Widnes railway station

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Widnes
National Rail
Widnes railway station.jpg
Widnes railway station
LocationFarnworth, Halton
England
Coordinates53°22′44″N 2°43′48″W / 53.379°N 2.73°W / 53.379; -2.73Coordinates: 53°22′44″N 2°43′48″W / 53.379°N 2.73°W / 53.379; -2.73
Grid referenceSJ512871
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeWID
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyCheshire Lines Committee
Pre-groupingCheshire Lines Committee
Post-groupingCheshire Lines Committee
Key dates
1 August 1873Opened as Farnworth (Widnes)
5 January 1959Renamed Widnes North
6 May 1968Renamed Widnes
Passengers
2016/17Increase 0.515 million
2017/18Decrease 0.494 million
2018/19Decrease 0.438 million
2019/20Increase 0.457 million
2020/21Decrease 0.107 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Widnes railway station (formerly Widnes North) is a railway station serving the town of Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] The station is operated by Northern Trains.

History[]

The station, opened by the CLC on 1 August 1873, was originally known as Farnworth (Widnes),[2] Farnworth being at the time a village north of Widnes, but is now a northern suburb of the town. The station was renamed Widnes North on 5 January 1959,[2][3] and finally Widnes on 6 May 1968[3] (Widnes Central and Widnes South, on other lines, having closed to passengers in 1964 and 1962 respectively).[4][5]

Plaque

Widnes railway station is generally believed to be the station where Paul Simon reputedly composed the song "Homeward Bound"[6] though some think it more likely that it was Ditton railway station, in order to get to London by train. Simon is quoted as saying "[i]f you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible."

[7] However, rather than actually being 'homeward bound' (Simon temporarily lived in London at the time), Simon was on tour and had just performed at local DJ Geoff Speed's Howff Folk Club in Widnes and was reportedly dropped off at Widnes station by Speed.[8][9] Simon was not headed for London but for Humberside and Widnes station would have been the logical choice of station to travel there.[10]

Facilities[]

The railway station is of the standard Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) style. A footbridge connects the two platforms. The station is staffed, but only until early afternoon. There is a car park outside. The station was refurbished in 2009 and as of 2010 houses a station shop and a beauty parlour, though there are still no toilet or waiting facilities for passengers other than the already existent shelter on the Manchester-bound platform. The platforms and footbridge have recently been refurbished. A ticket machine has been installed on the Manchester-bound platform. Digital display screens and automated announcements provide train running information.

The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis between the hours of 07:00 and 14:25 Mon-Sat. Step free access is available to both platforms.[11]

Services[]

There are generally two local trains (operated by Northern Trains) per hour in each direction, to Manchester Oxford Road to the east and Liverpool Lime Street to the west. Journey times from Widnes to Manchester on these local trains are around 45–50 minutes, depending on the number of stops. Journey time to Liverpool is around 25–30 minutes, again depending on stops.

An express service also operates hourly in each direction (run by East Midlands Railway), continuing beyond Manchester Piccadilly towards Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich. The journey time on most of these trains to Manchester is 30 minutes, whilst Liverpool can be reached in 18 minutes.[12]

Until the May 2018 timetable change Widnes was also served by one service to Scarborough on Mondays to Saturdays (run by TransPennine Express). All TransPennine services now operate via Newton-Le-Willows.

The typical off-peak service is:


Northern

  • 2tph to Manchester Oxford Road
  • 2tph to Liverpool Lime Street

East Midlands

  • 1tph to Norwich via Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield, Nottingham
  • 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Historic England. "Widnes North Railway Station (1106340)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  2. ^ a b Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. ^ a b Butt 1995, p. 250
  4. ^ "Disused Stations Site Record: Widnes Central". Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Disused Stations Site Record: Widnes South". Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  6. ^ Carter, Helen (25 April 2001). "Homeward Bound: Widnes station tribute marks Paul Simon's unlikely inspiration". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. ^ Backtrack - BACKTRACK BRIEFS . . . Northern Echo (Darlington); 21 November 2008; Mike Amos; p. 11
  8. ^ "Folklore: Remembering 'Folkscene' presenter Geoff Speed and his tales of Paul Simon". The Leader. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. ^ "The hit man and his mate; Geoff Speed has a very special reason for being in the audience at tonight's Big Top concert by music legend Paul Simon, as JANE GALLAGHER reports . . . - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Paul Simon and Garfunkel - England 64/65 tour : 1965". www.paul-simon.info. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  11. ^ Widnes station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 12 December 2016
  12. ^ GB eNRT 2019-20 Edition, Table 89 (Network Rail)

External links[]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Hough Green   Northern Trains
Manchester to Liverpool Line 		  Warrington West
Liverpool South Parkway   East Midlands Railway
Liverpool - Norwich 		  Warrington Central
Hunts Cross    
Hough Green
(limited service) 		   
Retrieved from ""