Port Sunlight railway station serves the Port Sunlight area of the Wirral, England, a model village built for the workers of the nearby Lever Brothers soap factory. The station is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.

Port Sunlight
General information
Location	Port Sunlight, Wirral England
Coordinates	53°20′55″N 2°59′54″W
Grid reference	SJ336840
Managed by	Merseyrail
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	PSL
Fare zone	B1
Classification	DfT category E
Passengers
2016/17	0.659 million
2017/18	0.624 million
2018/19	0.742 million
2019/20	0.859 million
2020/21	0.200 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Port Sunlight station is on the former Birkenhead Railway and opened as Port Sunlight Halt for workmen only on 1 May 1914. It became a public station (Port Sunlight) on 9 May 1927.[1] Direct train services to Liverpool began in 1985, when the line between Rock Ferry and Hooton was electrified; previously passengers for Liverpool had to change at Rock Ferry. Further electrification in early 1990s allowed electric train services to be extended, first to Chester in 1993 and then Ellesmere Port in 1994.

Facilities

The station is staffed, during all opening hours, and has platform CCTV.[2] There are toilets, a payphone, a vending machine and a booking office. There are departure and arrival screens, on the platform, for passenger information. Each of the two platforms has sheltered seating. The station does not have a car park, though there is roadside parking available. The station does have a cycle rack with 6 spaces, and a secure cycle locker with 60 spaces.[3] Access to the station booking office is by steep ramp. However, there is no easy access for passengers with wheelchairs or prams to the platforms, as this is by subway and staircase only.[4]

Services

Trains operate every 15 minutes between Chester and Liverpool on weekdays and Saturdays until late evening when the service becomes half-hourly, as it is on Sundays. Additionally there is a half-hourly service between Liverpool and Ellesmere Port all day, every day.[5] Northbound trains operate via Hamilton Square station in Birkenhead and the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. Southbound trains all proceed as far as Hooton, where the lines to Chester and Ellesmere Port divide. These services are all provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs.

Gallery

• 
  A Merseyrail Class 507 approaches the station.
• 
  The station building, from the street.
• 
  The interior of the booking hall.
• 
  The view to the south of the station.

References

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Chester to Birkenhead. Middleton Press. figs. 56-60. ISBN 9781908174215. OCLC 811323335.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Port Sunlight railway station.

• Train times and station information for Port Sunlight railway station from National Rail

• Station information for Port Sunlight railway station from Merseyrail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Spital towards Chester or Ellesmere Port		Merseyrail Wirral Line Ellesmere Port/Chester		Bebington towards Liverpool Central
	Historical railways
Spital Line and station open		GWR & LNWR Chester and Birkenhead Railway		Bebington & New Ferry Line and station open