The station, opened by the CLC on 1 August 1873, was originally known as Farnworth, Farnworth being at the time a village north of Widnes, but is now a northern suburb of the town. The station was renamed Widnes North on 5 January 1959, and finally Widnes on 6 May 1968. Widnes railway station is generally said to be the station where Paul Simon reputedly composed the song "Homeward Bound" though some think it more likely that it was Ditton railway station, part of the Widnes Loop Line and the train to London. Simon is quoted as saying "f you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible."
Facilities
The railway station is of the standard Cheshire Lines Committee style. A footbridge connects the two platforms. The station is staffed, but only until early afternoon. There is a car park outside. The station was refurbished in 2009 and as of 2010 houses a station shop and a beauty parlour, though there are still no toilet or waiting facilities for passengers other than the already existent shelter on the Manchester-bound platform. The platforms and footbridge have recently been refurbished. A ticket machine has been installed on the Manchester-bound platform. Digital display screens and automated announcements provide train running information. The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis between the hours of 07:00 and 14:25 Mon-Sat. Step free access is available to both platforms.
Services
There are generally two local trains per hour in each direction, to Manchester Oxford Road to the east and Liverpool Lime Street to the west. Journey times from Widnes to Manchester on these local trains are around 45–50 minutes, depending on the number of stops. Journey time to Liverpool is around 25–30 minutes, again depending on stops. An express service also operates hourly in each direction, continuing beyond Manchester Piccadilly towards, and Norwich. The journey time on most of these trains to Manchester is 30 minutes, whilst Liverpool can be reached in 18 minutes. Until the May 2018 timetable change Widnes was also served by one service to Scarborough on Mondays to Saturdays. All TransPennine services now operate via Newton-Le-Willows.
