BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage; the service maintains 50 foreign news bureaus with more than 250 correspondents around the world. Fran Unsworth has been Director of News and Current Affairs since January 2018; the department's annual budget is in excess of £350 million. BBC News' domestic and online news divisions are housed within the largest live newsroom in Europe, in Broadcasting House in central London. Parliamentary coverage is broadcast from studios in Millbank in London. Through the BBC English Regions, the BBC has regional centres across England, as well as national news centres in Northern Ireland and Wales. All nations and English regions produce their own local news programmes and other current affairs and sport programmes.
The BBC is a quasi-autonomous corporation authorised by Royal Charter, making it operationally independent of the government, who have no power to appoint or dismiss its director-general, required to report impartially. As with all major media outlets it has been accused of political bias from across the political spectrum, both within the UK and abroad; the British Broadcasting Company broadcast its first radio bulletin from radio station.2LO In 14 November 1922. Wishing to avoid competition, newspaper publishers persuaded the government to ban the BBC from broadcasting news before 7:00 pm, to force it to use wire service copy instead of reporting on its own. On Easter weekend in 1930, this reliance on newspaper wire services left the radio news service with no information to report after saying There is no news today. Piano music was played instead; the BBC gained the right to edit the copy and, in 1934, created its own news operation. However, it could not broadcast news before 6 PM until World War II.
Gaumont British and Movietone cinema newsreels had been broadcast on the TV service since 1936, with the BBC producing its own equivalent Television Newsreel programme from January 1948. A weekly Children's Newsreel was inaugurated on 23 April 1950, to around 350,000 receivers; the network began simulcasting its radio news on television in 1946, with a still picture of Big Ben. Televised bulletins began on 5 July 1954, broadcast from leased studios within Alexandra Palace in London; the public's interest in television and live events was stimulated by Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. It is estimated that up to 27 million people viewed the programme in the UK, overtaking radio's audience of 12 million for the first time; those live pictures were fed from 21 cameras in central London to Alexandra Palace for transmission, on to other UK transmitters opened in time for the event. That year, there were around two million TV Licences held in the UK, rising to over three million the following year, four and a half million by 1955.
Television news, although physically separate from its radio counterpart, was still under radio news' control – correspondents provided reports for both outlets–and that first bulletin, shown on 5 July 1954 on the BBC television service and presented by Richard Baker, involved his providing narration off-screen while stills were shown. This was followed by the customary Television Newsreel with a recorded commentary by John Snagge, it was revealed that this had been due to producers fearing a newsreader with visible facial movements would distract the viewer from the story. On-screen newsreaders were introduced a year in 1955 – Kenneth Kendall, Robert Dougall, Richard Baker–three weeks before ITN's launch on 21 September 1955. Mainstream television production had started to move out of Alexandra Palace in 1950 to larger premises – at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush, west London – taking Current Affairs with it, it was from here that the first Panorama, a new documentary programme, was transmitted on 11 November 1953, with Richard Dimbleby becoming anchor in 1955.
On 18 February 1957, the topical early-evening programme Tonight, hosted by Cliff Michelmore and designed to fill the airtime provided by the abolition of the Toddlers' Truce, was broadcast from Marconi's Viking Studio in St Mary Abbott's Place, Kensington – with the programme moving into a Lime Grove studio in 1960, where it maintained its production office. On 28 October 1957, the Today programme, a morning radio programme, was launched in central London on the Home Service. In 1958, Hugh Carleton Greene became head of Current Affairs, he set up a BBC study group whose findings, published in 1959, were critical of what the television news operation had become under his predecessor, Tahu Hole. The report proposed that the head of television news should take control, that the television service should have a proper newsroom of its own, with an editor-of-the-day. On 1 January 1960, Greene became Director-General and brought about big changes at BBC Television and BBC Television News. BBC Television News had been created in 1955, in response to the founding of ITN.
