Liverpool is a metropolitan city in the North West England. This town is an essential hub for various important economic and commercial activities.

This town was previously an important part of the Industrial Revolution. The city is the hotspot of many vital activities. The Railway System plays an essential role in the functioning of the town. Liverpool’s railway system has a vast network of trains, including various local and national trains.

This article covers all the important information related to the various famous railway stations in Liverpool City, ranging from their role in the city’s social, economic, and cultural development and adjacent areas.

1. Most Famous Railway Stations in Liverpool

1.1. Liverpool Station Group

The Liverpool Station Group consists of various railway stations in the Liverpool City Centre. These railway groups are further divided into four stations.

• Liverpool Lime Street Station
• Liverpool Central Station
• James Street Station
• Moorfield Station

These railway stations have many local and national trains running across England, playing an important role in the country’s development. Not only these but several other small stations are linked with these stations to form the present-time Liverpool railways line.

1.1.1  Interconnection of Railway Station in Liverpool

All the stations in Liverpool are linked to each other by the Wirral line of the Mersey rail network. The city centre loop of the Wirral line operates in a clockwise direction, i.e., firstly, James Street Station, Moorefield Station, Lime Street Station, and at last, Central Station, and then back to James Station.

Out of these four main stations, the Liverpool Lime Street station was the first one to be constructed in the 1830s. During construction, this station is further linked to Liverpool Central Station via the Northern Line. These two stations are further linked to James Street Station and Moorefield Station to form a well-structured network of railway lines.

1.2. Liverpool Lime Street Station

Liverpool Lime Street Station is one of the main stations serving the city of Liverpool. It is a terminus railway station. The railway network starts from Lime Street. Further, these railway lines cover many destinations across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The Liverpool Lime Street Station is one of the most loaded underground stations outside London. It accommodates almost 40000 passengers daily. The Lime Street Station in Liverpool is located on Lime Street opposite St Georges Hall. 

1.2.1 History And Construction

The Liverpool Lime Street Station was officially opened in August 1836. This railway station is one of the oldest serving terminus railway stations. The station’s original terminus, built in 1830, was located on Crown Street, Edge Hill, on the east side and outside the city centre.

Initially, the passengers were taken uphill from Lime Street to Edge Hill, the vehicle was stopped at the hill, and the locomotive was detached. When these trains were taken uphill, the trains went downhill with the help of the rope. Further, these vehicles were then taken down due to gravity, the speed of which was controlled by the brakes, controlled by brakemen.

1.2.2 Station Structure of Liverpool Lime Station

The Liverpool Lime Station is further divided into two parts:

• The mainline station

• And the underground station

The mainline station includes national and international city services. It includes the regional service station that includes local city line routes, the Wirral line network, and the Mersey line rail services.

This mainline station has many platforms for the various trains. Generally, platform 6-10 is large and is used by long-distance trains like London, Leeds, Sheffield, and Norwich. Platforms 1-5 are small and are for local trains.

The underground station has a single platform. This station has many trains that depart to nearby areas like New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester, and Ellesmere Port.

1.2.3 Services and Facilities Available at the Station Concourse

Liverpool Lime Station has many facilities for its passengers and visitors.

• The mainline station has many shops. Some are the branches of famous shops like M&S Simply Food, Starbucks, Upper Crust, Costa Coffee, Boots, and WH Smith. It also has direct service to Liverpool One Bus Station to reach various paths.

Further, the station also has two taxi ranks and car parking. The station has clean and hygienic toilets for both males and females. Moreover, it has many offices like a booking office, left-luggage office. The station also has facilities such as ATMs and Wi-Fi.

•  The underground station also has many facilities. It has lifts, escalators, and a pedestrian subway to reach the main station. The station has Wi-fi and ATM facilities. This station has automatic doors for some entrances. It has a well-trained staff that is available during service hours.

1.2.4 Trains Available for Various Destinations

The Liverpool Lime Station has several trains that arrive and depart to various destinations. Some of such destinations are as follows.

