Conway Park
The surface-level building
General information
Location	Birkenhead, Wirral England
Grid reference	SJ320889
Managed by	Merseyrail
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	CNP
Fare zone	B1
Classification	DfT category E
Key dates
1998	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	1.003 million
2019/20	1.145 million
2020/21	0.302 million
2021/22	0.625 million
2022/23	0.650 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Conway Park railway station is situated in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It lies on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.

History

Conway Park is the newest station on the Wirral Line. In 1990, the Merseyside Development Corporation joined with British Rail and Merseyrail to study the cost of the new station.^[1] The station opened to the public on 22 June 1998,^[2] after an official opening by Neil Kinnock on 24 April 1998.^[3][4] Conway Park is between Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square stations built into an underground tunnel built by the Mersey Railway in the 1880s. It was built by excavating a box downwards, opening out the roof of the tunnel, which is 18 m (59 ft) below ground level. The platforms are reached by stairs or lifts from the ticket office.^[5]

The station was built in order to provide a station on the lines from New Brighton and West Kirby that was more convenient for the town centre of Birkenhead than either Birkenhead Park or Hamilton Square (which are otherwise the nearest stations). Its name comes from the name of the redevelopment area on the north side of the town centre in which it is situated. The name has come under criticism as some regard it not to be particularly indicative of the station's location.^{[by whom?]} When it was originally being planned, the station was known as Birkenhead Market.^{[citation needed]} The platforms are protected by ticket barriers. The road which the station is situated on is Europa Boulevard.

Facilities

The station is staffed during all opening hours and has platform CCTV.^[6] There are toilets, a payphone, a vending machine, booking office and live departure and arrival screens, for passenger information. The station does not have a free car park, though there is a drop-off point on Europa Boulevard, as well as a "Pay and Display" car park, to the rear of the station as viewed from Birkenhead town centre. Step-free access to the platforms, for wheelchairs and prams, is possible, via the lifts.^[7] Each platform also has sheltered seating. Free Wi-Fi was introduced in October 2015.^[8] There is secure cycle parking for 10 cycles.^[9]

Services

During the daytime peak (7:00 - 19:00), there are four trains per hour to New Brighton and West Kirby and eight trains per hour to Liverpool. Outside of the daytime peak, the frequency is halved.^[10] These services are provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs. These trains will soon be replaced by Merseyrail's new fleet, coming in 2019–21.^[11]