Hightown railway station serves the village of Hightown in

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 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

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 ...

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

Hightown 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 ...

(LCSR). 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), on 14 June 1855, which had absorbed 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 amalgamated with other railways to create 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

privatisation 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). In February 2019, as part of the Merseyrail platform upgrade works, both of the platforms were raised in preparation for the

British Rail Class 777 The British Rail Class 777 ''METRO'' is a class of electric multiple unit passenger trains currently under construction by Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail, to be used on the Merseyrail network in the Liverpool City Region and the ...

METRO units, coming into operation in 2020. 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

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 ...

. 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.

References

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