The changes made by Greene were aimed at making BBC reporting more similar to ITN, rated by study groups held by Greene. A newsroom was created at Alexandra Palace, television reporters were recruited and given the opportunity to write and voice their own scripts–without the "impossible burden" of having to cover stories for radio too. In 1987 thirty years John B
Condor Ferries
Condor Ferries is an operator of passenger and freight ferry services between The United Kingdom, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Bailiwick of Jersey and France. Condor Ferries established the first high-speed car ferry service to the Channel Islands from Weymouth in 1993 using the 74m Incat catamaran Condor 10. In the winter of 1993/1994, Condor's parent company, Commodore Shipping, took over British Channel Island Ferries which operated conventional ferry services to the Channel Islands from Poole. Upon taking over BCIF, Condor moved all passenger services to Weymouth and the BCIF freight service was transferred to Commodore Shipping; the BCIF vessel Havelet ran a conventional ferry service from Weymouth from 1994 alongside the Condor 10. In March 1997, Condor moved its UK port to Poole; the Condor Express suffered technical problems. As a result, the Channel Island governments put the licence to operate ferry services to the UK out to tender. P&O European Ferries and Hoverspeed submitted bids to run the service but Condor retained the licence but was forced to purchase the Havelet to act as an all-weather back-up until the delivery of a new conventional vessel in 1999.
It purchased the Condor Vitesse for a new service to St Malo via Guernsey and made Weymouth its primary UK port, though retaining summer sailings from Poole. Commodore Shipping became sole owner of the company around this time; as part of the Condor Liberation purchase, the Condor Vitesse has been sold to a Greek ferry company, along with her sister Condor Express. Condor 10 returned to the fleet in March 2002 to replace the Condor 9 on the St Malo - Channel Island service and to compete with the existing fast car ferry service of Emeraude Lines; that year, the Commodore Group, which included Condor Ferries, Commodore Ferries and Commodore Express, was sold to a management buy-out team for a reported £150 million. The deal was backed by ABN AMRO. Shortly after, the Condor Ferries logo was redesigned for the start of the 2003 season using the same font as the logo Brittany Ferries had adopted in 2002. In 2004, the group was rebranded with Commodore Ferries coming under the Condor Ferries name and Commodore Express becoming Condor Logistics.
The group was sold once again in 2004 to the Royal Bank of Scotland's venture capital arm for £240 million. In 2008, with the approval of the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund II acquired Admiral Holdings Ltd, which owns the Condor Group, it was announced on 4 October 2012 that Condor Logistics would close its operations with the loss of about 180 jobs. The move was blamed on changes to low-value consignment relief affecting the Channel Islands. Condor Ferries operate the following routes: Poole - Guernsey - Jersey - operated from 27 March 2015, with the HSC Condor Liberation Portsmouth - Guernsey - Jersey Portsmouth - Cherbourg Jersey and Guernsey - St Malo The fleet is as follows. In 1999, Commodore Clipper was delivered to Commodore Ferries and replaced a freight ferry Island Commodore; the new Commodore Clipper was able to replace Havelet as all-weather back-up for the fast craft as she had space for 500 passengers. In May 2010, Condor Rapide, Incat Hull 045, IMO9161560, was added to the fleet to replace Condor 10.
This is not the same vessel that covered Condor services in the late 1990s, but a sister ship to Condor Express and Vitesse. Condor Rapide was an Australian warship prior to becoming Speed One of the defunct SpeedFerries company. HSC Condor Liberation entered service between Poole and the Channel Islands on Friday 27 March 2015. On 30 April 2015 the Jersey-born film star Henry Cavill was allowed to steer Condor Liberation. Condor Liberation had a number of cancelled sailings in her first weeks of service due to technical problems and adverse weather conditions: On 28 March 2015, the ferry's second day in service, while attempting to turn in St Peter Port harbour, the ship struck the quay, sustaining minor damage; the ship remained out of service for a week. On its return to service the ship developed an electrical fault in its engines, was forced to run at reduced speed, resulting in service cancellations. On 11 April 2015 the ferry was unable to load 24 cars and 60 passengers at Jersey due to a combination of late running and an issue with a section of hoistable deck.
