge Hill....

, which closed in 2005 to allow the required rebuilding work to take place. The Northern Line platforms are completely new, replacing a station at Garston
Garston (Merseyside) railway station
Garston station was a railway station in the Garston district of Liverpool, England. It was located on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail suburban rail network.-History:The station was opened on 1 April 1874 by the Cheshire Lines Committee...

 which was slightly further west of the current station. The concourse, bus station and car park are built on land that was once the home of South Liverpool F.C.
South Liverpool F.C.
South Liverpool F.C. are a football club from Liverpool, England. They are currently in the West Cheshire Amateur Football League and play their home matches at Jericho Lane. The club's colours are white shirts, black shorts and red socks.-First incarnation:...



At the time of opening, the City Line service (which had been hourly at the former Allerton station) was increased to half-hourly. The station also became an additional stop on the Liverpool-Birmingham service (then operated by Central Trains
Central Trains
Central Trains was one of the original 25 train operating companies to emerge from the break-up of British Rail between 1994 and 1997. The company operated local, urban and secondary express services across central England and Mid Wales.-Overview:...

). Then, from 11 December 2006, the Monday-Saturday evening service on the Northern Line was increased to run every 15 minutes, instead of half-hourly as previously.

Initially, many long-distance services omitted Liverpool South Parkway from their timetables, but more train services were gradually introduced. In December 2008 the Birmingham service was doubled in frequency, and East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...

 services began calling at the station.

In December 2010 a further service was introduced, when First Transpennine Express
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...

 services added the station as an extra stop on their services from Liverpool to and Scarborough
Scarborough railway station
Scarborough railway station serves the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It lies east of York and is one of the eastern termini on the North TransPennine route operated by First TransPennine Express...

.

In May 2011, Blackpool North
Blackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....

 services which used to operate from Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...

 have now been extended to start and terminate at Liverpool South Parkway. The service is operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

 and does not call at stations between South Parkway and Lime Street. The service from Lime Street is unchanged. Trains travelling from Blackpool North to Liverpool South Parkway have a 15 minute dwelling time at Liverpool Lime Street.

Features

  • 6 platforms (four high-level platforms on the West Coast Main Line
    West Coast Main Line
    The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

     and a further two on the Northern Line
    Northern Line (Merseyrail)
    The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...

    )
  • A 5-stand bus station for local bus services.
  • A 16-space taxi rank.
  • Provision for a proposed extension of the now-shelved Merseytram
    Merseytram
    Merseytram is a proposed tram system for Liverpool and surrounding districts of Merseyside, England. Originally proposed in 2001, forming part of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan, it consists of three lines, connecting outlying suburbs of the city with the city centre...

     system towards the airport.
  • A 240-space car park for use as a Park and Ride
    Park and ride
    Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...

     facility.
  • Storage facilities for 65 bicycles.
  • A café and adjacent passenger lounge with wifi.


The station has been designed to use environmentally-friendly techniques wherever possible. Some of the building's electricity is provided by Photovoltaic cells. A 700,000 litre rainwater harvesting system has also been installed to reduce the use of mains water. This water will be used for cleaning and washing, as well as toilet flushes. All timber used has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...

 as being from a well-managed forest. The roof is made from recycled aluminium instead of virgin materials. The automatic doors at each of the five bus stances open only when a bus arrives, enhancing safety but also retaining heat within the building and avoiding excessive openings of the doors. The free-access main entrance uses a revolving door to avoid draughts.

In August 2006, Liverpool South Parkway won the Innovation Award at Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

's annual Environment Awards.

In June 2009 the station underwent some enhancements, and saw the introduction of a new travel centre and a heated passenger lounge with wifi internet access, comfortable chairs and free newspapers, adjacent to the café; ticket barriers at both ends of the concourse were also installed.

Services

On the Northern Line (Platforms 5 and 6), trains run every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday, to Southport
Southport railway station
Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. It is at the end of one of the branches of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, and at the end of the Manchester-Southport Line which runs via Wigan...

 via Liverpool Central
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...

, with a half-hourly service on Sundays.

On the high-level platforms (1 and 2), Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

 provide two trains per hour in each direction on the City Line
City Line (Merseyrail)
The City Line is the name given to local rail routes out of Liverpool Lime Street station, Liverpool, Merseyside. It appears on maps of the Merseyrail network as red, and covers the Liverpool-Wigan Line as well as the two routes of the Liverpool-Manchester Line...

 between and Manchester Oxford Road
Manchester Oxford Road railway station
Manchester Oxford Road Railway Station is a railway station in the city of Manchester, England. The station is located at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street, on an elevated line between Deansgate and Piccadilly stations....

. On Sundays an hourly service operates.

The East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...

 service from Liverpool to and ) serves the station hourly.

