Rock Ferry railway station

Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry
	A Class 507 Merseyrail train at the stabling siding at Rock Ferry.
Location	Rock Ferry, Wirral; England
Coordinates	53°22′23″N 3°00′40″W / 53.373°N 3.011°WCoordinates: 53°22′23″N 3°00′40″W / 53.373°N 3.011°W
Grid reference	SJ328866
Managed by	Merseyrail
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	4 (only 2 see regular use)
Other information
Station code	RFY
Fare zone	B1
Classification	DfT category E
Key dates
1862; 1891	Opened
Passengers
2016/17	0.665 million
2017/18	0.647 million
2018/19	0.695 million
2019/20	0.790 million
2020/21	0.260 million
Notes
	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Rock Ferry on the Wirral Line

Rock Ferry railway station is situated in the Rock Ferry area of Birkenhead, Wirral, England. The station lies 4.5 miles (7 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station has an island platform with four platforms in total and four tracks. Two platforms are unused with two tracks used for train stabling. The Birkenhead Dock Branch line branched off the line south of the station, with freight trains passing to the western side of the station. The freight line fell into disuse in 1993.

History[]

Rock Ferry station first opened on 31 October 1862 replacing Rock Lane on the Chester and Birkenhead Railway. In 1891 it became an interchange as the terminus of the largely underground urban Mersey Railway line from Liverpool via the Mersey Railway Tunnel, when the line extended south from its previous terminus at Green Lane station. The Mersey Railway was converted to electric train services from steam in 1903. The station was also a through stop and interchange on the Chester to Birkenhead Woodside terminal station non-electric line giving connections to the Mersey Railway. Until 1967 Rock Ferry was the first stop out of Birkenhead Woodside on the former GWR main line from Birkenhead Woodside to London Paddington station. All long-distance services called at Rock Ferry to give interchange connections with the Mersey railway for Liverpool bound passengers.

From 1967 with the closure of Birkenhead Woodside station the Rock Ferry station became a 100% terminus and interchange station for electric services from the north from Liverpool's city centre and diesel trains services from the south from Chester and Helsby. The electric services to Liverpool were integrated into the Merseyrail urban network in the 1970s becoming the Wirral Line.

In 1985 the Merseyrail Wirral Line was extended to Hooton, Chester and Ellesmere Port from Rock Ferry with the station becoming fully integrated into the Merseyrail urban network. This integration transformed Rock Ferry into a through-station. The first Merseyrail section extension was to Hooton in 1985, then to Chester in 1993 and finally Ellesmere Port in 1994. The section of line from Ellesmere Port to Helsby was not electrified with the line having only a 'Parliamentary' service. Recent refurbishment work to the station has included the restoration of a building on the island platform and installation of a fully accessible toilet and waiting room. The booking hall and entrance have also benefited from improved security and lighting.^[when?] The old Merseyrail terminating tracks are now used as stabling sidings with the platforms only having one or two passenger services to Liverpool starting in the early in the morning. Platform 3 is only used once a day from Monday to Saturday before 0600 and Platform 4 is used twice before 0800 on Sundays.

Facilities[]

The station is staffed, during all opening hours, and has platform CCTV.^[1] There is a payphone, a vending machine and a booking office. Each of the two remaining former GWR/LMS Joint platforms now in use has sheltered seating and live departure and arrival screens, the Liverpool-bound platform retaining its canopy; the two bay platforms which were formerly used by the Mersey Railway are now used primarily for carriage storing; the two further former GWR/LMS Joint platforms are abandoned and out of use. The station has a free car park, with 25 spaces; it also has secure cycle storage for 24 cycles.^[2] Access to the station is by ramp. The only access to the Chester/Ellesmere Port bound platform for passengers with wheelchairs or prams is via a stepped ramp.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.

Gallery[]

Looking south. Interchange between Merseyrail trains, at the buffers to the right, and the diesel trains in June 1980.
Looking north. A British Rail Class 503 Merseyrail train at Rock Ferry, in 1983. Buffers are just off the bottom of the picture.
A Merseyrail Class 507 departs towards Bebington.
A Merseyrail Class 508 pulls into the stabling siding platforms at Rock Ferry.
The platform and footbridge.

