Broad Green railway station

Broad Green
General information
Location	Broadgreen, Liverpool England
Grid reference	SJ406903
Managed by	Northern Trains
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BGE
Fare zone	C1
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
15 September 1830 (1830-09-15)	Station opened
Passengers
2018/19	0.424 million
2019/20	0.483 million
2020/21	0.107 million
2021/22	0.305 million
2022/23	0.368 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Broad Green railway station is a railway station serving the Broadgreen district of Liverpool, England, 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) east of Liverpool Lime Street. Established in 1830, it is the world's oldest actively operating railway station.

History

The oldest passenger station in the world was Crown Street railway station on the Liverpool and Manchester passenger railway opening on 17 September 1830. The trains set out on the first day at the Liverpool end. The second station on the line was the original Edge Hill railway station, the third was Broad Green station. In 1836 Crown Street station was demolished and Edge Hill decommissioned. A new Edge Hill station opened to the north of the original station in the grounds of the Edge Hill junction. This leaves Broad Green station as the oldest used railway station in the world. The current station buildings are not original, dating from 1972.

About 110 yards (100 m) to the east of the station the abandoned North Liverpool Extension Line passes under the lines, which is currently part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

Facilities

The ticket office is located on the Liverpool-bound platform (platform 1) and like most Merseytravel-sponsored stations is staffed throughout the hours of service, seven days per week. A waiting shelter is provided on platform 2 and there are digital display screens and customer help points provided on both sides. The platforms are linked by a subway with steps, but level access is available to both sides via nearby streets.

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.

The station is located very close to junction 4 of the M62 motorway however it is not a 'parkway' or an 'interchange' station. It has recently introduced a 'Park and Ride' scheme, with a large car park situated on the south side of the station. Broadgreen Hospital is a little under half a mile away.

Services

This station is operated and managed by Northern. The station receives three trains per hour in each direction Monday-Saturday, during the off-peak.

3tph to Liverpool Lime Street, calling at Wavertree Tech Park and Edge Hill. 1tph to Manchester Airport, via Lea Green, Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Piccadilly. 2tph to Wigan North Western via St Helens Central. During peak hours, additional services operate to Manchester Victoria and Blackpool North via Preston.

On Sundays, there are 2 trains per hour in each direction, with the Wigan NW service extending to Blackpool North, and the Manchester Airport service extending to Wilmslow.

Gallery

• 
  1865 postcard of Broad Green
• 
  The view westward, towards Liverpool Lime Street in 1962.
• 
  A broad view of the two platforms, next to the M62 bridge.
• 
  A Northern Rail Class 156 waits at the station.
• 
  The booking office, from the street.

External links

• Train times and station information for Broad Green railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Wavertree Technology Park		Northern Trains Liverpool-Manchester Line		Roby
		Northern Trains Liverpool-Wigan Line
	Disused railways
Edge Lane		LNWR Olive Mount chord		Terminus