Place Ditton Grid reference SJ487846 | Area Halton, Cheshire Platforms in use 5 | |
 | ||
Pre-grouping London & North Western Railway Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Railtrack 1 May 1871 New station opened as Ditton Junction, replacing Ditton Mill Similar Heatley & Warburton railway st, Broxton railway station, Hassall Green railway st, Mickle Trafford railway st | ||
Ditton railway station, earlier known as Ditton Junction, was in the town of Widnes in Cheshire, England. It was located on Hale Road on the border between Ditton and Halebank.
Contents
History
The station opened in 1871 on the London-Liverpool line. It replaced an earlier station named Ditton Mill which was inconveniently located off the then new main line some 230 yards to the east. Ditton closed to passengers on 27 May 1994.
On 17 September 1912 15 people were killed when the 17:30 train from Chester derailed while crossing from the fast to the slow line at speed.
Paul Simon
Ditton Railway Station is one of two stations where Paul Simon reputedly composed the song "Homeward Bound", the other being Widnes railway station. It is uncertain exactly where the song was written: in an interview with Paul Zollo for SongTalk Magazine, Art Garfunkel says that Simon wrote the song in a train station "around Manchester" while in an earlier interview for Playboy Magazine Simon himself mentioned the train station was at Liverpool. It is likely, however, that it was written at one of the two Widnes stations during a long wait for a train, as Simon was traveling back from Widnes, where he had been playing. A plaque commemorating this claim to fame is displayed on the Liverpool bound platform of Widnes railway station. 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."
Closure
The station was the first to be closed by Railtrack following the privatisation of British Rail in 1994. Passenger numbers declined during the 1960s and 1970s with the steady withdrawal of services. The Ditton Dodger to St Helens Central was the first withdrawal in 1951, followed by services to Manchester Oxford Road in 1962 and to North Wales via the North Wales Coast Line and Chester in 1975. The station was left with an hourly shuttle between Crewe and Liverpool. By the late 1980s even this service had begun to omit Ditton from its schedule and dwindling passenger numbers eventually led to its closure.
As of 2015 the platforms survive and can easily be seen from passing trains.
Future
Halton Borough Council has protected the site of the station as well as the Halton Curve from development prejudicial to their reuse as part of the rail network; the Council notes that "there is an opportunity for the re-opening of this station, particularly with the possible increase in patronage from major industrial, commercial and housing developments in the area. It may be possible to use the station as a park and ride facility." The alignment of the "Shell Green Route" which linked Ditton with Widnes South and Warrington is also protected.