Birkenhead Park railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Birkenhead Park


manager = Merseyrail
code = BKP
locale = Birkenhead
borough = Wirral
pte = Merseytravel
zone = B1
usage0405 = 0.496
usage0506 = 0.410
usage0607 = 0.397
platforms = 2
years = 1888
1938
events = Opened
Electrified

Birkenhead Park railway station is situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 5 km (3½ miles) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.

History

The station was opened on 2 January 1888, as a joint station between the Wirral Railway and the Mersey Railway. It replaced the Wirral Railway's original terminus at Wallasey Bridge Road (close to the present-day Birkenhead North station), becoming an interchange between their line to West Kirby and the Mersey Railway's new line to central Liverpool. On the same day, the Wirral Railway's new line to Wallasey Grove Road opened, which was extended to New Brighton later that year.

On 6 December 1922 an accident occurred at the station. The train heading to West Kirby, which was late, was leaving the station and collided with a train from West Kirby. There was one fatality and twelve people were injured. This was the only fatal passenger accident to occur on the Wirral Railway. [Railway Stations Of Wirral, Merseyside Railway History Group, ISBN 1-899241-02-7]

In 1938, the lines to West Kirby and New Brighton were electrified by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, allowing through services to central Liverpool, so the need to change at Birkenhead Park was removed.

The station building is not the original. The first station was destroyed by a bomb during the Second World War.

The name of the station comes from nearby Birkenhead Park, an early municipal park which was the model for Central Park, New York City.

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime) to New Brighton and West Kirby and every 5-10 minutes via Hamilton Square and the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. At other times, trains run every 30 minutes to New Brighton and West Kirby, and every 15 minutes to Liverpool.

Facilities Nearby

A convenience store, post office, and several fast food restaurants are available outside the station. Bus services run along the road outside the station and along Park Road (100 m towards the park).

External links

* [http://www.merseyrail.org/stations/?iStationId=12 Station information] from Merseyrail

References

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