Disused Stations: Liverpool Central (High Level) Station Date of visit: June 1968, 2005, 1.3.2009 & 22.7.2011 Notes: Liverpool Central station was the western terminus of the Cheshire Lines Committee’s (CLC) main line that linked the northern cities of Liverpool and Manchester. The CLC was a joint company made up of three partners: the Great Northern Railway (GNR), the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the Midland Railway (MR). The CLC’s Liverpool and Manchester line had opened as a through route between Cornbrook East Junction (Manchester) and Cressington Junction (Garston) on 2 September 1873. The line linked with the former Garston & Liverpool Railway at Cressington. The Garston & Liverpool had opened from Garston to a terminus at Liverpool Brunswick on 1 June 1864. It was a joint railway of the GNR and MS&LR that became part of the CLC on 5 July 1865.

At the eastern end of the line at Manchester there was a connection with the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) that allowed trains to run to Manchester London Road. Liverpool Brunswick station was over a mile south of the centre of Liverpool and therefore inconvenient for passengers. Just over a month after it opened an Act was obtained by the partners on 29 July 1864 to build a line called ‘The Liverpool Central Station Railway’. The line was one mile and forty-three chains in length, and to reach central Liverpool it needed five tunnels and sections of very deep cuttings. There were two stations on the line, St James and Liverpool Central. Due to the heavy engineering required the new line and Liverpool Central did not open until 2 March 1874. Being a relative latecomer to Liverpool the CLC had to make do with a cramped site but in the heart of the city’s shopping district; nevertheless the CLC built an imposing station which served as their headquarters. Liverpool Central station fronted onto Ranelagh Street which ran in an east/west direction at that point.

The main entrance was through two imposing gates at the western end of Ranelagh Street at its junction with Church Street and with Bold Street. The gates were separated by a large sandstone column. Over the westernmost gate there was a sign that read ‘Central Station’. East of the gates was the large high-roofed single-storey parcels office. East of the parcels office was another set of gates and, beyond them, a building similar to the parcels office that housed refreshment rooms. Beyond the gates and behind the parcels office was an open area for cabs and other road traffic. Photographic evidence suggests that a one-way system for road traffic was implemented from quite an early date. The easternmost gates were for traffic entering the station, and the westernmost for departing traffic. Facing onto the open area, but set back from the street, was the main station building. It was a three-storey sandstone building with decorative window features and columns. In the centre of the building, at roof level, was a large Baroque clock. The booking offices and other passenger facilities were on the ground floor. On the first and second floors there wereoffices occupied by departments of the CLC and its constituent companies.

Part of the open area at the front of the main station building was sheltered by a large canopy. On the western side of the building an access road for vehicles passed directly into the station. The station also had an entrance on Bold Street with a two-storey sandstone structure in the same style as the other buildings. Behind the main building was a single arched trainshed of 164ft span which reached 65ft at its highest point. The station had three island platforms giving six platform faces. The longest and widest island platform was on the west side of the station, its west face numbered platform 1, and it was designated as the arrival platform. It had one line to serve it, and no run around facilities as the track was adjacent to the station’s western outer wall. The east face was platform 2 - the departure platform for long-distance services. Being wide the platform had a roadway along its centre for vehicles delivering or collecting merchandise. The platform extended beyond the trainshed at its southern end, but a roof covered it at that point almost to the ramp. There were three lines between platform 2 and the next island platform, which was in the middle of the station.

It was both narrower and shorter than platforms 1 and 2 but did extend beyond the trainshed at the southern end; its western face was platform 3 and the eastern was platform 4. On the eastern side of the station was the shortest island platform which did not extendbeyond the trainshed, but its eastern face, platform 6, was outside of it. The western face was numbered platform 5. Between platform 4 and 5 there were three lines. On the eastern side of the station were three sidings, one of which had a goods dock. At the southern end of the station site, sandwiched between the platform 1 track and the western boundary wall, was the wooden Liverpool Central signal box. It opened before services started on 25 February 1874. The main lines all curved sharply southwards at the southern end of the station and entered Great George Street Tunnel. Beyond the tunnel mouth was a wide cutting through sandstone in which there was a turntable. A water tower was also provided at this end on the eastern side of the station.

