Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station complex located on Lime Street, in Liverpool city centre, Merseyside, England. Although publicly a single and unified station, it is operationally divided into two: High Level, the principal station serving Liverpool and the oldest still-operating grand terminus main line station in the world; and Low Level, an underground Wirral line station (part of the Merseyrail network), which is connected to the main terminal building by a pedestrian subway below street-level. Despite their operational distinctions, both stations are integrated from a passenger perspective, sharing signage, access points and overall station identity. Lime Street High Level is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, while Low Level is managed directly by the train operator, Merseyrail.
A branch of the West Coast Main Line from terminates at Lime Street, as does the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
The station building was designed by John Cunningham, Arthur Holme and John Foster Jr and built by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to replace their existing terminus at , which was deemed to be too far from the city centre; construction beginning in October 1833 and the station opening in August 1836. Due to growing popularity, the station was later expanded by Joseph Locke and others in 1849 and again by William Baker and Francis Stevenson in 1867, which included the construction of the world’s largest arched train shed at the time as well as a second train shed being added in 1879.
Following nationalisation of the railways in 1948, Lime Street station saw various upgrades, including improved signalling, a redeveloped concourse, and new retail and office space. Electric rail services to Crewe began in 1962, followed by the station’s first InterCity service to London in 1966. In the 1970s, with the commencement of Merseyrail Wirral line services to Lime Street Low Level and the closure of all other long-distance termini in Liverpool, Lime Street became the city’s main rail hub. The Pendolino service was launched in the station by Virgin Trains at a ceremonial unveiling in 2003, improving travel times to London; full electrification of the Liverpool and Manchester railway's former route was completed in May 2015.
The station is fronted by the former North Western Hotel, a large Renaissance Revival style building, which has been the Radisson Red Liverpool Hotel since December 2022; and the Concourse House office block with several retailers stood outside the southern train shed from the 1960s until their demolition in 2010. Lime Street is the largest and oldest railway station in Liverpool, being awarded 5 stars in Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins, one of only ten to achieve this.Jenkins, Simon and Richard Morrison. "Review: Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins." The Times, 9 December 2017.
History Origins The original terminus of the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was located at Crown Street, in Edge Hill, to the east of and outside the city centre. However, even before Edge Hill had been opened, it was apparent that there was a pressing need for another station to be built, which would this time be closer to the city centre. Accordingly, during October 1833, the construction commenced on a purpose-built station at Lime Street in the city centre; the land was purchased from Liverpool Corporation for £9,000 (). The means of connecting the new station to L&MR's network came in the form of a twin-track tunnel, which had been constructed between Edge Hill and the site of the new Lime Street station a year prior to work being started on the station itself; during the construction effort, the tunnel was frequently used to transport building materials for the station onto the site. The station was designed by the architects John Cunningham, Arthur Holme, and John Foster Jr.
During August 1836, Lime Street station was officially opened to the public, although the construction process was not completed until the following year. This building was designed with four large gateways, two of which were intentionally non-functional. For its early operations, as a consequence of the steep incline uphill from Lime Street to Edge Hill, trains would be halted at Edge Hill and the locomotives detached from the trains; the practice of the era was for the passenger carriages to be taken down by gravity, during which the rate of descent would be controlled by brakemen located in a brake van. The return journey was achieved via the use of a stationary steam engine located at Edge Hill, which would be used to haul the carriages up to Edge Hill by rope. This system was constructed by the local engineering firm Mather, Dixon and Company, who worked under the direction of the engineer John Grantham. During 1870, this practice came to an end; instead, trains would enter and depart the station by conventional means.
Early expansion
Lime Street station was a near-instant success with the railway-going public. Within six years of its opening, the rapid growth of the railways had necessitated the expansion of the original station. An early plan for the enlarged station would have involved the erection of an iron roof, similar to that found at Euston station (pre-1960s rebuilding) in London, which was a ridge roof supported by iron columns. However, a different proposal quickly gained the approval of the station committee. A single curved roof was produced by a collaborative effort; designed and load tested by engineer Joseph Locke, with construction contracted to iron founder Richard Turner, and the work checked by engineer William Fairbairn and manufacturer John Kennedy. The expansion work was authorised by the (10 & 11 Vict. c. ccxxviii), and performed at a cost of £15,000 () and was completed during 1849, by which time the noted architect William Tite had also been involved. Meanwhile, during 1845, the L&MR had been absorbed by its principal business partner, the Grand Junction Railway (GJR); the following year the GJR became part of the London and North Western Railway. Amongst the features which date back to the 1846–1849 rebuild of the station are a group of four columns which adjoin former Platform 1, they have been attributed to engineer Edward Woods.
