Ainsdale railway station serves the village of

Ainsdale Ainsdale is an area of Southport in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the Historic County of Lancashire, at the 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723. By the time of the 2011 census, on ...

near

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The station is located on the

branch of the

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which are dedicated electri ...

network's

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

History

Ainsdale railway station opened in 1848 as an intermediate station on the

Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway (LC&SR) received parliamentary authorization on 2 July 1847 and opened between Southport and Liverpool, on 24 July 1848. The Liverpool terminal was a temporary station on the viaduct passing near to Wate ...

. On 14 June 1855 it became part of the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

(LYR), which took over from the LCSR. 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 L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

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 LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

in 1923.

Nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

followed in 1948 and in 1978 the station became part of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line (operated by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

until

privatised Privatization (also 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 when ...

in 1995).

Facilities

A new toilet building located on the Southport-bound platform was completed in May 2007. Access is by request at the ticket office. There is a car parking for 56 vehicles, cycle racks for 6 bikes and a secure cycle storage for a further 32 bikes. In early June 2014 it was announced that the station would be among a small number of stations across the Merseyrail network that would undergo a £3.7m programme of improvements. The improvement plans for the station were revealed at a public meeting at the village church on 20 July 2015, and it includes new waiting rooms and a new ticket office on the Southport Platform, as well as better access to the platforms and car park and a refurbished Footbridge. Work on the scheme started in May 2017. The new Ticket Office and waiting shelter opened on 2 May 2018 and the platform refurbishment is due to be completed in due course. The station has mounted on its external wall a John Agar (Bury) clock face, the internal workings of which converted from pendulum to electric drive some time ago. The clock face, badly faded by a century of sun, was restored to 'as new' condition and transferred to the new station building to continue the link with a clock maker who supplied clocks to many stations along the line and across the wider north of England network.

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes throughout the day from Monday to Saturday and on summer Sundays to

to the north, and to

Hunts Cross Hunt's Cross is a suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located on the southern edge of the city, bordered by the suburbs of Woolton, Allerton, Speke and Halewood and delineated by the West Coast Main Line, Hillfoot Avenue, Merseyrail Northern L ...

via

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 ...

to the south. Winter Sunday services are every 30 minutes in each direction.

Gallery

Image:Footbridge and Level Crossing, Ainsdale Railway Station (geograph 2993600).jpg, The footbridge and level crossing, before refurbishment. Image:Northbound platform, Ainsdale Railway Station (geograph 2993614).jpg, The northbound platform. Image:Train to Southport, Ainsdale Railway Station (geograph 2993603).jpg, A Merseyrail class 507 waits at the station, viewed from the footbridge. Image:Looking North, Ainsdale Railway Station (geograph 2993594).jpg, A broad view of the platforms and footbridge.

References

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Station on navigable O.S. map

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 served by Merseyrail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848