History
The station was originally built by the Hoylake Railway in 1866 as an intermediate station on their line from Birkenhead to Hoylake. After the extension of this line to West Kirby in 1878 to the west and into a new station to the east at Birkenhead Docks (the current Birkenhead North station), through trains to Liverpool commenced in 1938 when the London Midland and Scottish Railway electrified the line to West Kirby. In 1896 the North Wales and Liverpool Railway opened their line to Hawarden Bridge, which joined the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway line to Wrexham.
During the earlier half of the twentieth century, Bidston station was known as 'Bidston Dee Junction' and was a busy interchange between the Wirral line electric services and the Seacombe to Wrexham & Chester steam trains. In 1960 the Wrexham service (by now operated by diesel trains) was diverted east of Bidston to terminate at New Brighton and later to Birkenhead North. However it was subsequently cut back to start and terminate at Bidston in the late 1970s and this remains the situation today.
Several sidings were situated adjacent to the eastern side of the station, but these were removed in the 1970s. The station was the nearest to the former Bidston Dock. The adjacent Bidston East Junction gives access to the former Birkenhead Dock Branch line, but this is since been disused and is still so at present.
Read more about this topic: Bidston Railway Station
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