When the station opened only platforms 1 and 2 were ready so train services were confined to its western side; it was fully operational by 25 June 1874. At first there were sixteen trains per day to Manchester London Road. On 9 July 1877 the CLC opened a temporary Manchester Central station and from that date the Manchester services used it. An hourly express service was introduced on the same day that completed the journey in just over 45 minutes. The temporary Manchester Central was replaced with a permanent facility on 1 July 1880. In 1882 some parts of the retaining walls on each side of the station were found to be defective and in danger of collapse, so strengthening works were carried out. On 23 June 1889 the original signal box was replaced with a larger 88-lever structure. On 11 March 1892 the Mersey Railway opened an extension to its under-river railway from Liverpool James Street to Liverpool Central. An island platform in a tunnel was created underneath platforms 1 and 2 which became known as Liverpool Central Low Level .

Trains ran into the low level platform from the opposite direction to those that entered the mainline station. A short section of tunnel continued towards the south under the main line tracks; this was used to allow the Mersey Railway Trains to run round. The main entrance to the Mersey Railway station was on Ranelagh Street, west of the main line station. Steps led down to a passageway that connected to the platform. At the northern end of platform 4, inside the main line station, a further entrance to the Mersey Railway platform was provided. Again steps led down from the station concourse to the Mersey Railway platform providing a very convenient interchange between the CLC and Mersey Railway systems. Trains ran from the Mersey Railway low level platforms to Birkenhead Park and to Rock Ferry. They were steam-hauled at first but from 3 May 1903 the line became one of the first in Britain to be electrically operated. The low level platforms handled large volumes of passengers equal to the numbers handled by the other six platforms at the higher level. By 1907 each of the CLC partners served London.

The GCR ran trains to London Marylebone, the GNR to London Kings Cross and the MR to London St Pancras. The GNR service took over six hours, so it was hardly competitive with the LNWR services from Lime Street, and offered only one service per day. GCR services – one outbound and two returns - took a similar length of time. MR trains took four hours and twenty minutes which was still slower than the LNWR, but their trains were luxurious and so proved popular with passengers. A passenger service of significance were the GNR Hull trains. In the early years of the 20th Century they brought hundreds of thousands of eastern European migrants from Hull to Liverpool Central, who travelled cross-country to Liverpool to board ships to the United States. Central station required numerous porters and carters to move the migrants and their possessions from the station to the docks, and extra railway policemen were deployed as migrants made an easy target for thieves and con-men. In August 1911 the Liverpool General Transport Strike reached its zenith. Thousands of workers including railwaymen, who came out on 7 August, joined the strike which created major civil unrest that was described as ‘near to revolution’.

Central station was blockaded by strikers, which halted train services. Soldiers and extra police were brought into the city by rail and ship. As Central station was blockaded the old terminus at Brunswick was used to bring in detachments of cavalry. The CLC offices at Central station were guarded by soldiers. On 13 August there was a major riot in the city. In the days following two men were shot dead by soldiers in a clash by the docks. By 25 August 1911 the strike was over and a degree of normality was restored. On 15 October 1913 there was a crash on the approach lines to Liverpool Central. A CLC train was stationary at St James station when a MR express ploughed into the back of it; six people were killed. On 1 January 1923 the railway companies of Great Britain were merged into four big concerns. The CLC and the Mersey Railway remained independent. The MR became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS), the GCR and the GNR became part of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). The CLC became two-thirds owned by the LNER and one-third by the LMS.

The LNER provided the motive power for CLC services. In 1934 modern colour light signalling was installed at Liverpool Central - one of the earliest schemes in Britain. On 14 March 1938 trains from the Mersey Railway platforms started to serve West Kirby and New Brighton as the LMS had electrified these lines to allow through running. The services proved popular resulting in even more passengers using Central. World War II saw a reduction in services at Liverpool Central but in May 1941 Liverpool suffered its worst air raids. The former L&Y line into Liverpool Exchange was badly damaged preventing trains from reaching the terminus. To help move the many commuters who travelled between Southport and the city on the line out of Exchange the CLC laid on extratrains between Liverpool Central and Southport Lord Street. Once the approaches to Exchange were able to cater for a full service again the CLC service reverted to its infrequent pattern. On 1 January 1948 the railways of Great Britain were nationalised. Liverpool Central became part of British Railways’ London Midland Region. Nationalisation included the Mersey Railway. At first services remained similar to those before the war.