On 9 May 2015, the Channel Island's Liberation Day the ship did not sail in the morning due to the failure of one of her bow thrusters. In May 2015, Condor admitted that 10% of ferry crossings had not run at all, only 60% of those that had had run to schedule. A review into the suitability of the ship was commissioned. On 24 August 2015 the ferry was unable to dock in St Peter Port. Condor stated that another vessel was impeding safe access, the ship continued to Poole. On 19 and 22 September 2015 the ferry's sailings were cancelled due to repairs being carried out to her exhaust system. On 29 and 30 October 2015 the ferry's sailings were cancelled due to repair work. On 23 November 2015 the ferry's sailing was cancelled due to an electrical fault. On 31 December 2015 the ferry was damaged whilst moored in Poole Harbour and sailings were cancelled; the ferry was taken out of service for two monthsOn its blog set up to promote the new ferry in the months before it entered service, Condor said that they expected the new ship's'more stable design' would enable it to sail in higher seas and to reduce the number of weather-related cancella
Network Rail
Network Rail is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an arm's length public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways. Network Rail's main customers are the private train operating companies, responsible for passenger transport, freight operating companies, who provide train services on the infrastructure that the company owns and maintains. Since 1 September 2014, Network Rail has been classified as a "public sector body". To cope with rising passenger numbers, Network Rail is undertaking a £38 billion programme of upgrades to the network, including Crossrail, electrification of lines, upgrading Thameslink and a new high-speed line. Britain's railway system was built by private companies, but it was nationalised by the Transport Act 1947 and run by British Railways until re-privatisation, begun in 1994 and completed in 1997. Infrastructure and freight services were separated at that time.
Between 1994 and 2002 the infrastructure was operated by Railtrack. The Hatfield train crash on 17 October 2000 was a defining moment in the collapse of Railtrack; the immediate major repairs undertaken across the whole British railway network were estimated to have cost in the order of £580 million and Railtrack had no idea how many more'Hatfields' were waiting to happen because it had lost considerable in-house engineering skill following the sale or closure of many of the engineering and maintenance functions of British Rail to external companies. The costs of modernising the West Coast Main Line were spiralling. In 2001, Railtrack announced that, despite making a pre-tax profit before exceptional expenses of £199m, the £733m of costs and compensation paid out over the Hatfield crash had plunged Railtrack from profit into a loss of £534m, it approached the government for funding, which it used to pay a £137m dividend to its shareholders in May 2001. Network Rail Ltd took over control by buying Railtrack plc, in "railway administration", from Railtrack Group plc for £500 million.
The purchase was completed on 3 October 2002. The former company had thus never ceased to exist but continued under another name: for this reason Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd was the defendant in prosecutions in respect of events which had occurred in the days of Railtrack. Following an initial period in which Network Rail established itself and demonstrated its competence in addressing the principal challenges of improving asset condition, reducing unit costs and tackling delay, the Government's Rail Review in 2004 said that Network Rail should be given responsibility for whole-industry performance reporting, timetable development, specification of small and medium network enhancements, the delivery of route-specific utilisation strategies; some of these are functions which Network Rail had. The SRA was abolished in November 2006; the company moved its headquarters to Kings Place, 90 York Way, from 40 Melton Street, Euston, in August 2008. In October 2008, Sir Ian McAllister announced that he would not stand for re-election as chairman of Network Rail.
He had held the position for six years. He noted that as Network Rail moved to a "new phase in its development" it was appropriate for a new chairman to lead it there. Many track safety initiatives have been introduced in the time Network Rail has been responsible for this area; the latest, announced in December 2008, known as "All Orange", states that all track personnel must not only wear orange hi-vis waistcoats or jackets, but must wear orange hi-vis trousers at all times when working on or near the track. This ruling came into force in January 2009 for maintenance and property workers and in April 2009 for infrastructure and investment sites. In 2009, allegations appeared in the media from the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association concerning treatment of Network Rail employees. Former chief executive Iain Coucher was accused of financial impropriety involving unspecified payments to his business partner Victoria Pender during his tenure at Network Rail. An internal investigation held by Network Rail in 2010, vetted by its auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers, uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing.
