Hillside railway station serves the southern half of the Birkdale

Birkdale

Birkdale is a village and district in the southern part of the conurbation of the town of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The village is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from...

 area of Southport

Southport

Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is located on the Southport

Southport railway station

Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. It is at the end of one of the branches of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, and at the end of the Manchester-Southport Line which runs via Wigan...

 branch of the Merseyrail

Merseyrail

Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...

 network

Transport network

A transport network, or transportation network in American English, is typically a network of roads, streets, pipes, aqueducts, power lines, or nearly any structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity....

's Northern Line

Northern Line (Merseyrail)

The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...

.

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 as an intermediate station on the ex-Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway

Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway

The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway received parliamentary authorization on 2 July 1847 and opened between Southport and Liverpool Waterloo on 24 July 1848.-LC&SR later operations:...

, after the 1923 grouping into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

, and long after the railway had originally opened in 1848. By this time, the area had developed into a sizable residential suburb of Southport

Southport

Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...

.

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

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

 until privatised in 1995).

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes throughout the day from Monday to Saturday and on summer Sundays to Southport

Southport railway station

Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. It is at the end of one of the branches of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, and at the end of the Manchester-Southport Line which runs via Wigan...

 to the north, and to Hunts Cross

Hunts Cross railway station

Hunts Cross railway station is a Grade II listed railway station in Hunts Cross, Liverpool, England. It is situated on the southern branch of the City Line's Liverpool to Manchester route, and is the southern terminus of Merseyrail's Northern Line.-History:...

 via Liverpool Central

Liverpool Central railway station

Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...

 to the south. Winter Sunday services are every 30 minutes in each direction.

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.

External links

• Station information from Merseyrail