On 7 January 1952 the Southport service was withdrawn when the line from Aintree to Southport Lord Street closed to passengers. The North Liverpool Extension Line was served from Liverpool Central mostly by trains that terminated at Gateacre, although some peak hour trains continued to Aintree (renamed Aintree Central in January 1952). In 1959 and 1960 DMUs were introduced on many services from the main line platforms. For the Manchester Central service the four-coach DMUs had doors at all seats so passengers board or alight briskly at stations. Some services were improved with the introduction of the DMUs. Liverpool Central Low Level was fitted with LMR totem name signs which were unusual in being 4ft in length, 3ft being the standard size. The main line platforms did not receive totems. Despite the level of traffic from Liverpool Central’s main line platforms it was listed for closure under the Reshaping of British Railways (Beeching) report of 1963 as most of its services could be re-routed into Lime Street via the Allerton Curve.

In September 1966 all services, except those to Gateacre, were diverted to Liverpool Lime Street. British Railways intended to withdraw the Gateacre service but local pressure kept it in operation. In 1969 the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority (MPTE) was formed, and it provided financial assistance for rail services within its area, including the Gateacre service. Following the diversion of services to Lime Street there was no need for six platforms, so platforms 1, 2, 5 and 6 were taken out of use. Platforms 1 and 2 became a car park; 3 and 4 were retained for the Gateacre service. By 1969 the lines at the decommissioned platforms had been lifted leaving only tracks adjacent to 3 and 4. In 1970 platform 3 also lost its track leaving only platform 4 for the Gateacre trains. The platform area under the trainshed took on a neglected air, but the concourse of the station remained heavily used as the low level platforms continued to be extremely busy.

The MPTE was keen to promote rail travel in the Liverpool area and, building upon work carried out by its predecessors within the local Councils, it obtained an Act in 1971 to build new underground lines in the city centre and electrify existing routes. It branded the local rail network Merseyrail. One such route for electrification was from Liverpool Central towards Manchester. The proposals required a complete re-configuration at Liverpool Central so that a new underground loop line at a deep level and a link line at a sub-surface level could be constructed. The loop would serve trains that used the former Mersey Railway allowing them to pass through the city without reversing, and to serve more destinations. The link was designed to connect the former CLC system with the former L&Y network. There was some argument that the trainshed should be retained as an indoor shopping area, but demolition was the favoured option. To allow the work to commence the Gateacre service had to be withdrawn. The service carried an average of 750 passengers per day, and local people campaigned to have it diverted to Liverpool Lime Street - but to no avail. They were told that it would later be re-introduced as part of the MPTE’s Merseyrail plans.

During the first few weeks of 1972 the lines were cut back to the very southern end of platform 4. Only a short section of platform, capable of taking a four coach DMU, was retained for passenger use. Demolition of Liverpool Central began while the Gateacre trains were still running. Access to the Low Level platforms was restricted to the Ranelagh Street entrance only. The last Gateacre trains ran on 15 April 1972. The entire station area became a construction site for the Merseyrail Loop and link lines. The line between Brunswick and Liverpool Central remained officially open until 10 December 1972, possibly for the recovery of assets; Liverpool Central signal box closed on the same day. On 28 July 1975 Liverpool Central’s Low Level platforms also closed, after Liverpool Central station had been obliterated from the landscape. This was not to be the end of the station, as on 9th May 1977 a new Liverpool Central, part of the revived Merseyrail Network, opened to the public. The new station’s platforms were all below street level.

On the surface, set back from the street, a booking hall was developed that later had a shopping precinct built around it. Behind the booking office a car park was developed on the site of the platforms. By 2011 the new Liverpool Central had become the busiest station on the Merseyrail network - and one of the busiest outside London. To see more detailed train service information click here Getting to and from the Airport by Train | Liverpool Airport Liverpool South Parkway | Liverpool Lime Street | Hunts Cross | Liverpool Central Liverpool South Parkway Rail Station Liverpool South Parkway is the closest rail station to Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and is located approximately 2 miles from the airport itself. Transport is available between the airport and the rail station by bus or taxi. The station is also easily accessible from elsewhere in the country and has efficient links to Manchester, Yorkshire, the North East, East Midlands, West Midlands and connections to London Euston services at Runcorn or Crewe. Train operators calling at the station include Merseyrail, Northern Rail, Transpennine Express, London Midland and East Midlands Trains. For more information about Liverpool South Parkway, please click here .