An independent enquiry headed by Anthony White QC in 2011 further examined the claims, but exonerated Coucher. Critical commentary appeared in the media concerning the knighthood awarded to John Armitt in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to engineering and construction. Armitt was Chief Executive of Network Rail at the time of the 2007 Grayrigg derailment and the family of a victim of the accident criticised the award, which coincidentally was conferred on the same day that Network Rail were prosecuted for the accident. In 2011 the company began the process of reorganising its operational structure into nine semi-autonomous regional entities, each with their own managing director; the reorganisation has been interpreted as a move back towards vertical integration of track and train operations. In 2016 Network Rail failed to check whether the Flying Scotsman could fit through tunnels along the Borders Route resulting in the ca
Manchester United Football Ground railway station
Manchester United Football Ground railway station known as the Old Trafford Halt or Manchester United FC Halt, is on the southern Liverpool Lime Street-Manchester Piccadilly railway line, between Deansgate and Trafford Park. The station was constructed by the Cheshire Lines Committee and opened on 21 August 1935, it was provided with one timber-built platform and was served, on match days only, by a shuttle service of steam-hauled trains from Manchester Central railway station. It was named United Football Ground, but was renamed Old Trafford Football Ground in early 1936; the date of change to the current name is not known. The station has a direct connection to the Old Trafford football stadium and the platform is adjacent to the south stand of the stadium; the station is not a served stop on the line and is only open on match days – when Northern run services to the halt. Since 2018, matchday services to and from Old Trafford do not operate due to insufficient capacity on the line since the introduction of more services in the May 2018 timetable.
Notes Bibliography Train times and station information for Manchester United Football Ground railway station from National Rail Northern Rail Network Map
Ferry
A ferry is a merchant vessel used to carry passengers, sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi. Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. Ship connections of much larger distances may be called ferry services if they carry vehicles; the profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology in Charon, the boatman who transported souls across the River Styx to the Underworld. Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a water wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature "Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis". Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work and such a ferry, modified by using horses, was used in Lake Champlain in 19th-century America. See "When Horses Walked on Water: Horse-Powered Ferries in Nineteenth-Century America".
See Experiment. The Marine Services Company of Tanzania offers passenger and cargo services in Lakes Victoria and Malawi, it operates one of the oldest ferries in the region, the MV Liemba, built in 1913 during the German colonial rule. The busiest seaway in the world, the English Channel, connects Great Britain and mainland Europe, with ships sailing to French ports, such as Calais, Dieppe, Cherbourg-Octeville, Caen, St Malo and Le Havre. Ferries from Great Britain sail to Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Ireland; some ferries carry tourist traffic, but most carry freight, some are for the use of freight lorries. In Britain, car-carrying ferries are sometimes referred to as RORO for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave; the busiest single ferry route is across the northern part of Øresund, between Helsingborg, Scania and Elsinore, Denmark. Before the Øresund bridge was opened in July 2000, car and "car & train" ferries departed up to seven times every hour. In 2013, this has been reduced, but a car ferry still departs from each harbor every 15 minutes during daytime.
The route is around 2.2 nautical miles and the crossing takes 22 minutes. Today, all ferries on this route are constructed so that they do not need to turn around in the harbors; this means that the ferries lack stems and sterns, since the vessels sail in both directions. Starboard and port-side are dynamic, depending on the direction the ferry sails. Despite the short crossing, the ferries are equipped with restaurants and kiosks. Passengers without cars make a "double or triple return" journey in the restaurants. Passenger and bicycle passenger tickets are inexpensive compared with longer routes. Large cruiseferries sail in the Baltic Sea between Finland, Åland, Estonia and Saint Petersburg and from Italy to Sardinia, Corsica and Greece. In many ways, these ferries are like cruise ships, but they can carry hundreds of cars on car decks. Besides providing passenger and car transport across the sea, Baltic Sea cruise-ferries are a popular tourist destination unto themselves, with multiple restaurants, bars and entertainment on board.
Many smaller ferries operate on domestic routes in Finland and Estonia. The south-west and southern parts of the Baltic Sea has several routes for heavy traffic and cars; the ferry routes of Trelleborg-Rostock, Trelleborg-Travemünde, Trelleborg-Świnoujście, Gedser-Rostock, Gdynia-Karlskrona, Ystad-Świnoujście are all typical transports ferries. On the longer of these routes, simple cabins are available; the Rødby-Puttgarden route transports day passenger trains between Copenhagen and Hamburg, on the Trelleborg-Sassnitz route, it has capacities for the daily night trains between Berlin and Malmö. In Istanbul, ferries connect the European and Asian shores of Bosphorus, as well as Princes Islands and nearby coastal towns. In 2014 İDO transported the largest ferry system in the world. Due to the numbers of large freshwater lakes and length of shoreline in Canada, various provinces and territories have ferry services. BC Ferries operates the third largest ferry service in the world which carries travellers between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland on the country's west coast.