References[]

^ Station Facilities for Rock Ferry Accessed 2013-12-20
^ Rock Ferry train station facilities, Merseyrail Accessed 2017-02-25
^ Rock Ferry Station Plan Accessed 2013-12-20
^ "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.

External links[]

Train times and station information for Rock Ferry railway station from National Rail

Station information for Rock Ferry railway station from Merseyrail
Photograph of diesel locomotive no. 40 122 (D200) at Rock Ferry in 1985

Preceding station	National Rail		Following station
Bebington towards Chester or Ellesmere Port		Merseyrail Wirral Line Ellesmere Port/Chester	Green Lane towards Liverpool Central
	Historical railways
Rock Lane Line open, station closed		GWR & LNWR Chester & Birkenhead Railway	Tranmere Line open, station closed

[1] Station Facilities for Rock Ferry Accessed 2013-12-20

[2] Rock Ferry train station facilities, Merseyrail Accessed 2017-02-25

[3] Rock Ferry Station Plan Accessed 2013-12-20

[4] "Wirral Line timetable" (PDF). Merseyrail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Railway stations in Merseyside
Knowsley	Halewood Huyton Kirkby Prescot Roby Whiston
Liverpool (city centre stations in italics)	Aigburth Bank Hall Broad Green Brunswick Cressington Edge Hill Fazakerley Hunts Cross James Street Kirkdale Liverpool Central Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool South Parkway Liverpool St James (proposed) Moorfields Mossley Hill Orrell Park Rice Lane St Michaels Sandhills Walton Wavertree Technology Park West Allerton
Sefton	Ainsdale Aintree Birkdale Blundellsands & Crosby Bootle New Strand Bootle Oriel Road Formby Freshfield Hall Road Hightown Hillside Maghull Maghull North Meols Cop Old Roan Seaforth & Litherland Southport Waterloo
St Helens	Earlestown Eccleston Park Garswood Lea Green Newton-le-Willows Rainford Rainhill St Helens Central St Helens Junction Thatto Heath
Wirral	Bebington Beechwood (proposed) Bidston Birkenhead Central Birkenhead North Birkenhead Park Bromborough Bromborough Rake Conway Park Eastham Rake Green Lane Hamilton Square Heswall Hoylake Leasowe Manor Road Meols Moreton New Brighton Port Sunlight Rock Ferry Spital Town Meadow (proposed) Upton Wallasey Grove Road Wallasey Village West Kirby Woodchurch (proposed)
Outside Merseyside, but within the Merseytravel area	Hooton Hough Green Town Green Aughton Park Ormskirk
Transport in Merseyside Merseytravel Merseyrail

v t 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

v t Railway stations served by Merseyrail
A	Aigburth Ainsdale Aintree Aughton Park
B	Bache Bank Hall Bebington Bidston Birkdale Birkenhead Central Birkenhead Hamilton Square Birkenhead North Birkenhead Park Blundellsands and Crosby Bootle New Strand Bootle Oriel Road Bromborough Bromborough Rake Brunswick
C	Capenhurst Chester Conway Park Cressington
E	Eastham Rake Ellesmere Port
F	Fazakerley Formby Freshfield
G	Green Lane
H	Hall Road Hightown Hillside Hooton Hoylake Hunts Cross
J	James Street
K	Kirkby Kirkdale
L	Leasowe Little Sutton Liverpool Central Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool South Parkway
M	Maghull Maghull North Manor Road Meols Moorfields Moreton (Merseyside)
N	New Brighton
O	Old Roan Ormskirk Orrell Park Overpool
P	Port Sunlight
R	Rice Lane Rock Ferry
S	Sandhills Seaforth and Litherland Southport Spital St Michaels
T	Town Green
W	Wallasey Grove Road Wallasey Village Walton (Merseyside) Waterloo (Merseyside) West Kirby
Rail transport in the United Kingdom