Regular Arriva buses operate between Liverpool South Parkway and the airport which include the 500 and the 86A. Travellers to and from Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) are now able to take advantage of improved bus links and lower fares to make their journey better than ever. The relaunched 500 bus route from Arriva between Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Liverpool One bus station now has been extended to serve Liverpool South Parkway in both directions, providing easier connections with the rail network for travellers using this busy rail station and bus interchange. Easy connections with the National Express coach network are available at Liverpool ONE bus station. A fleet of upgraded Arriva double decker buses have been put on the 500 service and deliver improved comfort and even more space for passengers and their luggage. The buses are now in their own distinctive airport livery so they are easily noticeable. All of the buses on the route are equipped with comfortable e-leather seating as well as free Wi-Fi and USB charging so travellers can stay connected on the go. And to keep passengers fully informed of the progress of their journey, a new audio visual announcement system has been installed on all route 500 buses.

In addition to offering a host of improvements, the newly launched service also comes with a cheaper price tag, with ticket prices reduced from £3 to £2.20. Also the Arriva 86A local bus service from Liverpool city centre to Liverpool John Lennon Airport via Liverpool South Parkway is operating 24 Hours a Day on a trial basis until the end of 2016. This is great news for people needing to catch early morning flights and for staff needing to get to the airport for early shifts. It is also good for passengers arriving at the airport on late night flights. Find more information about bus routes and services here . Alternatively there are many reputable taxi services locally that can also service the same journey. Liverpool Lime Street Station Liverpool Lime Street Station is located 7 miles from Liverpool John Lennon Airport and has great connections to all of the UK's main rail networks and connections onwards to the airport. Lime Street Station is just a short hop on the 10A and City Centre Circular (C4 and C5) buses to Liverpool ONE bus station. From there you can get the 500 Airport Flyer bus direct to LJLA.

In the reverse direction Liverpool ONE bus station is just a short hop on any of the 86 bus services (86, 86A, 86C and 86D) to Elliot Street opposite Lime Street Station. Alternatively you can also reach Liverpool Lime Street from the Airport by taxi or train (via Liverpool South Parkway). More information about bus connections can be found here . Hunts Cross Rail Station Regular Arriva bus services 89 and 81A operate between Hunts Cross Rail Station and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Liverpool Central Rail Station The Merseyrail Hunts Cross route also operates to Liverpool Central train station, in the heart of the city centre, in case of any further connections you might need to make. This particular service runs from Southport to Hunts Cross and calls at Liverpool Central, Brunswick, St Michaels, Aigburth, Cressington, Liverpool South Parkway and finally, Hunts Cross. If you wish to use this route, the trains leave at 14, 29, 44 and 59 minutes past the hour. Passengers can then alight the train at Liverpool South Parkway or Hunts Cross to then catch a bus directly to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

We have all the information you need to plan your trip but before you travel, it's important to check the status of your flight here . Train Operators First TransPennine Express Routes First TransPennine Express operate reliable and fantastic value inter-city routes across the North of England and Scotland. They specialise in three main routes which connect some brilliant cities including Scarborough, York, Leeds and Manchester to Liverpool South Parkway. If you’re flying from Liverpool John Lennon Airport then book your train tickets in advance at tpexpress.co.uk and you could save over 50% on the usual ticket price. Other destinations serviced by First TransPennine Express are: Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Northallerton, Thirsk, York, Malton, Scarborough, Hull, Selby, Leeds, Huddersfield, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Meadowhall, Doncaster, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Carlisle, Barrow in Furness, Blackpool, Lancaster, Preston, Bolton, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Warrington, Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool. Northern Rail Northern plays a vital role in the north of England by connecting tens of thousands of people to work, leisure, education and more every day.

Arriva Rail North Limited, became the new rail operator for Northern on 1 April 2016, marking the start of a nine-year franchise that will transform travel in the North of England. Book your train journey directly at Northern. Calling at over 500 stations in the North of England including Liverpool. For more information about Northern Rail, please click here . Through Ticketing To make your journey to the airport even more seamless we have worked with partners to introduce new through tickets. Rail Network: Through “add on” tickets are available to Liverpool John Lennon Airport from anywhere on the rail network via Liverpool South Parkway and the 500 and 86A bus services. So remember to select this option when purchasing your train ticket online or just ask at your local rail station when purchasing your train ticket. At The Airport If you are arriving at Liverpool John Lennon Airport via public transport you might want to allow extra time to enjoy the various shops, bars and restaurants on the concourse once you are through security. You could book a Fast Track security ticket to avoid the queues or even treat yourself to a pass for our exclusive Aspire premium.

