Hightown railway station serves the village of Hightown in

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The station is located on the

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

branch of the

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the North West England, North West of England. Merseyrail serves 69 Railway station, stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lin ...

network's

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

History

Hightown railway station opened as Hightown on 24 July 1848 when the

Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway was a British railway company, which opened a line in 1848 between Southport and Waterloo, extending into Liverpool in 1850. The company was acquired by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1855. T ...

(LC&SR) opened its line from to . The station was situated on the north side of Alt Road which was crossed using a level crossing. The station had two platforms, one each side of the double-track with brick and stonework buildings, both sides had glazed awnings and waiting facilities. There were goods facilities with a siding on the down side and a small goods and coal yard on the up to the south of the level crossing. By 1852 the station had been renamed Hightown & Ince and in 1861 it reverted to Hightown. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway amalgamated with the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

on 1 January 1922 and in turn was Grouped into the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

in 1923. Nationalisation followed in 1948. The goods facilities closed on 7 September 1964. The level crossing was closed by British Rail in March 1967 when a road bridge was constructed nearby. The footbridge was replaced in 1972 with a pre-fabricated ramp and stair footbridge more suitable to the needs of mothers with children and the elderly. In 1978 the station became part of the

network's

(operated by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

until

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

in 1995).

Facilities

The station is staffed, from 15 minutes before the first train until 15 minutes after the last train. Platform 1 (Southbound) has a waiting room, ticket office, cycle storage and a photo booth, whilst Platform 2 (Northbound) has a shelter, a payphone and cycle storage. There are live dot-matrix departure screens, for passenger information and platform CCTV on both platforms. The platforms are linked via a stepped bridge but both may be accessed via road.

Services

Northbound trains operate to

, and Southbound trains to

Liverpool Central Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline ...

. On Mondays to Saturdays there are four trains an hour throughout the day in each direction; on Sundays there are two per hour.

Gallery

Image:Ticket Office, Hightown Railway Station (geograph 2994452).jpg, The station booking office. Image:Alt Road Footbridge, Hightown Railway Station (geograph 2994438).jpg, The Alt Road footbridge. Image:Waiting Shelter, Hightown Railway Station (geograph 2994435).jpg, The waiting shelter on the Southport-bound platform. Image:Passing trains, Hightown Railway Station (geograph 2994463).jpg, Merseyrail Class 508s pass at the station. Image:Hightown station - geograph.org.uk - 2875269.jpg, Hightown station in 1948-showing older footbridge and level crossing.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{Railway stations served by Merseyrail Railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton DfT Category E stations Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Railway stations served by Merseyrail