Bidston station has, for most of its existence, been primarily an interchange point. It is relatively isolated, except for nearby
Bidston Village, and was accessed only by foot. Until 1970, the approach road to the station was an unpaved track. Due to its isolation when a through station, it was closed twice due to poor passenger usage. The station was originally built by the
Hoylake Railway, opening on 2 July 1866 as an intermediate through station on their line from
Birkenhead Dock to the east to
Hoylake to the west. The Birkenhead Dock terminus was a tramway railway interchange station, with onward journeys to
Birkenhead Woodside ferry by horse drawn street trams of the Wirral Tramway. The station first closed on 4 July 1870, reopening on 1 August 1872. In 1878, the Hoylake Railway line was extended to
West Kirby on the
River Dee coast to the west. In 1888, the line was extended to
Birkenhead Park station, which was an interchange station to Liverpool via the
Mersey Railway. The old tramway interchange terminus at Birkenhead Dock was converted to a goods station. The station was again closed in June 1890, due to low passenger numbers, Through trains to
Liverpool commenced in 1938, when the
London Midland and Scottish Railway electrified the line from Birkenhead Park to West Kirby. 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 and
Chester Northgate steam trains. In 1960, the Wrexham service changed to
diesel trains. At the same time, the northern terminus of the line was diverted further north to terminate at
New Brighton due to the closure of Seacombe station. The section of line from Bidston to New Brighton was closed in 1971, due to poor passenger use, with the line from Wrexham terminating at
Birkenhead North. However, it was subsequently cut back to Bidston and the station became a terminus again on the
Borderlands Line in October 1978. The section of curve between Bidston West and North Junctions, on the
wye to the east of the station, was severed on 28 November 1983. This removed the direct route to New Brighton for passengers and
Bidston Dock for freight. It had a 65-lever frame and also took over the operation of Bidston North Junction, once built. and was demolished two months later on 20 November. which principally operated the Wrexham line. The building was somewhat south of the running lines, halfway between Bidston and Birkenhead North stations. The shed remained intact for several years after closure. These sidings had been built prior to 1899 A
Tesco supermarket now occupies the site of these sidings. 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 has been disused by freight workings since the mid-1980s. ==Facilities==