Disused Stations: Liverpool Exchange Station Date of visit: 31.12.1976, 21.01.2005 & 16.10.2010 Notes: Notes: Liverpool Exchange was on the northern side of the city centre in its business district on Tithebarn Street. It served the East Lancashire Railway’s (ELR) line to Preston, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s (LYR) route to Bolton and the Liverpool, Crosby & Southport Railway (LC&SR). The LYR route had originally been proposed by the Bolton, Wigan & Liverpool Railway Company which was formed in 1844 by prominent industrialists who wanted to create a better link with Liverpool and break the monopoly of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&M). Early in 1845 these industrialists decided to extend the line to Bury and apply for powers to build it under the title of the Liverpool & Bury Railway. On 31st July 1845 a Liverpool & Bury Railway Act was passed, and work began in November of that year.

The Liverpool and Bury Railway was absorbed into the Manchester & Leeds Railway on 27th July 1846 and that company became the LYR on 9th July 1847. Liverpool Exchange station in 1850 The ELR line was authorised as the Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston Railway on 16th August 1846. Work began on the line on 15th March 1847. The ELR and LYR routes converged at Walton, to the north of Liverpool. As heavy engineering works would be necessary southwards from Walton (a lengthy tunnel under Walton and viaducts into the city were required) the two companies agreed to share the route. The LYR line opened on 20th November 1848 and the ELR on 2nd April 1849. The Liverpool terminus was at Great Howard Street. From the start the two companies made uneasy bedfellows, and they could not even agree on a joint name for the station. The LYR favoured Borough Goal, after the nearby prison, whilst the ELR favoured Great Howard Street.

Traffic levels built up to such a degree that the Great Howard Street terminus soon proved inadequate. A new terminus on Tithebarn Street in the city’s business district had been proposed even before the lines had opened. Work commenced on the extension and the new station after July 1847; it opened on 13th May 1850. Whilst the LYR called it Liverpool Exchange Station, to the ELR it was Liverpool Tithebarn Street. It was elevated above street level on brick arches. The frontage towered 90ft above the street because the lines approaching the station had to clear the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. From Tithebarn Street ornamental steps and a 30ft-wide driveway sloped up to the frontage. The building was in the ‘Italian Style’. It was stone-built, consisted of two storeys, and was 117ft wide. Within the building were booking offices for both the LYR and the ELR. At right-angles to the building there were two single-storey wings that extended 193ft which contained refreshment rooms and waiting facilities for both companies.

Behind the main building the five tracks were covered by two trainshed roofs: one was 638ft long, its span tapering from 136ft to 128ft without supports, and the other was 161ft long with a 78ft span. There was one arrival platform, 630 ft long, and two departure platforms - one for each company. The station was described by contemporaries as a ‘handsome piece of architecture’, and it seems to have been widely praised. The LYR was the dominant partner, and it was they who decided how the station would be divided. The LYR took the west side and left the ELR with the east. Even before it opened the ELR objected to the way the LYR had allocated facilities, a formal objection being lodged on 11th March 1850. This proved fruitless so they took their complaint to the Railway Commissioners, but it is not known what they decided at a meeting on 13th January 1851. At the time of opening the LYR operated trains to Wigan, Bolton, Bury and onwards to Leeds.

The ELR operated to Preston and onto its network of lines in east Lancashire. From 1st October 1850 trains of the LC&SR began to run into Exchange/Tithebarn Street station. This line opened in two stages between Liverpool and Southport. On 14th June 1855 the LYR absorbed the LC&SR On 13th August 1859, the LYR also absorbed the ELR, from which date the only name of the station was Liverpool Exchange. Although the former LC&SR had been a minor railway serving sparsely populated areas, housing developments along the route brought many thousands of extra passengers into Exchange. The line continued to grow in importance as a commuter route throughout the second half of the 19th century. By the 1880s traffic levels at Liverpool Exchange had built up to such a degree that further expansion was needed. An Act of 24th July 1882 authorised the LYR to widen the approach lines to the station. Just over a year later a further Act dated 2nd August 1883 allowed for a complete rebuild of Exchange station.

