Helsby railway station serves the village of Helsby in Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed building.[1]
Helsby  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Helsby, Cheshire West and Chester England | ||||
| Grid reference | SJ486756 | ||||
| Managed by | Transport for Wales | ||||
| Line(s) | |||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | HSB | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Birkenhead Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Birkenhead Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1852 | Station opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  93,374 | ||||
| 2019/20 | 116,468 | ||||
| 2020/21 |  25,184 | ||||
| Interchange | 3,276 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 73,106 | ||||
| Interchange | 12,679 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 89,258 | ||||
| Interchange | 55,321 | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
The station is on the Chester–Warrington line between Chester and Warrington Bank Quay and on the Hooton–Helsby line to Hooton.
Facilities
editThere is a BT Payphone on Platform 1. Limited seating exists on Platform 1 and 2.[2]
The station has won numerous Best Kept Station awards.[3][4][5] A Customer Information System has been installed and is operational.
There is no disabled access to trains calling at this station due to the low platforms. Platforms for the Manchester and Ellesmere Port services can also only be reached by using the footbridge.[6]
The station is operated by Transport for Wales and is unstaffed[7] requiring passengers to purchase tickets from the ticket vending machine located on Platform 1. The nearest station with additional ticketing facilities is Chester. Penalty fares do not operate here.
From 2005 until the franchise was handed over in 2018 the Helsby station was operated by Arriva Trains Wales.
Services
edit
Most services at Helsby are operated by Transport for Wales, with a limited service operated by Northern Trains.
Transport for Wales generally operate an hourly service between Manchester Airport and Chester, with most services continuing to and from Llandudno via Shotton, as well as an hourly service between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester. These services combine to give an off-peak service of two trains per hour in each direction.[8][9]
The station is also served by a limited peak hour Northern Trains service between Chester and Leeds with four trains per day to Chester and three trains per day to Leeds via Manchester Victoria. Northern Trains also operate two trains per day on weekdays and Saturdays only to and from Ellesmere Port that start and terminate at Helsby, with the exception of one afternoon service that continues to Liverpool Lime Street.[8]
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport for Wales | ||||
| Transport for Wales | ||||
| Northern Trains Peak Hours only | ||||
| Northern Trains Monday-Saturday only | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Dunham Hill | Birkenhead Joint Railway | Frodsham | ||
Adopt-a-station
editThe North Cheshire Rail Users' Group has adopted this station and regularly ensure the station is clean and tidy. The station has won the "Best Kept Station[10]" six times, and the plaques commending this are fixed to the signal box located on the island platforms, (2 + 3).
Connections
editHelsby has several bus links operated primarily by Arriva North West and Stagecoach Merseyside.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Historic England. "Former stationmaster's house and main railway station building, Helsby (1253460)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ a b National Rail Enquiries – Station Facilities for Helsby
- ^ Best Kept Stations - Helsby
- ^ Helsby Station has been named The Best Kept Station in Cheshire at a glitzy awards ceremony Chester Chronicle 20 January 2011
- ^ "Award proves station is one of the very best". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ National Rail Enquiries – Station Facilities for Helsby
- ^ National Rail Enquiries – Station Facilities for Helsby
- ^ a b Table 81, 109 National Rail timetable, December 2023
- ^ "New Chester to Liverpool rail service - more details released Holmes, D, Cheshire Live news article 3 April 2019; Retrieved 10 April 2019
- ^ "Stations". Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ http://www2.halton.gov.uk/publictransport/pdfs/juneweb36.pdf[permanent dead link]
Further reading
edit- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Chester to Birkenhead. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 112-120. ISBN 9781908174215. OCLC 811323335.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Chester to Warrington. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 27-42. ISBN 9781908174406. OCLC 910526793.
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for Helsby railway station from National Rail
- North Cheshire Rail Users Group User group responsible for upkeep of Helsby station