Station code RUE DfT category E Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SJ557814 2011/12 0.153 million Opened 3 October 1983 | |
Similar Runcorn railway station, Frodsham railway station, Helsby railway station, Warrington Bank Quay railway st, Earlestown railway station | ||
Runcorn East railway station serves the eastern suburbs of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and offers trains to Warrington and Manchester and to Chester and North Wales.
Contents
History
The station, which opened by British Rail on 3 October 1983, is situated a short distance from the site of the former Norton station (closed by the British Transport Commission in 1952) and the nearby signal box still bears this name.
The station was formally adopted by the North Cheshire Rail Users group on 16 May 2008, under the Arriva Trains Wales Adopt a Station Initiative.
Facilities
Arriva began looking into the possibility of installing scrolling information screens on the platforms, with train running information in 2008. An initial site survey was carried out on 30 May 2008 with a follow up on 20 September 2008. A third site survey was carried out in January 2010; this also included a PA system being installed, looking at improving CCTV coverage over the station and improvements for disabled access to the station. On 17 January 2011 site work started on the installation of information screens on both platforms - these are now completed and operational (as of May 2011).
The station has a staffed ticket office - this is manned six days per week (not Sundays) from the start of the morning peak until early afternoon. At other times tickets can be purchased from a self-service ticket machine (card payments only) near the main entrance, or on the train. Waiting shelters and bench seating is provided at platform level. Step-free access to both platforms is via ramps from the footbridge that links the ticket office and car park.
Services
Runcorn East is served by the hourly Arriva Trains Wales service to Manchester Piccadilly via Warrington Bank Quay. Arriva Trains Wales are running some daytime & evening peak trains to Manchester Airport under the May - December 2016 timetable. The company hopes that in the near future that all Manchester bound services will terminate there.
In the other direction, services run to Chester, with most trains continuing along the North Wales Coast Line to Llandudno (services terminate at Chester in the late evening & on Sundays). The 1-mile-125-yard (1,724 m) Sutton tunnel is just west of the station. There are also two services daily (one in the morning, and one in the evening) to Warrington Bank Quay from Ellesmere Port, operated by Northern. That service doesn't run on Sundays. The planned new Arriva Rail North Northern Connect service, between Leeds and Chester via Manchester Victoria and Halifax, will also call here from December 2017.
Public transport interchange
Halton Transport bus services operate from the station to Runcorn Old Town via Halton Lea, and to Widnes. The station is also connected by an Arriva bus service to the main Runcorn railway station (operated by Virgin Trains), which has services to London, Birmingham, Crewe and Liverpool via the West Coast Main Line.