Leasowe railway station

Leasowe railway station is situated near the village of Leasowe, Wirral, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.

Leasowe
Class 508 on Platform 2 in 2012
Location
PlaceLeasowe
Local authorityWirral
Grid referenceSJ270907
Operations
Station codeLSW
Managed byMerseyrail
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.612 million
2015/16 0.607 million
2016/17 0.541 million
2017/18 0.543 million
2018/19 0.612 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTEMerseytravel
ZoneB1
History
4 July 1870Opened as Leasowe Crossing[1]
1 August 1872Closed[1]
5 May 1894Reopened[1]
1938Electrified
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Leasowe from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Location

The station is in Reeds Lane,[2] on the edge of Moreton and around 500 metres south of the village of Leasowe which is on the north Wirral coast. It is just 1 km east of Moreton station on the same line, and has a Park and ride facility for commuters to Liverpool.

History

Leasowe station was originally opened on the Hoylake Railway in 1870, as Leasowe Crossing without a proper platform, but it closed less than two years later.[1][3] The station opened again on 5 May 1894, when the line from Bidston (1.5 km to the east) to Moreton was doubled.[4] It was built by the Wirral Railway on their line from Birkenhead Park to West Kirby.

Through electric services to Liverpool Central commenced on 13 March 1938, when the LMS electrified the lines from Birkenhead Park to West Kirby.[5][6] The service was provided by the then-new LMS electric multiple units. However, on Sunday mornings, the service was provided by the older Mersey Railway electric units, which had until then only run from Liverpool to Birkenhead Park.[7] The platform buildings were replaced in 1938, rebuilt in a similar style to those along the line towards West Kirby,[8] and a footbridge was added. The signal box, used to operate the level crossing and replacing a cabin on the westbound platform, was moved to the opposite side of Reeds Lane and was also improved at the time.[9]

The station did not have a goods yard; it just had two lines straight through.[1][9] Nonetheless, freight did pass through the station from the nearby Cadbury factory, also in Moreton.[10] The 8-lever signal box was in use until 24 July 1994,[11] and demolished afterwards.[9]

Facilities

The station is staffed, during all opening hours, and has platform CCTV.[12] Each of the two platforms has a waiting room. There is a payphone, booking office and live departure and arrival screens, for passenger information. The station has a free "Park and Ride" car park, with 204 spaces,[13] lighting columns and CCTV to meet Merseytravel's Travelsafe requirements, as well as a cycle rack. There is step-free access, to the booking office and platforms, for wheelchairs and prams.

Services

Current services are every 15 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime) to West Kirby and Liverpool. At other times, trains operate every 30 minutes.[14] These services are provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs.

The station also has a number of connecting Merseytravel bus services.

  • A Merseyrail Class 507 unit waits with a service to Liverpool.
  • A view, towards Bidston, of the platforms, footbridge and level crossing.
  • The view towards Meols.
  • Westward view from under the footbridge, next to the level crossing.

References
  1. Mitchell & Smith 2014, map X
  2. Maund 2009, p. 45
  3. Maund 2009, p. 11
  4. Maund 2009, p. 37
  5. Gahan 1983, p. 63
  6. Maund 2009, p. 166
  7. Gahan 1983, p. 67
  8. Maund 2009, p. 159
  9. Maund 2009, p. 226
  10. Maund 2009, p. 209
  11. Mitchell & Smith 2014, fig. 37
  12. Station Facilities for Leasowe Accessed 2013-12-18
  13. Leasowe train station facilities, Merseyrail Accessed 2013-12-18
  14. "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.

Sources
  • Gahan, John W. (1983). Steel Wheels to Deeside - The Wirral Railway past and present. Birkenhead: Countryvise. ISBN 0-907768-70-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Maund, T.B. (2009). The Wirral Railway and its Predecessors. Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899-88938-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Birkenhead to West Kirby. West Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781908174611. OCLC 885451764.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Moreton
towards West Kirby		   Merseyrail
Wirral Line
West Kirby Branch		   Bidston
towards Liverpool Central

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