Getting Around St Helens: A Visitor's Guide
St Helens is a town in Merseyside, England, and its transport network is in the middle of a significant period of change. For a visitor, the practical upshot is a compact, walkable town centre served by rail and bus links, with a new bus interchange on the way. Here's what you need to know to plan your movements.
Rail
St Helens is served by railway stations, including St Helens Central and St Helens Junction, which connect the town to the wider region and beyond. The town centre's railway station sits close to the main shopping and civic area, making it a convenient arrival point if you're coming in by train.
If you're arriving by rail and continuing into the town centre, the station is within walking distance of the main destinations, including the bus station and the retail and civic buildings. The town centre regeneration plans explicitly aim to improve pedestrian and cycle links between the railway station and the rest of the centre, so expect this connection to get easier over time.
Buses and the New Interchange
Buses are the main way to move around St Helens and to reach surrounding areas. The current bus station dates from the 1990s and is being replaced by a new St Helens Interchange, built on an extended footprint of the existing site. This is the single most important thing to know if you're planning a trip in the near future, because services will be temporarily relocated during construction.
Key points about the new interchange:
- It will have more bus stands than the current station, along with dedicated layover bays to reduce congestion on Corporation Street.
- It will be fully enclosed and temperature-controlled, with automatic doors at each departure stand, live information screens for both buses and trains, and step-free access throughout.
- There will be a staffed travel centre, accessible toilets including a Changing Places facility, and secure indoor and outdoor cycle parking.
- Accessibility features include digital and audio announcements, tactile surfaces, acoustic panels, and adjustable lighting.
Construction phasing matters for visitors: enabling works are expected in winter 2024, a temporary bus hub is planned to open in spring 2025, and the new interchange is scheduled to open in autumn 2026. If you're travelling during the construction period, check locally for where your bus departs from, as the temporary hub will be in a different location.
The new interchange is also designed to be future-proofed for larger, more sustainable buses, and the wider context is a forthcoming bus franchise initiative that will see buses return to public control. For a visitor, this means bus services and ticketing may evolve, so it's worth checking the latest information before you travel.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
As a general rule for a town of this size in the UK, you can expect to find taxi services and app-based ride-hailing, but you should check locally for current operators and pick-up points, particularly around the bus station and railway station.
Walkability
St Helens town centre is compact and increasingly pedestrian-friendly, and walking is a practical way to get between the main destinations. The regeneration plans include a landscape design that represents a substantial increase in pavements versus carriageways, which tells you the direction of travel: more space for people on foot.
Specific changes that affect walkers:
- Bickerstaffe Street west of Hall Street is being pedestrianised, with a partly segregated shared-space cycle lane between the bus station and a new hotel.
- Hall Street between Bickerstaffe and Corporation Street is closed to private vehicles, with a paved pedestrian footpath and cycle lane access point.
- The area around Hardshaw Street and Corporation Street near Library Street is being pedestrianised, with traffic rerouted.
- New signalised crossings and continuous footpaths are being added along Bickerstaffe Street.
The new Gamble Square, created between the interchange and the Gamble Building, is a civic square with street furniture, lighting, trees, and plants. It connects key buildings including the Gamble Building, the Theatre Royal, and a new hotel building, and an S-shaped carriageway flows through it to route buses to the new interchange. For a visitor, this square is a useful orientation point in the town centre.
Walking connections to the railway station are also being improved, with the pedestrianised area near the station being adjusted to accommodate cycle movements.
Cycling
Cycling infrastructure in St Helens is being actively expanded. In addition to the cycle lanes mentioned above, the Peasley Cross / Parr Street roundabout improvement scheme is adding segregated cycle tracks around the roundabout, new signalised crossings, and a new bus stop on Peasley Cross Lane for access to St Helens Retail Park. This junction is a key route to the town centre and railway station, and the improvements are funded through the Department for Transport's Active Travel Fund and the Liverpool City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
The new interchange will also provide secure indoor and outdoor cycle parking, making it easier to combine cycling with bus or rail travel.
Getting There from the Airport
St Helens sits within Merseyside, and the nearest major airports are Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport, but you should confirm current connections locally. In practice, visitors typically reach St Helens from an airport by rail via connecting services, or by coach, taxi, or hire car. Given the town's rail links and its position in the region, arriving by train into St Helens Central or St Helens Junction and then walking or taking a bus into the centre is a straightforward approach, but check timetables and connections for your specific airport before you travel.
Practical Tips
- If you're visiting during the construction period for the new interchange, allow extra time and check where your bus departs from, as a temporary bus hub will be in operation.
- The town centre is compact enough to walk between the main destinations, and pedestrianisation is increasing.
- The new interchange will have a staffed travel centre, which will be the best place to ask about tickets and connections once it opens.
- For accessibility, the new interchange is designed with step-free access, Changing Places facilities, and audio and visual announcements.