Warrington Bank Quay | |
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Warrington Bank Quay Station in 2014
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Location | |
Place | Warrington |
Local authority | Borough of Warrington |
Grid reference | SJ599878 |
Operations | |
Station code | WBQ |
Managed by | Virgin Trains |
Number of platforms | 4 |
DfT category | B |
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2011/12 | 0.895 million |
2012/13 | 0.923 million |
2013/14 | 1.011 million |
2014/15 | 1.081 million |
2015/16 | 1.110 million |
History | |
Key dates | Opened 1868 |
Original company | London & North Western Railway |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Warrington Bank Quay from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
Warrington Bank Quay railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Warrington Bank Quay is a north-south oriented mainline station on one side of the main shopping area, with the west-east oriented Warrington Central on the other side to the north west operating a more frequent service to the neighbouring cities of Liverpool and Manchester. A bus shuttle service operated every 20 minutes from Monday to Friday daytime between the two stations and the Centre Park business park. The station is directly on the West Coast Main Line.
The station consists of two island platforms. 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.
Platform 1 is serves arrivals and departures to Liverpool Lime Street with this service terminating at the platform, and occasionally for North Wales services. Platform 2 is generally used for North Wales services, and southbound intercity services to Birmingham New Street and London Euston. Platform 3 serves northbound intercity trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow Central. Platform 4 for services from North Wales to Manchester. The platforms are not bi-directional, except that the slow line between the station and Winwick Junction, some 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the north. This allows northbound departures from platform 1. The present platform 4 was numbered 5 for many years, because there was to be a north-facing bay platform in the west island which was numbered 4, but this saw no passenger use after electrification in 1972 being removed later.
The station's best known landmark is the huge Unilever detergent manufacturing plant which stands overlooking the site.
The station suffered from years of neglect and, because of this, Virgin Trains announced improvements to the station. In 2009, an extension to the existing car park and a new taxi rank were built, along with improvements to the platforms and a new ticket office and travel centre. The new entrance hall is now complete, with ticket office and newsagent. The buffet on the London bound platforms has been modernised, however a first class lounge is yet to materialise.