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,[1] dating from 1972.[2]
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.[4]
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.[5]
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[when?] 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.
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.