Station code CTR 2011/12 2.957 million Opened 1848 Number of platforms 7 Engineers George Grove, CH Wild | Grid reference SJ413669 DfT category B – Interchange 0.818 million | |
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Address Chester CH1 3NS, United Kingdom Similar Crewe railway station, Wrexham General railway st, Warrington Bank Quay railway st, Shrewsbury railway station, Manchester Piccadilly station | ||
Trains at chester railway station 07 6 16
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, with Merseyrail, Northern and Virgin Trains (West Coast) services also operating from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre. From 1875 to 1969 the station was known as Chester General station, to distinguish from Chester Northgate.
Contents
- Trains at chester railway station 07 6 16
- History
- Architecture
- Services
- Arriva Trains Wales
- Virgin Trains West Coast
- Merseyrail
- Northern Rail
- Facilities
- New Northern Franchise Requirements
- Chester to Wrexham redoubling
- Halton Curve Reopening
- Layout
- Accidents
- References
Work on the £10 million regeneration of the station and surrounding areas as part of the Chester Renaissance programme was completed in 2007. The development includes a new roof, improved customer facilities and better access to the station. A small plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey, one of the world's greatest railway building contractors in the early to mid-19th century, can be seen on the wall opposite the new booking office. The station marks one end of the Baker Way, a footpath leading to Delamere railway station.
Normal scheduled departures from Chester Station are: a quarter-hourly Merseyrail electric service on the Wirral Line to Liverpool, half-hourly in the evenings and on Sundays; frequent services on the North Wales Coast Line (thereby connecting with Holyhead for ferries to Dublin); Virgin Trains (West Coast) to London Euston via Crewe and to Holyhead; Arriva Trains Wales to Manchester Airport via Warrington Bank Quay and Cardiff Central/Birmingham New Street via Wrexham General as well as North Wales Coast Line trains to Crewe, Llandudno Junction, Llandudno, Holyhead; and Northern to Manchester Piccadilly via Northwich. From December 2017, there will also be an hourly train to Leeds stopping at Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows Manchester Victoria, Bradford and Leeds.
History
Opened in 1848, Chester General station was a joint station between the Chester and Holyhead Railway, the Chester and Crewe Railway and the Birkenhead Railway. Later these became the London and North Western Railway (which took over the Chester and Holyhead and the Chester and Crewe) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) (which ran the line to Wrexham and Shrewsbury) These companies owned the Birkenhead Railway jointly .
Architecturally the station has an Italianate frontage designed by Francis Thompson. The station also has carved wooden owls at some strategic locations high in the roof beams to help deter feral pigeons.
GWR and latterly BR Western Region express passenger trains operated from Birkenhead Woodside via Chester, Wrexham, Ruabon, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington (Salop), Wolverhampton, Birmingham Snow Hill, Leamington Spa and Banbury to London Paddington station until 1967.
From 1875, Chester was also served by Chester Northgate station (owned by the Cheshire Lines Committee); however, that station was closed in 1969 and is now the site of a leisure centre.
In 1993, a line extension of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network was accomplished through the use of third rail electrification. The line ended at the station, and became the terminus of a branch of the Wirral Line, and providing frequent rapid access along the Wirral to Birkenhead and all four underground stations in central Liverpool. The historic Chester and Birkenhead Railway, the first railway to serve Chester then became a part of Merseyrail's Wirral Line.
Architecture
The station was built between 1847 and 1848, designed by Francis Thompson, and built by the railway contractor Thomas Brassey. Also involved in the design and construction were the engineer C. H. Wild. who designed the train shed, and Robert Stephenson. It is built in Staffordshire blue brick and pale grey Storeton sandstone with slate roofs. Its architectural style is Italianate. It has a very long two-storey façade, with a 15-bay central section, and five-bay lateral projecting pavilions, each containing a pair of towers. The middle seven bays of the central section contain carvings by John Thomas. The station building is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. A small plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey, one of the world's greatest railway building contractors in the early to mid-19th century, can be seen on the wall opposite the new booking office. Brassey was born at Buerton, on what is now the Eaton Estate, some 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Chester; the house is no longer standing.
Services
Chester is served by four train operating companies.
Arriva Trains Wales
Virgin Trains (West Coast)
Merseyrail
The Wirral Line provides a direct service to central Liverpool and central Birkenhead with underground stations at Birkenhead Hamilton Square, Liverpool James Street, Liverpool Moorfields, Liverpool Lime Street Low Level station and Liverpool Central. The Wirral Line runs in a clockwise loop through Liverpool's city centre returning to Chester, hence trains may be indicated as bound for Chester whether running north or south. A change at Birkenhead Hamilton Square station gives connections to New Brighton and West Kirby. A change at Liverpool Moorfields gives access to all of the Merseyrail Electrics Northern Line services. City Line services and Inter-City services are accessed by changing at Liverpool Lime Street.
Northern Rail
There are proposals (see below) under consideration to reinstate a regular passenger service along the Halton Curve south of Runcorn railway station, which would permit the re-introduction of through trains from Liverpool to the North Wales Coast.
Facilities
The station is has a booking office and is staffed 15 minutes before and after the first and last train. There is a payphone, vending machine, booking office and live departure and arrival screens, for passenger information. The station has lifts and is fully accessible for disabled users. There is a car park with 83 spaces and cycle racks for 68 cycles.
New Northern Franchise Requirements
Under the new Northern franchise, the new operator Arriva Rail North (branded as 'Northern') must fulfil the following requirements:
Chester to Wrexham redoubling
The Wrexham to Chester line is currently undergoing engineering work to redouble the track and increase linespeeds to 90mph on certain sections. Network Rail currently expect to start running trains over the redoubled track in Spring 2017, after a previous target of November 2015.
Halton Curve Reopening
In July 2014, George Osborne announced £10.4m of funding to redevelop the Halton Curve had been secured. The reopened route will permit through services between Liverpool and North Wales via Liverpool South Parkway and Chester. In March 2016 Network Rail announced that services would run from Liverpool to Chester via the Halton Curve from May 2018 as part of the 2017 upgrade to Liverpool Lime Street. The 30-year plan for the network included possible uses for the curve such as connections to South Wales. This link will provide Chester with a direct rail link to Liverpool Airport, as well as an alternative route to central Liverpool in case of engineering work or severe delays on the Wirral Line.
Layout
The station has seven platforms. Platform 1 is a bay platform located at the east end (a second one alongside it is no longer utilised for passenger traffic but can be used for stock stabling). Platform 2 at the western end is another bay platform. Platform 3 is a through bi-directional platform and is closest to the concourse; it is split into sections 3a and 3b although on occasions a train will use the middle of the platform.
Over the bridge – or by way of lifts – is the island platform. Opposite Platform 3 is Platform 4, another through bi-directional platform, with sections designated as 4a and 4b. There are two east facing bays (Platforms 5 and 6). Platform 7 is an additional through platform, the only one with third-rail electrification; it is split into 'a' (eastern) and 'b' (western) sections and thus capable of accommodating two trains at once.