Blundellsands & Crosby

One gripe I do always have about Blundellsands train station is that it’s sort of plonked in the middle of nowhere (as far as a mere Formbyite like myself is concerned). It’s basically sat in the middle of a load of estates and I nearly always manage to get lost en route to there when I’m getting the train back home.
Location issues aside, Blundellsands is a fairly pleasant station these days. It has recently undergone a small refurbishment which included the installation of indoor seating areas, ideal for those chilly winter nights when you’re waiting for the last train and you’re looking to avoid the drunken old man who is just dying to tell you his life story and what life choices you should make.
With the recent refurbishment also came the electronic boards that inform you how long a wait you have before the next train (can you even remember a time when we didn’t have them? It seems positively prehistoric to think of a time when you had to guess whether you’d just missed a train or not) and the little kiosk just outside is a good place to stop off for a drink or snack if you’re stuck waiting for a while.

This is a really nice station, it’s always kept clean and tidy and I’ve never experienced any sort of disturbance here. The lines leads from Southport to Hunts Cross and while there are no direct intercity links, the destinations include major links such as Sandhills for connections to Ormskirk and Kirkby, Liverpool Central for connections to Lime Street and the Wirral Line and connecting trains to Preston and Blackpool can be caught from Southport.
Blundellsands has recently undergone quite extensive renovation with the original waiting rooms being heated, new cycle storage, a customer toilet and a vast overhaul of the parking facilities, which are free to use. There is one automated ticket machine, a payphone and a small kiosk with all the essentials. My only criticism of Blundellsands Station is the disabled facilities, while there is a ramped subway enabling access of prams and cycles, I don’t feel this is good enough for disabled customers. My grandmother s wheelchair bound and finds the ramp far to steep to navigate; when using the train we are forced to continue to the next station whose two railway lines are separated by the platform, change trains and come back again! Considering the number of retirement and nursing homes surrounding Blundellsands this inability to access the station is absurd.
The staff at Blundellsands are invariably pleasant and sociable, they have worked at this station for years and always remember a face.