After some debate it was agreed that the station would be lowered from its original elevated position, and this would be facilitated through alterations made to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal route. Henry Shelmadine was appointed architect of the new facilities, and his drawings were agreed on 8th November 1882. The contract for building the station was awarded to Robert Neill & Sons for £97,997 on 22nd July 1884. To minimise disruption to rail traffic the eastern side of the new station was built first alongside the existing station (on its east side). When the new station opened in part on 12th December 1886 (the eastern side) work could begin on the western side, and the remaining sections of the original station from 1850 were demolished. The new facilities opened completely 2nd July 1888. On 13th August 1888 the Exchange Hotel,which provided the frontage to the station, opened: it was owned and operated by the LYR and cost £140,000 to build. The station and hotel fronted directly onto Tithebarn Street.

It was four storeys high and built of red sandstone. At its centre two archways formed the entrance to the station for pedestrians and cabs. To the left was the entrance and, to the right, the exit. Having passed through the arches and under the hotel passengers reached a cab circulating area surrounded by shops. Steps led into the main area of the station; either side of them there were brick-built offices, refreshment rooms, parcels offices and staff accommodation. There were ten platforms beneath a ridged iron glazed roof that allowed light into the station. The platforms were numbered from the east side, platform 1 being the easternmost platform and platform 10 the westernmost. The platform faces were arranged as six ‘islands’. Between platforms 3 and 4 was a wide roadway for road vehicles to collect and deliver goods and parcels. They reached the roadway from a large entrance on the east side of the station, at the southern end of the platforms. In the circulating area, south of the platforms, were two timber booking offices, one to the east and the other to the west. The western office sold tickets for local services whilst the eastern one catered for long-distance passengers.

Beyond the platforms to the north two turntables were provided, one situated amongst the approach lines on the eastern side whilst the other was alongside the approach lines on the western side. Two signal boxes controlled the approach lines. Immediately north of the station was Liverpool Exchange No 2, with a brick base and a timber upper. Further north was Liverpool Exchange Number 1 which was timber built and supported on legs above the running lines. In 1888 Liverpool Exchange had 115 departures and 115 arrivals which the new facilities easily accommodated. An hourly express to Manchester Victoria was intended to compete with the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) - which operated from Liverpool Lime Street station, and since the 1840s had owned the original Liverpool & Manchester Railway of 1830. A third company, the Cheshire lines Committee (CLC), had began to operate fast express services between the two cities in 1874, so competition was stiff. The LYR had the longest route but offered a 40-minute journey for its fastest trains. In the latter part of the 19th century over 300 staff worked at Liverpool Exchange.

A Royal Mail postage stamp that was issued in 1988 shows an LYR locomotive at Liverpool Exchange station in the early 1900s. CLICK By 1900 so busy had the Southport line become, because of the spread of housing along the route, that there were 36 through trains in each direction. In addition there were more than 30 trains in each direction that ran only as far as Crosby. Southport traffic had increased to such a degree that it taxed the accommodation at Liverpool Exchange to the limit. The LYR was also concerned that it might lose business from the southern end of the line because municipal electric tramways were opening up on parallel routes. The solution proposed by Sir John Aspinall, the LYR General Manager, was to electrify the route to Southport and introduce multiple unit trains. Aspinall trains. Aspinall presented proposals to the LYR board on 28th May 1902, and in October of that year authorisation was given to create an electric route using a live rail to Southport and, beyond, to Crossens. Work began on 8th March 1903.

At Liverpool Exchange platforms 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10were electrified. On 22nd March 1904 a partial electric service began, and from 5th April 1904 the Southport line passenger services went completely electric. A problem occurred at the main power station in Formby, and a full steam service had to be reintroduced on 11th April 1904. However it was rectified by 13th May and the electric operation was resumed. The service was a great success. So popular was it that there were 119 departures from Liverpool Exchange. Many ran only to Crosby but 65 continued to Southport Chapel Street; seventeen of the 65 went as far as Crossens. On 3rd December 1906 electrification progressed along the Preston line as far as Aintree, and over the next few years it was extended twice until it reached Ormskirk on the 1st April 1913.

On 1st January 1922 the LYR merged with the LNWR, but a year later on 1st January 1923 that company became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS). The LMS also took over the LNWR, giving them control of Liverpool Lime Street station. They also had a third share in the CLC which remained a separate company. The other two-thirds of the CLC shares passed to the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). However, the LMS ran trains from all three Liverpool main line termini. Despite this, competing services still ran between Liverpool and Manchester from all three stations, although the fastest LMS services went from Lime Street. (The services from Exchange were slowed to 45 minutes to ease the stress on the locomotives). With regard to long-distance services the LMS concentrated its Scottish expresses, Windermere, York and Newcastle services in Exchange. On 30th June 1929 an excursion train from Hull collided with the hydraulic buffers at platform 4. Thirty-eight injured passengers were removed to hospital, but of these all except two were discharged the same day; Forty others complained of injuries or shock but were not sent to hospital.

