UPDATED: WARRINGTON can now boast the newest railway station in the North following the official opening of Warrington West, which followed a special community event to mark the occasion.
The £20.5m station – funded by Warrington Borough Council, the Department for Transport, developer contributions and Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership – is providing rail travellers in the west of the town with newfacilities and great links to Warrington, Liverpool and Manchester – and, with Northern’s brand new trains also calling at the station, customers can now be able to travel direct to Manchester Airport.
The project was delivered by Balfour Beatty with the support of Network Rail who own and operate the railway infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland. Work began on the station, part of the Chapelford development, in January 2018. It includes:
• A high quality station building which echoes local history with a building design based on an ‘aircraft hangar’.
• A staffed station to improve customer service and promote safety and security.
• Four trains an hour, one limited stop and one stopper – two heading to Warrington Central and Manchester and two in the opposite direction to Liverpool.
• High quality, easy access for cyclists and pedestrian station users.
• Safe, secure and convenient cycle parking.
• Good interchange with current and future bus services.
• Space for drop-off and taxis, and a large, secure pay and display car park with CCTV and lighting.
Warrington Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for transportation, highways and public realm, Cllr Hans Mundry, said: “Warrington West station is an important part of our ongoing work to invest in our transport infrastructure, increase sustainable travel choices, reduce the need to travel by car and make sure our borough is a well-connected, business-friendly place.
“Residents and commuters in west Warrington are now benefiting from a first-class, modern and accessible train station, providing excellent links with Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington town centre and Birchwood, as a key employment area. I’m delighted that the station is now officially open.”
Thomas Edgcumbe, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s Regional North and Midlands business, said: “We were delighted to join with our partners to celebrate this key milestone, the success of which is testament to the capability of our expert teams who consistently deliver high quality infrastructure improvements.
“This multi-transport facility is an important scheme, procured through Scape’s Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework, which will significantly benefit rail users in Warrington by reducing road traffic and improving links in the borough to nearby major UK cities.”
Now fully open, the station has been handed to Network Rail and will be managed by Northern – alongside other stations in the town such as Warrington Central, Birchwood, Sankey for Penketh Padgate and Glazebrook.
Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “We’re delighted to be managing this fantastic new station on behalf of our customers in Warrington.
“Warrington West is now an integral part of our infrastructure and will provide a vital link not only to Warrington town centre, but to other major towns and cities. And with our brand new trains operating direct to Manchester Airport, Warrington West also provides a link to the rest of the world.”
Phil James, managing director of Network Rail’s North West route, said: “The opening of Warrington West station is another key milestone in the Great North Rail Project, a cross-industry effort to transform train travel for passengers across the North of England.
“We have worked closely with Warrington Borough Council to support this new station. Access to the railway and improved links are vital to create new opportunities for passengers and help boost local, regional and national economies.”
Warrington West is benefiting from £4.2m of Department for Transport’s New Stations Funding, and £6.5m from the Local Growth Deal via the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership. The remainder of the funding comes from Warrington Borough Council and developer contributions.
For more information, visit warrington.gov.uk/warrington-west-station
The opening of the new station has been awaited for many years and marks the completion of a key piece of infrastructure included within the original Chapelford Urban Village blueprint for the area dating back to 2002.
Prior to the official opening, the new station and first train witnessed an opening with a difference the day before, following a conversation between a local councillor, Paul Warburton and a council officer, who had been involved in the delivery of the project.
Paul asked on Chapelford & Old Hall social media if local residents would like to mark the opening with a community event and there was a huge and positive response. The idea then snowballed, with local bag-piper and Scout, Dave Anwyl agreeing to provide a musical welcome for the first service. Network Rail were then contacted and they granted free travel for Paul’s ‘guests’. However, in order to identify themselves he then suggested that his ‘guests’ came along on Sunday morning in Christmas jumpers, hats and fancy dress. He then found the Splinters Street Band musical ensemble who kindly agreed to play carols for the event. Vini the landlord of the Chapelford Farm pub also agreed to a discounted community breakfast for all travellers on the 08.16 train.
An estimated 200 people in Christmas hats, jumpers and fancy dress embraced the community event and were piped aboard the first ever passenger service to leave Warrington West station. They journeyed to Hunts Cross to the accompaniment of the band playing Christmas carols, before returning to Chapelford by 9am for a community breakfast. Network Rail entered into the spirit of the occasion by providing free coffee and mince pies, Christmas antlers and candy canes to the young and young-at-heart passengers.
It was a wonderful sight to see the platform full of people in Christmas hats, jumpers, fancy dress outfits, smiling and full of good spirits.
Paul said: “I still can’t stop smiling about this spontaneous ‘people’s opening’ of the new station.”
“Chapelford is still developing as a community and it was great to have the opportunity to bring people together for something that was fun, festive and will be remembered by all who were involved. Thank you to everyone who embraced the idea and joined in, and a huge thank you to Splinters Street Band, Dave Anwyl, Vini at the Chapelford Farm and of course to Network Rail for enabling it to happen.”
A bespoke commemorative bench has also been commissioned and jointly funded by the Warrington Borough Council and the Burtonwood Association and refers to the history of the site as the RAF Burtonwood Air Base. The bench is in pride of place in front of the ticket hall and depicts the aircraft that saw active duty at Burtonwood, the old air traffic control tower and it promises to become a local landmark.
Along with ward councillor colleagues, Rebecca Knowles and Steve Parish, Paul was also in attendance at the official opening of the station. All three have stated that they are delighted the new station is now operational and are impressed with the design and quality of the state of the art and fully disabled inclusive facilities.
The councillors have also stated that they will continue to press for the provision of the three services per hour that were previously assured to Warrington Borough Council.