This ferry service operates to other islands including the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii. In 2015, BC Ferries carried 20 million passengers. Canada's east coast has been home to numerous inter- and intra-provincial ferry and coastal services, including a large network operated by the federal government under CN Marine and Marine Atlantic. Private and publicly owned ferry operations in eastern Canada include Marine Atlantic, serving the island of Newfoundland, as well as Bay, NFL, CTMA, Coastal Transport, STQ. Canadian waters in the Great Lakes once hosted numerous ferry services, but these have been reduced to those offered by Owen Sound Transportation and several smaller operations. There are several commuter passenger ferry services operated in major cities, such as Metro Transit in Halifax, Toronto Island ferries in Toronto and SeaBus in Vancouver. Washington State Ferries operates the most extensive ferry system in the continental United States and the second largest in t
Weymouth Harbour Tramway
The Weymouth Harbour Tramway is a disused heavy rail line running on the streets of Weymouth, England from a junction to the north of Weymouth station to Weymouth Quay station at Weymouth Harbour. Built in 1865, it was last used for timetabled British Rail services in 1987, its last-ever services were special trains on 1 April 1995 and 2 May 1999. Opened in 1865 by the Great Western Railway, the harbour tramway runs from a junction beyond the main station, through the streets adjacent to the Backwater and the harbour, to the quay. Passenger trains began in 1889; as freight traffic grew, several sidings and loops were added to the main line to serve harbourside businesses. The Town Bridge was rebuilt in 1930, the tramway routed through the northern arch. Between 1938 and 1939 the tight curve between the Backwater and harbour was supplanted by a new curve on a newly-infilled section of the quayside and the tramway was relocated to the outer arch of the bridge, where it remains today; the track layout at the station was increased from a single track, to a double-track layout up to 1961, a three-track arrangement which persisted till the end of regular traffic, albeit in a truncated layout from 1973.
Regular goods traffic ceased in 1972, although fuel oil was transported to a facility at the pier until 1983. Regular passenger services ceased in 1987 when the South Western main line into Weymouth was provided with third rail electrification, incompatible with street running. There were some experiments in 1997 with a flywheel powered vehicle, but this did not result in permanent traffic on the tramway; the last known use of the branch was on 2 May 1999 for a special Pathfinder Tours charter. Trains operating over public thoroughfare tramway without escort are required to be fitted with warning equipment for the general public. During operation of services by British Rail Class 33 locomotives, two warning units were built and housed in a cabinet at the track side entrance to the tramway at the throat of Weymouth yard; this equipment comprised a yellow box which fitted on a lamp bracket on the cab front, had an amber rotating beacon and bell which served to warn thoroughfare users. The bell could be controlled by the train driver.
Each member of Class 33/1 and all TC stock had a small socket where the bell/beacon units plugged in to draw power from the train systems. Trains for the quay would halt at the station throat, the warning equipment attached and tested by the train guard. In addition, trains on the tramway were "walked" by railway staff with flags, clearing the route of people and badly parked cars all the way between the points at which the tramway reverted to conventional track at the quay station and road crossing into Weymouth yard. On arrival at the quay terminus the guard would move the warning equipment to the other end of the train in readiness for the return journey; the tramway still exists, in good condition. In January 2009 it was reported that Weymouth and Portland Borough Council wished to remove the tramway, that Network Rail had confirmed it had no wish for its retention. In February 2009, the council agreed to purchase the line from Network Rail for £50,000, prior to a final decision on its future.
