Rice Lane
A view of the ticket office, from the footbridge.
General information
Location	Walton, Liverpool England
Coordinates	53°27′27″N 2°57′46″W / 53.4576°N 2.9628°W / 53.4576; -2.9628
Grid reference	SJ361960
Managed by	Merseyrail
Transit authority	Merseytravel
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	RIL
Fare zone	C1
Key dates
20 November 1848 (1848-11-20)	Opened as Preston Road
14 May 1984	Renamed Rice Lane
Passengers
2018/19	0.581 million
2019/20	0.724 million
2020/21	0.210 million
2021/22	0.417 million
2022/23	0.504 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Rice Lane railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, located to the north of the city centre in the Walton district. It is on the Kirkby branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.

The station was opened on 20 November 1848, and was known as Preston Road until 14 May 1984.^[1] It is located just to the north of Walton Junction, where the Kirkby and Ormskirk branches of the Northern line diverge; Walton (Merseyside) station on the Ormskirk line is close by (5 minutes away on foot along Hornby Road).

Facilities

Rice Lane is staffed throughout day, as is the norm for Merseyrail stations (15 minutes before start of service until 00:20, seven days per week). The ticket office is located on the Liverpool-bound platform and there are shelters on each side, along with digital information screens and timetable posters. Automated train running announcements are also provided. No step-free access is offered, as the only way to reach the platforms is via a staircase from the road after which the station is named (the two platforms being linked by a stepped footbridge).^[2]

Services

The station is currently served by three trains per hour in each direction in the day time, Monday - Saturday. In Late evenings and Sundays services are reduced to Two trains per hour in each direction. Services are operated using Class 777 EMUs.^[3][4]

In the future, the service will be increased to up to four trains per hour in each direction as more battery operated Class 777 trains become available.^[5]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Fazakerley towards Headbolt Lane		Merseyrail Northern Line		Kirkdale towards Liverpool Central

Gallery

• 
  The A59 road bridge, at the end of the platform.
• 
  The station footbridge.
• 
  A Merseyrail Class 508 arrives with a service.
• 
  A view from the footbridge.