Grid reference SJ512871 DfT category E 2012/13 0.374 million Number of platforms 2 Original company Cheshire Lines Committee Place Farnworth | Station code WID 2011/12 0.366 million 2013/14 0.417 million Managed by Northern | |
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Address Widnes WA8 7TJ, United Kingdom 1 August 1873 Opened as Farnworth (Widnes) Similar Sankey railway station, Runcorn railway station, Warrington Central railway st, Earlestown railway station, Newton‑le‑Willows railway station | ||
Widnes railway station (formerly Widnes North railway station) is in the town of Widnes, in the Halton unitary authority, in the county of Cheshire in North West England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The station is operated by Northern.
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History
The station, opened by the CLC on 1 August 1873, was originally known as Farnworth (Widnes), 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, and finally Widnes on 6 May 1968 (Widnes Central and Widnes South, on other lines, having closed to passengers in 1964 and 1962 respectively).
Widnes Railway Station is one of two stations where Paul Simon reputedly composed the song "Homeward Bound", the other being Ditton 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 railway 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 travelling back from Liverpool, 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."
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.
Services
There are generally two local trains (operated by Northern) 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 Trains), continuing beyond Manchester Piccadilly towards Nottingham and Norwich. The journey time on most of these trains to Manchester is 30 minutes, whilst Liverpool can be reached in 18 minutes.
Widnes is also served by one service to Scarborough on Mondays to Saturdays (run by First TransPennine Express).