Chester railway station

Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre. From 1875 to 1969 the station was known as Chester General station, to distinguish from Chester Northgate.

Work on the £10 million regeneration of the station and surrounding areas as part of the Chester Renaissance programme has recently been completed. The development includes a new roof, improved customer facilities and better access to the station.

A small plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey, one of the world's greatest railway building contractors in the early to mid-19th century, can be seen on the wall opposite the new booking office. Thomas Brassey was born at Buerton, on what is now the Eaton Estate, some six miles south of Chester; the house is no longer standing.

The station marks one end of the Baker Way, a footpath leading to Delamere railway station.

History
Historically, Chester General station was a joint station between the Chester and Holyhead Railway, the Chester and Crewe Railway and the Birkenhead Railway. Later these became the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway (GWR). The joint station dates from 1848, replacing at least two earlier termini of the railway companies concerned.

Architecturally the station has an Italianate frontage designed by Francis Thompson. The station also has carved wooden owls at some strategic locations high in the roof beams to help deter feral pigeons.

GWR and latterly BR Western Region express passenger trains operated from Birkenhead Woodside via Chester, Wrexham, Ruabon, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington (Salop), Wolverhampton, Birmingham Snow Hill, Leamington Spa and Banbury to London Paddington station until the electrification of the West Coast Main Line in 1967.

From 1875, Chester was also served by Chester Northgate station (owned by the Cheshire Lines Committee); however, that station was closed in 1969 and is now the site of a leisure centre.

In 1972, the Chester General rail crash occurred in the station, causing severe damage to the building and the several trains involved.

In 1993, Chester became the terminus of one of the four Wirral Line branches of the Merseyrail network, using third rail electrification and providing frequent rapid access along the Wirral to Birkenhead and all four underground stations in central Liverpool. The historic Chester and Birkenhead Railway, the first railway to serve Chester, thus now forms part of Merseyrail's Wirral Line.

Architecture
The station was built between 1847 and 1848, designed by Francis Thompson, and built by the railway contractor Thomas Brassey. Also involved in the design and construction were the engineer C. H. Wild. who designed the train shed, and Robert Stephenson. It is built in Staffordshire blue brick and pale grey Storeton sandstone with slate roofs. Its architectural style is Italianate. It has a very long two-storey façade, with a 15-bay central section, and five-bay lateral projecting pavilions, each containing a pair of towers. The middle seven bays of the central section contain carvings by John Thomas. The station building is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.

Services
Chester is served by four train operating companies.

Arriva Trains Wales

 * 1 train per hour to Llandudno (via Llandudno Junction)
 * 1 train per hour to Holyhead (via Bangor)
 * 1 train per hour to Wrexham General and Shrewsbury of which one every two hours continues to Cardiff Central and one every two hours continues to Birmingham International
 * 1 train per hour to Manchester Piccadilly (via Warrington Bank Quay)
 * 1 train per hour to Crewe, which gives a half-hourly service in conjunction with Virgin Trains' service
 * A Monday to Friday daily limited-stop express south to Cardiff Central and north to Holyhead

Virgin Trains

 * 1 train per hour to London Euston via Crewe and Milton Keynes Central
 * 6 trains per day from London continue to Bangor and Holyhead
 * 1 train per day continues to Wrexham General



Merseyrail Electrics

 * 4 trains per hour (one every 15 minutes) to Liverpool Central via Birkenhead during the working day on weekdays and Saturdays. Late evenings and Sundays the frequency is every 30 minutes. Merseyrail Electrics services to Birkenhead and Liverpool exclusively use Platform 7b although occasional operational requirements may necessitate the use of Platform 7a, Platform 7 being the only third-rail equipped platform at the station.

The Wirral Line provides a direct service to central Liverpool and central Birkenhead with underground stations at Birkenhead Hamilton Square, Liverpool James Street, Liverpool Moorfields, Liverpool Lime Street Low Level station and Liverpool Central. The Wirral Line runs in a clockwise loop through Liverpool's city centre returning to Chester, hence trains may be indicated as bound for Chester whether running north or south. A change at Birkenhead Hamilton Square station gives connections to New Brighton and West Kirby. A change at Liverpool Moorfields gives access to all of the Merseyrail Electrics Northern Line services. City Line services and Inter-City services are accessed by changing at Liverpool Lime Street.

Northern Rail

 * 1tph on the Mid-Cheshire Line to Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport via Northwich. Some Sunday services also continue from Manchester to Southport.
 * 1 departure each Saturday morning, (during Summer months only), using the Halton Curve to Runcorn. On occasion, this service is extended to Liverpool South Parkway.

There are proposals under consideration to reinstate a regular passenger service along the Halton Curve south of Runcorn railway station, which would permit the re-introduction of through trains from Liverpool to the North Wales Coast.

Refurbishment
In mid-2005, Arriva Trains Wales announced a plan to improve the condition of the station, as Chester General had been well known for its neglected appearance. The first of these improvements to be implemented was the ticket barriers, which came into operation in July 2006. On 31 October 2008 the station renaissance was officially completed and a plaque was unveiled by the then Chester MP, Christine Russell. Improved station facilities now include a new travel centre, new customer information screens, a Costa Coffee franchise outlet, new bicycle stands and a waiting area. Further upgrades through 2009 saw further upgrades to the island platform and footbridge.

Layout
The station has seven platforms. Platform 1 is a bay platform located at the east end used for London bound Virgin trains and local trains to Crewe. Platform 2 at the western end is another bay platform which is mainly used by trains heading towards Cardiff/Birmingham via Wrexham and Shrewsbury. Platform 3 is a through bi-directional platform and is closest to the concourse; it is most commonly used for North Wales bound services and is split into sections 3a and 3b although on occasions a London bound train will use it.

Over the bridge - or by way of lifts - is the island platform. Opposite Platform 3 is Platform 4, another through bi-directional platform although mainly used for London bound services. Some Cardiff/Birmingham bound services also reverse here to access the Wrexham line having arrived from Holyhead. There are two east facing bays (Platforms 5 and 6, for the Mid-Cheshire line) operated by Northern Rail. Platform 7 is an additional through platform, the only one with third-rail electrification; it is split into 'a' (eastern) and 'b' (western) sections and thus capable of accommodating two trains at once. Platform 7b is used solely for Merseyrail Electrics services, and Platform 7a is used either for terminating trains from Manchester via Warrington or to accommodate a second Merseyrail Electrics train.