Northern Line (Merseyrail)

The network of the Merseyrail. The Northern Line is shown in blue

Northern Line
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend Preston to Ormskirk Line to Manchester Southport Birkdale Ormskirk Hillside Aughton Park Ainsdale Town Green Freshfield Maghull Formby Old Roan Hightown Aintree Hall Road Orrell Park Blundellsands & Crosby Walton Waterloo Kirkby to Wigan Line Seaforth & Litherland Kirkby Bootle New Strand Fazakerley Bootle Oriel Road Rice Lane Bank Hall Kirkdale Kirkdale TMD Sandhills Moorfields Liverpool Lime Street ( Wirral Line ) Liverpool Central St James Brunswick St Michaels Aigburth Cressington Garston City Line Liverpool South Parkway Hunts Cross City Line

The Northern Line is next to the Wirral Line one of the two local transport lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside , England . The line connects the city center of Liverpool with Hunts Cross to the south and Southport , Ormskirk and Kirkby to the north .

Origin and course

The Northern Line is made up of four different historic railway lines that were linked together in the 1970s. In the south, the line starts from Hunts Cross station on the Garston and Liverpool Railway of the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) to Liverpool Central . Shortly before reaching the now demolished above-ground terminus, a tunnel built in the 1970s is driven through, which leads to an underground station at the same point. The tunnel continues via Moorfields station, which also replaces a former above-ground train station, Liverpool Exchange Station. The line then comes to the surface again and reaches Sandhills station.

From Sandhills, the route branches into two sections. The west is the former Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway to Southport, while the east is on the Liverpool and Bury Railway to Kirkby. From the latter, the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway branches off after Kirkdale station and is used up to Ormskirk station.

electrification

The line is equipped with a 750 V DC power rail throughout. The electrification took place in several steps. First, in 1904, electrification was carried out from Liverpool Exchange Station to Southport and on to Crossens and Meols Cop. The next section was on the junction to Ormskirk, where electrification was carried out first to Aintree in 1906 and to Ormskirk in 1913. Beginning in 1964, the electrification north of Southport was dismantled. In the course of the completion of the tunnel through the city center, which was completed in 1978, the lines in the north to Kirkby and in the south to Garston were also electrified. The latter was continued in 1983 to Hunts Cross.

Transfer options

You can change to the Wirral Line at Liverpool Central and Moorfields stations. Since the Northern Line has no connection to Liverpool Lime Street long-distance train station , a change to the Wirral Line is necessary to reach it. However, the distance between Liverpool Central and Lime Street is short, so many passengers walk this distance. Connections to the National Rail network are available at Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby, Liverpool South Parkway and Hunts Cross stations. The airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is connected via the station Liverpool South Parkway buses.

Former stations

Aside from Garston, all closings occurred prior to the establishment of the Northern Line.

• Churchtown (Southport-Crossens junction)
• Crossens (Southport-Crossens junction)
• Ford (North Mersey Junction)
• Garston (Closing June 10, 2006; replaced by Liverpool South Parkway)
• Hesketh Park (Southport-Crossens Junction)
• Linacre Road (North Mersey Junction)
• Liverpool Exchange (1850–1977: Southport / Kirkby / Ormskirk branches) replaced by Moorfields.
• Meols Cop (Still in service, but no longer part of the Northern Line: Manchester and Southport Railway )
• Otterspool (closed 1951)
• St James (Closed 1917)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Meols Cop Triangle & Electric Car Sheds ( English ) Disused Stations. Retrieved August 12, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Northern Line (Merseyrail)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Merseyrail - Official site of the operator