Bache railway station
Bache railway station serves the suburbs of Bache and Upton-by-Chester in the north of the city of Chester, England. It is the first station for Merseyrail services leaving on the Wirral Line. Passengers can alight here for the Countess of Chester Hospital which is close by, and regular bus services to Chester Zoo.
History
The station opened in January 1984 by British Rail in conjunction with a new supermarket being developed by Safeway on the site of a former railway coalyard. It replaced the nearby Upton-by-Chester railway station, which was sited to the north next to Liverpool Road. The relocation of the station produced an immediate and dramatic uplift in the number of passengers using it.The modern station has two small covered waiting areas, information boards, CCTV and a footbridge. The platforms are made out of concrete slabs that are laid on brick foundations. A remotely operated public address system was installed in January 2012 together with automatic train departure indicators.
Facilities
The station has platform CCTV, a 61-space car park, a cycle rack with 8 spaces and secure cycle storage for 20 bikes. There are departure and arrival screens on the platform, for passenger information. There is ramp access, to each platform, for passengers with wheelchairs or prams. However, cross-platform access, within the station, is by staircase only.Bache is one of four unstaffed stations on the Merseyrail network, the others being Capenhurst, Little Sutton and Overpool. Since Bache became part of the Merseyrail Penalty Fares Area on 15 June 2009, intending passengers must purchase rail tickets from the ticket-vending machine, before boarding a train. This is located on the Liverpool-bound platform.
Services
Trains operate every 15 minutes during the working day from Monday to Saturday southwards towards Chester and northwards towardsLiverpool Lime Street/Liverpool Central via Hooton, Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Central. Later in the evening and on Sundays the service is half-hourly. During the periods of quarter-hourly services, alternate trains run through Capenhurst non-stop between Hooton and Bache in each direction. These services are all provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 777 EMUs.