By 1857, a pair of granite columns had been erected outside the station entrance; over time, these had become known as the "Candlesticks". During 1867, further expansion of Lime Street station was required to cope with operational demands; changes included the present northern arched train shed. Designed by William Baker and Francis Stevenson the train shed featured a span of , leading to it being recognised as the largest such structure in the world at the time. It was also the first train shed in which iron was used throughout. During 1879, a second parallel southern train shed was completed, which had been designed by Stevenson and E.W. Ives. This second train shed featured dry construction techniques, while each bay reportedly took only three days to build. A further expansion required the acquisition of the site of St Andrew's Church in Renshaw Street, causing the church to relocate and be rebuilt in 1893.
Lime Street station is fronted by a large building, built in the Renaissance Revival style, which formerly housed the North Western Hotel. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the building was built during 1871 and served as student accommodation for Liverpool John Moores University from 1996. It was announced on 28 September 2018 that the building will be restored as a hotel by the Marcus Worthington Group at a cost of £30m. It reopened as the Radisson RED Liverpool Hotel in 2020.
As a result of the Railways Act 1921, which grouped the majority of railway companies together to create the Big Four, Lime Street station passed into the ownership of the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway. The station played an early role in the development of mail trains, the Post Office first dispatched mail by train from Lime Street.
British Rail era
Upon nationalisation of the railways during 1948, Lime Street Station became a part of the London Midland Region of British Railways. On 28 January 1948, a new signal box controlling movements in and around Lime Street was commissioned; this signal box would remain in use for almost 70 years, being one of the last lever frames boxes still in operation by the time of its decommissioning during 2017–2018. During 1955, the station concourse was redeveloped and modernised. During 1959, preparatory work commenced at Lime Street for the first stage of the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. On 1 January 1962, regular electric services between Lime Street and Crewe were officially started.
The railway lines to former platforms 10 and 11 were removed by 1965. On 18 April 1966, the station hosted the launch of its first InterCity service, which saw the introduction of a regular service between Liverpool and London. On 11 August 1968, the Fifteen Guinea Special, a return service to Carlisle, was hauled by the Black Five locomotive 45110 from Liverpool to Manchester Victoria and back. Arriving back at Lime Street at 7:58 pm, this train marked the end of British Railways' final steam-hauled mainline passenger journey.
An office tower block named Concourse House, along with a row of small retail outlets, used to stand outside the southern train shed, obscuring the arches. These dated from the 1960s and, by the 2000s, had become run down. They were demolished as part of a comprehensive refurbishment completed in 2010.
During the 1970s, a new urban rail network, known as Merseyrail was developed, resulting in four terminus stations being taken out of use in Liverpool and Birkenhead centres. As a consequence of this restructuring and rationalisation, only Lime Street remained as a terminus, thus serving as a central point for the whole region for medium- and long-haul routes. At the same time, the Merseyrail network provided commuters with ease of access across the whole Merseyside region to the one remaining large terminus.
Between 1983 and 1984, the station concourse was again altered and refurbished at a total estimated cost of £7.4 million. This refurbishment included the construction of the black glass building which partially surrounds platforms inside the northern train shed, as well as the glass screen which separates the concourse from platforms inside the southern train shed. The alterations also coincided with the opening of the International Garden Festival. On 29 November 1984, the new development was officially opened by Princess Anne.
Privatisation era
On 20 October 2003, the new Pendolino service operated by private rail operator Virgin Trains, which introduced a faster service between Liverpool and London, was ceremonially unveiled in the presence of the company's founder and chief executive officer Richard Branson. Designed from the onset to be a tilting train, it quickly replaced much of the previously-allocated locomotives and rolling stock used on the West Coast Main Line, namely Classes 86, 87 and 90 electric locomotives and Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock. Prior to this, the fleet had been first introduced into passenger services from Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly on 23 July 2002 to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester."Virgin Pendolino starts." Rail Engineer, 1 September 2002.