St Michaels railway station is a railway station in

St Michael's Hamlet St Michael's Hamlet, also known as St Michael-in-the-Hamlet or simply St Michael's, is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Dingle, Aigburth and Mossl ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

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 ...

, on the

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, t ...

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 el ...

suburban system. It is situated near, but not on St Michael's Road,

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...

, a short distance to the south of the Lark Lane and

Sefton Park Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name, located roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth ...

neighbourhoods. The main station building sits at street level, over the lines which are in a

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

. Leading down to the platforms, from apertures in the station building, are ramps which were built for the

International Garden Festival The International Garden Festival was a garden festival recognised by the International Association of Horticultural producers (AIPH) and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which was held in Liverpool, England from 2 May to 14 ...

in 1984.

History

The station opened in 1864 as part of the

Garston and Liverpool Railway The Garston and Liverpool Railway line ran from the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway line at Garston Docks to Brunswick railway station, later to central Liverpool. The company was formed on 17 May 1861 and the line opened on 1 June 1864. Garst ...

line between Brunswick and Garston Dock. In 1865 the station and line were incorporated into the

Cheshire Lines Committee The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire a ...

. The station closed in 1972 but reopened in 1978 as part of the Kirkby– Garston line of the Merseyrail system. The reopening of the station was part-funded by

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, because of that company's use of the "St Michael" brand; this is recognised by a plaque at the site. Services were extended from Garston 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 ...

in 1983, and diverted to

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 Iris ...

instead of Kirkby in 1984. From 11 December 2006 the Monday-Saturday evening service was increased to run every 15 minutes, instead of half-hourly as previously.

Facilities

Ramps, which were installed for the

in 1984, allow access to the platforms. Steps to street level (bypassing the ticket office) have been sealed off. In November 2021, the ramps were removed and the steps to the platform, previously sealed off, were reinstated. The removal of the ramps will allow for lifts to be installed at a later date. The station is staffed 15 minutes before the first service and 15 minutes after the last service. There are toilets, platform CCTV and a booking office. There are departure and arrival screens on the platform for passenger information. The station has car parking for 4 vehicles, a cycle rack with 12 spaces and secure storage for 28 cycles. Merseytravel announced in April 2019 that they had been successful in a bid for funding lifts being installed at the station under the Department for Transport's ‘Access for All’ programme. The lifts are expected to be installed at some point over the following five years.

Services

Trains operate every 20 minutes, Monday-Saturday to

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 mainl ...

to the north, and

to the south. On Sundays, services are every 30 minutes in each direction.GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 103

Gallery

Image:St.michaelsrail liverpool.jpg, A close view of the station building. Image:507004 at St Michaels.jpg, A Merseyrail Class 507 waits at the station. Image:Merseyrail Class 508, 508141, St. Michaels railway station (geograph 3787342).jpg, A Merseyrail Class 508 waits at the station. Image:Frontage of St Michaels railway station, Liverpool.jpg, The station frontage from the road.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michaels railway station Railway stations in Liverpool DfT Category E stations Former Cheshire Lines Committee stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1972 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1978 Railway stations served by Merseyrail 1864 establishments in England