• Chester
• Ellesmere port
• West Kirby
• Nottingham
• Manchester
• Sheffield
• New Brighton
• York
• Manchester Oxford Road
• Manchester Victoria
• London Euston
• Blackpool North
• Norwich
• Glasgow

1.3. Liverpool Central Station

The Liverpool Central Station is the central hub of the Mersey rail network, which is present on both lines, i.e., the Northern lines and the Wirral lines in the city of Liverpool, England. This railway line is the busiest in the city. The station is located on Ranelagh Street inside the Central Shopping Centre.

1.3.1 History And Construction

The High-Level Terminal Station was opened in 1874 when it originally provided its services at the end of the Cheshire Lines Committee and Manchester Central. It then replaced the Brunswick station as the CLC’s Liverpool terminus, further becoming the headquarters of the committee. The high-level station was demolished in the year 1973.

Some of the station buildings continued to work until the underground station was rebuilt in the mid-1970s.

Liverpool Central Low-Level underground terminal was opened on January 1892 at the end of the Mersey Rail Route. The Mersey Rail tunnel entering the Central Low Level from the north of the station was aligned with the High-Level Station tunnel from the south.

The two tunnels were further linked up in the mid-1970s. This practice has made it possible for minimum engineering work to be done to link up these two tunnels. Further, the station was constructed and linked to more railway lines in the North Line and Wirral Line and to the station to form the present Liverpool Central Station.

1.3.2 Services and Facilities Available in the Liverpool Central Station

The Liverpool Central Station has many facilities for passengers and visitors. It has a well-trained staff that is available for services when it is open. There are also seating and shelters for those who want to wait for the trains. There are various underground, heated shelters available for the people.

Further, clean and hygienic toilet seats are available in both male and female toilets. Customer information systems, which are both in visual and aural forms, are also available. Moreover, complaint cells, an online ticket booking system, and various arrival display screens are very convenient for passengers and visitors.

Also, there are many wheelchairs and prams available. The platform has many step-free staircases for those who use wheelchairs and prams. Additionally, various local station taxi ranks can be accessed to reach the station. Further, the station has 16 secure cycle parking and cycle racks (that have a capacity of 30 spaces).

1.3.3 Various Trains Available for Various Destinations

The Liverpool Central Station\ has several trains arriving from or departing to various locations. Some of such destinations are

• West Kirby

• Ellesmere Port

• South Port

• Hunt Cross

• Chester

• Ormskirk

• New Brighton

• Rock Ferry

• Hooton

• Fazakerley

1.3.4 Station Structure of the Liverpool Central Station

The Liverpool Central Station has an underground railway tunnel and three platforms with various trains linked together in various parts of the city. Platforms 1 and 2 are wider and connected to the Wirral Line.

These platforms have the maximum number of trains that travel to various destinations. The platforms from the underground tunnel can be accessed via stairs and step-free ladders.

1.4. Liverpool James Street Station

This Station is an underground station situated in the city centre of Liverpool city. The station is part of the Wirral line of the Mersey line network. This Liverpool James Street station is located on James Street near the corner of the Strand. The James Street station is closest to the Waterfront area and Mathew Street.

1.4.1 History And Construction

James Street Station was opened in 1886. The station was a terminus railway station of the Mersey Railway tunnel. It is one of the world’s oldest deep-level underground railway stations, and Hamilton Railway Station is in Birkenhead.

The railway line was further electrified in the year 1903. Moreover, the trains from West Kirby and New Brighton started running in the year 1938, when the Wirral line got electrified. The station was later re-developed and opened again in 1977.

In the further years, eventually, more small and big construction and development took place, which forms present time Liverpool James Street Station.

1.4.2 Structure of the James Street Station

There are three platforms at the James Street Station in Liverpool. Platforms 2 and 3 are located on either side of the Mersey rail tunnel. Platform 3 has trains westbound to the Wirral line. Platform 1 has trains eastbound to Liverpool. Platform 2 is used to allow the trains arriving from Wirral to terminate and further move these trains back westbound to the Wirral line.

The junction at the western end of the station is called Mann Island Junction. There are two main entrances to the station. These entrances are located at James Street and Water Street. James Street entrance has four lifts to reach the platform from the street.