However it was reported in July 2014 that the sale of the line never went through and a campaign started to reopen the tram route claiming it would help with tourism and reduce car usage in the town. In August 2015 a report appeared in the Dorset Echo saying that a petition online had been set up to reopen the line and is still an active movement as of September 2017. In February 2016 the council bid for the tramway to be put into a permanent out-of-use status, however Network Rail have yet to make this change; the branch was included in the 1986 BBC Domesday Project. Lucking, J. H.. The Weymouth Harbour Tramway, Poole: Oxford Publishing. ISBN 0-86093-304-0. Beale, G; the Weymouth Harbour Tramway, Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 1-874103-67-4. Zwickau Model BBC News story includes vintage film of the tramway in operation Tramway Meeting August 08 Photos of a visiting railtour in 1993 Weymouth Quay Railway - many images taken July 1985 Southern E-Group article about the last train to use the line in 1999 Weymouth Quay Railway Virtual Cab Ride along the tramway, or quay line Multimap view of the tramway Article about Melcombe Regis station on the nearby Portland Branch which includes a vintage map of the tramway Operational footage of the Boat train, June 1987 Train makes it way along the tramway, with novel methods used to remove fouling vehicles Last train to use the line, 1999
Stanlow and Thornton railway station
Stanlow & Thornton railway station is located within the Stanlow Refinery in Cheshire, England. It lies on the Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line with services operated by Northern; the station is surrounded by the refinery site, so as a result most station users are refinery employees. It is the least used railway station in Cheshire; the station was opened on 23 December 1940 jointly by the Great Western Railway and the London and Scottish Railway. The station served the Shell Thornton Aero Engine Laboratory, responsible for developing fuels and oils for the aircraft of the Royal Air Force. A short distance from the station was a signal box; this controlled all of the sidings used for freight. Shell stopped using rail as a method of transportation of goods, subsequently, the sidings were removed; the signal box was dismantled and donated to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Today, the signals for this line and station are controlled at Helsby and Ellesmere Port signal boxes, operated by Network Rail.
The station was earmarked for closure under what is known today as the Beeching Axe, a report created by Dr. Beeching entitled "The Reshaping of British Railways"; this was a report commissioned by the government to find out how money could be saved, as use of the railways began to decline. Station usage statistics for 2004-5 showed 40 passengers using less than one per week. Passenger numbers began to increase at the station in 2005-6, with 130 people using it in 2005-06; this rose to 326 in 2006-2007, despite the same rail services being operated. At this station there are covered shelters, with three metal seats on either platform. There is a payphone located on the Helsby platform, but it only accepts phonecards from British Telecom. A rising footpath leads from the road to a flight of 48 steps with 2 rest landings and a handrail onto a footbridge. From the footbridge to the left, the first flight of 30 steps with rest landing and handrail lead to the Helsby platform, the second flight of 30 steps with rest landing and handrail lead to the Ellesmere Port platform.
The station is not accessible for people with mobility problems. The booking office is still extant at the Ellesmere Port platform, but has been closed for some time, it now is boarded up. Although not controlled by Northern, the station does have CCTV monitored by the security services at the Essar oil refinery. There is limited car parking at the entrance of the station; the station is unstaffed with no ticket office so passengers buy tickets from a conductor on board the train. Four trains per day call at the station in each direction. Two of these Helsby bound trains continue to Warrington Bank Quay, whilst the first morning train of the day starts from there; the one afternoon train that ran through to Liverpool Lime Street now terminates at Warrington Bank Quay. The Saturday service is the same as the Monday - Friday equivalent, except that the early morning services terminate at Helsby rather than Warrington Bank Quay. There is no service on Sundays. A Saturday service operates on most Bank Holidays.
The North Cheshire Rail User Group and campaigns for an improved service at this station and for this railway line. The station is located on a private road owned by Essar Oil; this is now closed except for access to the site. The original owner, had cited increased commercial traffic to its refinery and the number of public vehicles using the road, recklessly in some cases, as reasons for closure; the road also allowed quick access to the villages of Ince and Elton from Ellesmere Port and beyond. Although it is theoretically accessible by foot, it involves a long walk from either Ellesmere Port, Ince or Elton. There are no taxi services at this station due to the access restrictions. Butt, R. V. J.. The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt and stopping place and present. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. Mitchell, Vic. Chester to Birkenhead. Middleton Press. Figs. 104-108. ISBN 9781908174215. OCLC 811323335. Train times and station information for Stanlow and Thornton railway station from National Rail
