Warrington Bank Quay railway station


Warrington Bank Quay is one of five railway stations serving the town of Warrington, a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is a principal stop on the West Coast Main Line between and. The station is a north–south oriented station located to one side of Warrington's main shopping area.

History

When the Warrington and Newton Railway came into being it intended to open three branches. The initial line, opened in 1831, ran south from Newton to which became the first station in Warrington.
The second branch diverged from the Dallam line at Jockey Lane and went to Bank Quay. This branch probably opened in 1835 and was used for goods and mineral traffic only, it terminated north of the Warrington to Liverpool Turnpike.
The third branch was never constructed.
In 1835 the Grand Junction Railway acquired the making an end-on connection with the Bank Quay branch to expand northwards, using it to connect to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

First station 1837 to 1868

The first Warrington Bank Quay station opened on 4 July 1837 when the formally opened its line from Birmingham Vauxhall to where it connected to the.
The station was situated to the south of turnpike on the east side of the running lines. The turnpike had to be elevated onto a bridge, predictably known as Bank Quay bridge, to enable the end-on connection of the lines.
There was a platform in front of the station building and two island platforms with four lines running through the station some of which were accessible from platforms on both sides. Whishaw describes the station as having "a booking-office and ladies waiting room...with conveniences detached from the building" on the 'up' side and two small waiting-rooms enclosed under a shed-roof on the 'down' side.
The station had goods facilities to the north of the turnpike on both sides of the running lines. There were further freight facilities to the south of the station on the east side.
The station handled all the long-distance trains, station continued to be used for local passenger and goods services until 1839 when all passenger services were transferred to Bank Quay.
In 1842 the station staff consisted of a superintendent, two clerks, a manager, three porters, one policeman, four shuntsmen, four coke and water fillers, one coach-greaser, and two gate-porters.
In 1846 the amalgamated with others to form the London and North Western Railway.

Second station

In 1864 the absorbed the St Helens Canal and Railway Company which had opened a line between and in 1853–1854. Services were run on this line between and.
This west-east line ran underneath the north-south line south of Bank Quay station using as their Warrington station.
On 16 November 1868 the relocated Bank Quay station to the point where the lines crossed effectively superimposing one station over the other to provide an interchange.
The station has a single-storey entrance building with sub-way access to two island platforms at a higher level. Biddle described the station entrance as a "dowdy little brick entrance building".
When the new station opened a local newspaper described the low-level platforms as "no more than a covered shed, open in front". Mr Banks, promoted from became the first station master of the relocated station.
The upper station had four through platforms. The central platforms being the fast lines and often used by non-stop trains passing through the station. There was a bay platform facing north and a very small bay facing south.
The lower station had two through platforms with a bay at the Manchester end of the east-bound platform. The lower platforms had a short canopy with ornate curved iron supports and a covered wooden footbridge.
Goods facilities gradually expanded and the area north of Bank Quay bridge increased in size and acquired a locomotive depot. The area between the running lines and Parker Street was filled with goods sidings. When these became inadequate goods yards were built at Walton Old Junction and between the main north-south line and Arpley.
The station was still called Warrington until at least 1870 when Bank Quay started to be used for the east-west line, it coming into use on the north-south line later, but increasingly after opened in 1873. The terms low level and high level were used locally, they appeared in junction diagrams and some station handbooks but were never part of an official title.
The station was enlarged in 1897 when new signals and signal boxes were provided.
The low level station closed to passengers on 9 September 1963, the line through the station remains open for freight.
The station was rebuilt when the line was electrified in 1973, a new power signal box covering an extended area was built east of the station for the electrification.
In 2009 a new entrance hall was completed, with a travel centre/ticket office and a shop. The buffet on the London bound platforms was modernised. Improvements were made to the platforms and an extension to the existing car park and a new taxi rank were built.

Service history

Being situated on the West Coast Main Line Bank Quay has had regular trains to a wide range of destinations including northbound to, and and southbound to,, and. However, there were several local passenger services that have ceased operation including:
  • Low level station service between and in 1962.
  • High level station service to via and in 1954.
  • High level station service to in 1964.

Current situation

The current station has evolved from the second station, it is still on the same site with four high-level platforms, one each side of the two islands. The easternmost retains the 19th century buildings, with the western island's buildings dating from the 1950s.
Passengers enter the station at street level through a functional modern entrance containing an information office and ticket office, and proceed through a subway, reaching the elevated platforms by stairs or a lift. There is a buffet on the eastern platform.
The platforms are numbered 1 to 4 from east to west, the two central lines, platforms 2 and 3 are the fast lines with the outer platforms the slow.
Platforms 1 and 4 usually serve two lines, platform 1 dealing with:
Platform 4 serves the same services as platform 1 going in the opposite direction.
Platform 4 also hosts the daily evening train from providing the only direct service of the day to operated by Northern Trains.
Platforms 2 and 3 are used by long-distance services operated in 2025 by Avanti West Coast.
  • Platform 2 deals with southbound trains to London Euston and Birmingham New Street. In 2025 there are approximately two services per hour to Euston, one using the more direct Trent Valley line and one via Birmingham during the day. Most of the Trent Valley services run non-stop to Euston, three of which call at, one of which makes an additional stop at.
  • Platform 3 deals with northbound trains to:
  • *Glasgow Central. In 2025 there is approximately one service per hour during the day.
  • *Edinburgh Waverley. In 2025 there is approximately one service every two hours during the day.
  • *Blackpool North. In 2025 there is approximately two services per day.

Future

In the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands the UK government proposed reinstating the Low Level station as part of a new connection to Liverpool from HS2.