A report into the accident blamed the driver for entering the station at too high a speed. In 1939 the LMS introduced new electric rolling stock -later to be classed 502 – which was steel built, with automatic sliding doors. Work commenced on the installation of colour-light signaling at Liverpool Exchange at about the same time, but the outbreak of World War II, on 3rd September 1939, disrupted the project. Approximately half of the station had colour- light signals by 1940 when the project was halted. The Liverpool Blitz began on August 9th 1940. The city’s railways were a target for enemy bombers, and damage was caused to the approach lines to Liverpool Exchange. In December 1940 a viaduct north of the station received a direct hit and collapsed. No trains were able to run into the station, so extra services were provided from the CLC Liverpool Central to Southport Lord Street to convey commuters. Although the route was much longer, the extra trains helped, and they ran from 24th December 1940 until 5th July 1941.

Wooden trestle bridges were built over the site of the collapsed viaduct to enable electric services to be restored. The line reopened for them within days, but no steam-hauled main line services were able to run into Exchange until 18th August 1941: they terminated at Kirkdale, passengers transferring to buses or trams. In May 1941 Liverpool suffered the worst raids of the war, and a section of the roof at Liverpool Exchange was badly damaged and had to be demolished. The roof section was at the north end of the station on the west side. After June 1941 the raids eased off, with last being on 10th January 1942. Train services at Liverpool Exchange did not return to normal until late 1942. In 1946 the colour-light signaling scheme was completed. On 1 January 1948 Liverpool Exchange became part of the nationalised British Railways (London Midland Region). At first services remained broadly similar to those in the LMS years. Electric commuter services remained frequent and busy, and longer-distance services to Manchester, Blackpool, east Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland ran from the station.

On 2nd April 1951 the electric service to Aintree via Linacre Lane ceased. Only two stations closed as a result, and passengers could still reach Aintree on the direct route via Kirkdale; otherwise Liverpool Exchange remained very busy throughout the 1950s. In summer 1960 there were still weekday long-distance departures to Bradford Exchange, Leeds Central, Windermere, Glasgow Central & Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle Central and Workington. Regular services operated to Rochdale, Blackpool Central, Preston, Wigan Wallgate, Bolton Trinity Street and to Manchester Victoria. High frequency electric services ran to Southport and Ormskirk. In all there were 179 departures from the station. The first was a non-stop service to Preston with a connection to Glasgow leaving Liverpool Exchange at 1.45am. The last departure on weekdays was for Southport Chapel Street at 11:30pm. One of the most outrageous proposals of the Reshaping of British Railways (Beeching) Report 1963 was the closure of the Liverpool Exchange to Southport commuter route, as well as the line to Wigan Wallgate via Rainford Junction.

To transfer rush-hour passengers from the efficient and heavily used Southport route to road transport seems incomprehensible unless – as suggested by cynics – it was to provide an opportunity for the Minister of Transport to reject a proposal, demonstrating that closure was not automatic. Liverpool Exchange–Ormskirk–Preston was not earmarked for closure by Beeching, but was reviewed and reprieved in 1966. Official publication of the Wigan Wallgate line closure proposals lwas on 15 November 1963, and closure was eventually refused on 20 December 1967. No record has been found in Hansard of the enquiry into the proposed closure of the Liverpool–Southport line. In 1965-6 trains left Exchange for Southport every 20 minutes, with extra services at rush hour. This service interval applied on all days in summer, but the winter Sunday frequency was half-hourly. The Ormskirk off-peak service ran every 30 minutes, supplemented at rush hour, and an irregular service ran on to Preston. Nineteen trains left for Wigan Wallgate, including some for Leeds Central whose first stop was Wallgate.

