Liverpool South Parkway
On 11th June 2006 Merseyrail opened a new station at Liverpool South Parkway, replacing the old stations of Allerton and Garston. The new combined station offers improved interchange between Northern and City Line trains, and also park & ride facilities and a bus station. Liverpool Airport is less than 15 minutes away by bus.
Below are some pictures of Garston station and Liverpool South Parkway, taken on 10th and 11th June 2006. Click on the thumbnail to view a larger version.
I revisited LSP and Garston on 17th September and 19th November to track the progress of Garston's demolition.
10th June 2006
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Merseyrail sign at the entrance to Garston station. |
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Garston station booking office. |
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Closure notice displayed inside the booking office. |
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View from platform 1 of Garston station, looking towards Liverpool. |
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Sign on the platform at Garston station, advertising Airport interchange. In practice I imagine most rail passengers used the express bus from Moorfields or Lime Street stations. |
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Merseyrail timetable poster. |
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507013 arrives with a service for Hunts Cross... |
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...and departs, passing through the platforms of Liverpool South Parkway (not a brilliant quality picture, I'm afraid). |
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Road sign for the new station on Woolton Road (the bridge in the background carries the WCML). |
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Northern Line platforms at Liverpool South Parkway, photographed from a nearby road overbridge. |
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A view of the WCML platforms from the road below. Although the station buildings are complete, there are still several construction vehicles on site, and some landscaping has not been completed. |
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The impressive bus station waits to receive its first passengers. |
11th June 2006
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Opening day at Liverpool South Parkway, and a view of the main concourse area. |
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The ticket office. With it being Sunday morning, only one out of three ticket windows was open. |
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The bus stand area from above, photographed during a quiet moment. |
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The car park was similarly empty. |
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On the WCML platforms, 57307 rushes through the station, dragging a Pendolino unit. |
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A Central Trains Desiro unit heads for Birmingham. In the June 2006 timetable, CT services do not call at Liverpool South Parkway on Sundays. |
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A view of the Northern Line platforms on the Southport-Hunts Cross line. |
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The now-closed Garston station, seen from the new LSP platform. |
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Timetable poster on the Northern Line platform. |
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507011 arrives with the 1156 to Hunts Cross. |
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Back on the “main line” platforms, Northern Rail 150145 arrives at platform 2 with the 1201 to Liverpool Lime Street. |
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Commemorative certificate given to passengers travelling through Liverpool South Parkway on that first day. |
17th September 2006
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Within a few weeks of closure, Garston succumbed to graffiti vandals. Most of the platform furniture has been removed. |
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What appear to be lamp posts piled up under the footbridge on the Hunts Cross platform. |
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The station has only been closed for a short time but has already taken on an air of dereliction. |
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Over at Liverpool South Parkway there's a happier tale to tell. The entrance to the station, which looked decidedly unfinished on opening day, has been tidied up and planted with shrubs and trees. |
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A Pendolino (I think it was 390002, I'm not sure) rushes through LSP on its way to London. |
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A less-than-perfect shot of 350129 en route to Liverpool. |
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142064 arrives with the 1301 to Liverpool. Northern Line services were replaced by buses today and the hourly Liverpool-Manchester stopper was the only train service using LSP. Even this wasn't trouble free, as the 1257 from Lime Street was announced as cancelled (it was eventually reinstated and ran 13 minutes late). |
19th November 2006
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Not much remains of Garston station. This view is looking towards Liverpool South Parkway. |
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Approach road to Garston cordoned off while the platform buildings are demolished. |
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This bricked up arch was the site of the entrance to Allerton station. Platforms were accessed via subway from the booking office. |
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507026 waits at Liverpool South Parkway with a train to Southport (services were terminating at LSP due to engineering works). |
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