Hillside railway station

Hillside
Location
Place	Birkdale
Local authority	Sefton
Coordinates	53°37′19″N 3°01′30″W / 53.622°N 3.025°WCoordinates: 53°37′19″N 3°01′30″W / 53.622°N 3.025°W
Grid reference	SD323144
Operations
Station code	HIL
Managed by	Merseyrail
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	158,618
2005/06	178,252
2006/07	177,678
2007/08	180,744
2008/09	0.689 million
2009/10	0.579 million
2010/11	0.590 million
2011/12	0.579 million
2012/13	0.552 million
2013/14	0.552 million
2014/15	0.542 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Merseytravel
Zone	D1
History
Key dates	Opened May 1926
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hillside from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Hillside railway station serves the southern half of the Birkdale area of Southport, England. It is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.

It is the closest station to the Royal Birkdale golf course, and is extremely busy when major events (such as the Open Championship) are held there.

History

Hillside opened in May 1926^[1] as an intermediate station on the ex-Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) after the 1923 grouping into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and long after the railway had originally opened in 1848. By this time, the area had developed into a sizable residential suburb of Southport.

Nationalisation followed in 1948 and in 1978 the station became part of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line (operated by British Rail until privatised in 1995).

Facilities

Safety and security features at this station include cycle storage, CCTV, an induction loop is installed, shelters and seats and a public telephone. There is no wheelchair access at this station, as the only access to the platforms is by stairs; the nearest station with disabled access is Ainsdale. The ticket office is always staffed by at least one member of staff from before the start of train services until 15 minutes from the end of service.

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes throughout the day from Monday to Saturday and on summer Sundays to Southport to the north, and to Hunts Cross via Liverpool Central to the south. Winter Sunday services are every 30 minutes in each direction.

Gallery

• 

  The station ticket office, viewed from the road.

• 

  The waiting room on the Southport-bound platform.

• 

  The booking office and footbridge, viewed from the platform.

• 

  A Merseyrail Class 507 waits at the station.

References

1. Gell, Rob (1986). An Illustrated Survey of Railway Stations between Southport & Liverpool 1848–1986. Crosby: Heyday Publishing Company. ISBN 0-947562-04-4.

External links

• Train times and station information for Hillside railway station from National Rail

• Station information for Hillside railway station from Merseyrail