Lea Green railway station is in
St Helens,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, England, three miles south of the town centre near the suburb of
Clock Face
A clock face is the part of an analog clock (or watch) that displays time through the use of a flat dial with reference marks, and revolving pointers turning on concentric shafts at the center, called hands. In its most basic, globally recogni ...
. The station is on the electrified northern route of the two
Liverpool to Manchester lines
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, east of
Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...
.
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
operates the station with Merseytravel sponsorship displaying
Merseytravel
Merseytravel is the passenger transport executive, responsible for the coordination of public transport in the Liverpool City Region in North West England. Merseytravel was established on 1 December 1969 as the Merseyside Passenger Transpor ...
signs. Constructed in 2000, the station has a
park and ride car park fitted with charging points for electrically-powered vehicles, a modern CCTV security system and a booking office at street level.
History
The first Lea Green station was where Lowfield Lane met Lea Green Road (SJ510920 about 950 metres towards Liverpool from the current station) It opened in 1830 on the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...
.
The early intermediate stations were little more than halts positioned where the railway crossed a road or
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
accounting for variations in their names.
Lea Green station was probably known as Top of Sutton Incline, then Sutton by 1844, and Lea Green again in 1848, although Butt (1995) says it was Lea Green before becoming Sutton.
The first station closed on 7 March 1955.
The current station in the cutting at Marshalls Cross opened on 17 September 2000.
Thatto Heath railway station
Thatto Heath railway station is located in the Thatto Heath area of St Helens, Merseyside, England. It is situated on the electrified Merseytravel Liverpool to Wigan City Line, northeast of Liverpool. The station, and all trains serving it, ar ...
on the
Liverpool to Wigan Line
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
is approximately two miles to the north west.
Facilities
The ticket office is staffed each day from 06:00 to midnight (except Sundays, when it opens at 08:30). Shelters are provided on each platform, along with help points, digital information screens and timetable poster boards. Both platforms have step-free access from the ticket office and station entrance via ramps.
Services
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
operates trains (every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday daytime) to
Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...
. In the other direction, trains run to
Earlestown
Earlestown is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, England. It forms the western part of the wider Newton-le-Willows urban area. At the 2011 Census the ward population was 10,830.
History
Earlestow ...
, from where one train per hour continues to via
Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...
and and the other to . Northern services to
Manchester Victoria
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was ...
run during the weekday peaks and early morning/late evening. A single train each day runs to and from via Earlestown.
Sunday services see just one train per hour to Liverpool Lime Street and via Manchester Airport. When the line was electrified in spring 2015, Liverpool to Manchester Airport, Liverpool to Manchester Victoria and Liverpool to Warrington Bank Quay services were operated by four-car
Class 319 electric units, but three-car
Class 323
The British Rail Class 323 are electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995, although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 ...
units now also appear regularly.
As of the May 2018 timetable change,
TransPennine Express
TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major c ...
began to call here, with hourly services to Leeds, York or Scarborough via
Manchester Victoria
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was ...
eastbound and express to Lime Street westbound. These remain in operation in the summer 2019 timetable. These use a mixture of different rolling stock, including the new
Class 68-powered push-pull sets and
Class 185 DMUs. In addition to this, TPE have 1 service a day from Glasgow Central - Liverpool Lime Street that calls here. There is no return in the opposite direction.
Future
In March 2021, it was announced that a new station building would be built and the number of parking spaces at the station would be increased to 450.
References
External links
Original Lea Green station at Disused Stations Site
{{coord, 53.427, N, 2.724, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title
Railway stations in St Helens, Merseyside
DfT Category E stations
Railway stations opened by Railtrack
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2000
Northern franchise railway stations
Railway stations served by TransPennine Express