All London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....

 services from Liverpool to call at Liverpool South Parkway. The service runs half-hourly Monday to Saturday, and hourly on Sundays. Since East Midlands Trains started calling, platform 3 is used for one of the Birmingham services, and the other uses platform 1.

First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...

 services from Liverpool call at the station . Most services continue to and via . Selected services also travel to , and

Platform 4 is used for Northern Rail services to Blackpool North.

Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 services to London Euston do not serve the station and there are no plans to do so in the near future. The platforms are not long enough to accommodate Virgin's Pendolino
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...

 trains, and the location of this station, with a bridge at the north end and Allerton Junction at the south end, makes platform extension difficult.

Bus services run from the station to Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...

, Aigburth
Aigburth
Aigburth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Mossley Hill, and Garston.-History:...

, Dingle
Dingle, Liverpool
Dingle is an inner-city area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by the adjoining districts of Toxteth and Aigburth...

, Mossley Hill
Mossley Hill
Mossley Hill is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Aigburth, Wavertree, Childwall and Allerton. At the 2001 Census, the Mossley Hill ward had a population which was recorded at 12,650.-Notable...

 and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 City Centre. Services are operated by Arriva North West
Arriva North-West & Wales
Arriva North West and Wales was a division of Arriva that operated bus services around North West England and Wales. It was made up from several previous bus operators including North Western , most of MTL North , the Bee Line Buzz Company , and most of what was once Crosville Motor Services Arriva...

, Stagecoach Merseyside
Stagecoach Merseyside
Stagecoach Merseyside is a major operator of bus services in the English city of Liverpool and in the surrounding area of Merseyside. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group...

 and Supertravel.

A dedicated airport shuttle bus, route 501, operates from the station to the airport every 20 minutes, Monday to Saturday daytimes only. In the evenings and on Sundays, passengers must instead use local services 80A and 86A for transfer to/from the airport. Combined bus-rail tickets are available for rail passengers wishing to travel to the airport.

From December 2011 low cost coach operator Gorilla Bus will run direct services between Liverpool South Parkway and Carlisle, Hamilton, Glasgow, Knutsford, East Midlands Airport and Meadowhall including overnight services.

Criticism

Originally scheduled to open in December 2005, the project fell behind schedule, and finally opened on 11 June 2006. The construction cost, originally estimated to be £16 million, had doubled to £32 million by the time construction was completed. Merseytravel
Merseytravel
Merseytravel Merseytravel Merseytravel (MPTE, or Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...

 rejected criticism of the delays and cost increase, stating that it had been caused by factors beyond its control, such as the collapse of Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...

, increasing steel costs and poor weather causing flooding at the construction site.

Tom Wileman, regional director of bus operator Stagecoach
Stagecoach Merseyside
Stagecoach Merseyside is a major operator of bus services in the English city of Liverpool and in the surrounding area of Merseyside. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group...

, described Liverpool South Parkway as a "white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...

". However, from 28 September 2008 Stagecoach service 82 was rerouted to serve the station; and from December 2008, trains operated by Stagecoach-owned East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...

 began calling there.

The station does have cash machines, but there are no ticket machines at the station.

Future

Merseytravel have stated that they aim to work with the train operators to improve the train service at Liverpool South Parkway, introducing new services with each twice-yearly timetable change.

From 23rd May 2011, Northern Rail introduced direct services to Blackpool North
Blackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....

. This was achieved by extending the existing Blackpool to Liverpool service. Trains run non-stop from Liverpool South Parkway to Liverpool Lime Street, where they will reverse to continue their journey to Blackpool. Seven trains per day will operate Monday-Saturday, all outside the peaks with no direct evening or Sunday service.

Other new services which have been proposed but not confirmed are:
  • Additional shuttle services between Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street
    Liverpool Lime Street railway station
    Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...

     on the City Line
  • More frequent Sunday services on the Northern Line
  • Services to Chester
    Chester
    Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

     and North Wales
    North Wales Coast Line
    The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line. The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly...

    . This would require upgrading of the Halton Curve
    Halton Curve
    The Halton Curve is a railway line in the borough of Halton, Cheshire. It runs from Frodsham Junction to Halton Junction , providing a link from the North Line to the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line.The line can now be used only northbound because the southbound line and the...

     to accommodate bidirectional working and is a long-term project.


Proposals for High Speed 2
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...

 raise the possibility of London trains calling at Liverpool South Parkway. This could be as part of the new high speed service to Liverpool or as part of a revised stopping pattern on the existing West Coast Main Line service.

On TV and film

The scenes ending the long-running John Paul/Craig storyline in the soap opera Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

, which aired in September 2008, were filmed at Liverpool South Parkway. The scenes were broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

on 19 September 2008.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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