On 5th March 1967 platforms 1, 2 and 3 were taken out of use. The tracks were soon removed and the area was infilled and used for car parking. This was probably due to the cessation of regular steam-hauled trains on local services. DMU’s had been introduced onto many of the non-electric services from 1960; DMU operation required fewer platforms. By summer 1968 the Liverpool Exchange to Glasgow Central Sunday expresses were the only remaining scheduled steam-hauled passenger services in Great Britain. Many enthusiasts headed to Liverpool Exchange at this time to photograph and travel on the last services. The last express services to Glasgow ran from Exchange on Sunday 3rd May 1970. Direct services to Preston finished the previous year. This left the station with only the electric services to Southport and Ormskirk and DMU’s to Bolton. The electric services still ran at a high frequency.

On 1st April 1969 the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority was formed under an Act of 1968 with responsibility for the co-ordination of bus, train and ferry services within the Merseyside area, through the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE). (This pre-dated the Metropolitan County of Merseyside which was created in April 1974.) The MPTE branded the rail services within its area Merseyrail. The lines from Exchange to Southport, Ormskirk and Wigan Wallgate became part of the Merseyrail Northern Line - from Lime Street they became City Line and from Central Low Level they were Wirral Line. The Class 502 EMUs had Merseyrail applied to their coaches and the MPTE logo at each end near to the driving cabs. The MPTE had a vision for the railways of the region that would see them transformed into a modern high-frequency system similar to the London Underground.

Building upon the MALTS (Merseyside Area Land Use Transportation Study 1966) the MPTE obtained an Act in 1971 to build an underground link line between Exchange and Central stations and a loop from James Street (on the former Mersey Railway) via Exchange, Lime Street and Central stations back to James Street. The advantage for passengers using lines out of Exchange was that trains would serve Liverpool Central in the city’s shopping centre. A new underground station would be provided at Moorfields, on the south side of Tithebarn Street to replace Exchange station. On 6 May 1973 platforms 8, 9 and 10 were taken out of use so that a contractor’s base could be established for the construction of Moorfields station. A shaft was sunk at the site of the platforms to aid the works. The closure of these platforms left only numbers 6 and 7 electrified. Two platforms were insufficient for the electric services so the lines at platforms 4 and 5 were electrified. Southport services tended to use platforms 6 and 7, leaving 4 and 5 to the Bolton and Ormskirk services.

The station took on a derelict air although efforts were made to keep the active parts of the station clean and tidy, and corporate blue was applied to the pillars at platforms 4, 5, 6 and 7. It made an interesting contrast to the faded London Midland Region colours on pillars adjacent to the car park where platforms 1, 2 and 3 had been. During the last year of passenger services there were fifteen weekday departures for Bolton. The first left Liverpool Exchange at 07:04 and the last at 21:43. On Saturdays there was an additional late departure for Bolton at 22:37. There were also fifteen arrivals from the Bolton line on weekdays, the first at 06:44, but it originated from Wigan Wallgate. The last arrival was at 22:06 on weekdays, but on Saturdays there was a Bolton train at 23:42. There was no Sunday service to Wigan Wallgate or Bolton. There were 56 departures for Ormskirk on weekdays. Thirteen of the trains had onward connecting services to Preston from Ormskirk.

On Sundays there were 22 Ormskirk departures but no onward connections to Preston. The Southport line was the busiest with trains running at least every twenty minutes on weekdays from early morning to late evening. The last departure from Liverpool Exchange was at 23.35 on Friday 29th April 1977: a special service to mark the station’s closure. It ran to Liverpool Lime Street - which lay less than a mile away - via Wigan Wallgate. Although the station officially closed the next day its booking offices remained open until Monday 2nd May, issuing tickets for the usual destinations, but on replacement bus services. Both Liverpool Exchange No 1 and No 2 signal boxes were manned until Sunday 1st May 1977 although no trains actually ran. The signalmen were on duty to oversee asset recovery operations. Shortly after the last train had departed on the Friday night the approach lines to Exchange were disconnected at the point where the link line diverged. Northern Line passenger trains served Liverpool Moorfields station from 3rd May 1977, the first departure from Moorfields being for Southport at 06:07.

During the following weeks Liverpool Exchange was stripped of its remaining furnishings and track. The former main line platforms continued in their role as a car park for a couple of years until the trainshed was demolished. In the mid-1980s the station hotel was redeveloped as Mercury Court - an office complex. The frontage of the hotel was incorporated into the development, preserving the former main entrance to the station.The area of the trainshed and platforms became a car park. In 2010 remains of the former station, including side-walls and platform edging-stones, could still be seen

Question: What is the name of Liverpool's main railway station?
Answer: Lime Street