1.4.3 Facilities and Services at The Station

James Street Station in Liverpool is complemented by many facilities. There are ATMs, toilets, and a phone pay booking office. There are the live departure and arrival screens for the passengers to get accurate information about the trains.

The station has a good number of staff members. It is open 24 hours. Moreover, there are CCTV cameras for surveillance. Step-free access to the platform is there for prams and wheelchairs. Lifts are also available at this station. The facility of the wi-fi is also available. Not only this, there are also a good number of shops and buffets available for visitors and passengers.

1.4.4 Trains Available for Various Destinations

The James Street Station has several trains that depart to various destinations. Some of these destinations are

• Chester
• New Brighton
• West Kirby
• Ellesmere port

1.5. Moorfields Railway Station

Moorfield Railway Station is an underground railway station in the city centre of Liverpool. This station is connected to both the Wirral line and the northern line of the Mersey rail network.

The railway station is located in Moorfields on Dale Street in the north of the city centre. 

1.5.1  History And Construction

The Moorefield Station was built in the 1970s. It was officially opened to the public in 1977. This station was made in replacement of the Liverpool Exchange Railway Station.

Services from the Northern part were previously terminated in the Liverpool Exchange Terminal. Then, the Liverpool Exchange line was finally shut down, and the Moorefield Station was further extended.

The North-South Cross rail Northern line runs through Moorefield Station. This line was further extended to Hunt Cross and was opened in 1983. During the year 2015 and further years, more construction took place, and finally, the present time Moorefield Railway Station.

1.5.2  Trains Available for Various Destinations

The Moorefield station has several trains that arrive from and depart to various destinations. Some of such places are

• New Brighton
• Ellesmere port
• Ormskirk
• Liverpool Central
• West Kirby
• Hunts cross
• South port
• Chester

1.5.3  Services And Facilities Available at the Station Concourse

The station has well-trained staff members who are available full-time during service hours for all passengers and visitors. This station has various counters for tickets, such as a ticket window office, ticket vending machines, and automatic ticket gates.

Further, some shelters have canopies (they are mostly underground), and there are also facilities for heated shelters. These shelters closed at the end of the service timings. They also offer various food and catering services for the consumers. There is the availability of prams and wheelchairs for all the customers.

Moorefield station also has local taxis available nearby. Further, the station has secure cycle parking (24 parking spaces) and cycle racks (32 spaces).

1.5.4  Station Structure and Layout

The Moorefield station in Liverpool City has three platforms. Two platforms are for the northern line access, and one platform is for the Wirral line. The Wirral line platform is much more profound since it passes through the Queensway Road tunnel.

The station has step-free access for passengers that use wheelchairs and prams. Several staircases are available for the passengers to move from the underground terminal to the main station.

2. Other Railway Stations in Liverpool

Some of the other railway stations in the city of Liverpool, apart from these main stations that provide regional overground services, are as follows.

• Aigburth station
• Bank Hall station
• Broad Green station
• Brunswick railway station
• Cressington station
• Fazakerley
• Edge Hill station
• Hunts Cross station
• Kirkdale station
• Liverpool South Parkway station
• Mossley Hill station
• Orrell Park station
• Rice Lane railway station
• Sandhills railway station
• St Michaels railway station
• Walton railway station
• West Allerton railway branch
• Wavetree Technology Park railway branch

3. Liverpool John Lennon Airport and its Link to Railway Stations in Liverpool 

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is 7.5 miles from Liverpool city centre. The direct train to this airport can be accessed by Lime Street Station (which is operated by East Midland Train) and Liverpool Central Station (which is operated by Mersey Rail). The closest station to Liverpool John Lennon Airport is Liverpool South Parkway Station.

Direct buses take passengers and visitors to John Lennon Airport from the railway station without any extra tickets.

4. Final Note

In summary, the railway stations of Liverpool have made the life of the people of Liverpool and adjoining regions better and easier. The well-established and structured railway lines and network with the best services and facilities have improved people’s quality of life.

Further, the trains from these lines are easily accessible by all people. Moreover, short-distance trains are available for people in intervals of 15-20 minutes, making it a very convenient mode of transportation for people to travel from one place to another.

Last Updated on July 11, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty