15.03.18
Lime Street services to make temporary comeback this summer
Network Rail has confirmed that it will continue to run a number of train services in and out of Liverpool Lime Street station during this summer’s upgrade works.
The majority of services will start and end at Liverpool South Parkway so that passengers can travel into the centre of Liverpool on the Merseyrail network, for journeys to and from London, Birmingham and Manchester Piccadilly.
However, passengers from Preston, Wigan, St. Helens and Manchester Victoria will be able to travel in and out of Lime Street station for over four weeks, between 11 June and 12 July.
The works, which will be carried out between 2 June and 29 July, form part of the £340m railway investment in the Liverpool City Region, which sits within the Great North Rail Project.
Rail minister, Jo Johnson, said: “Liverpool Lime Street is one of the best examples of the great Victorian railway stations and stands as a testament to the engineers, architects and builders of the era.
“Essential upgrade work must be carried out over the summer so that we can keep passengers moving through this historic station.
“This is just part of our ambitious Great North Rail Project, which will also see all of Northern and TransPennine Express trains being new or refurbished by 2020.”
Vital upgrades to platforms and signalling will enable an additional three services an hour in and out of the station, including new direct services to Scotland from 2019.
The longer, better managed platforms will accommodate longer trains, providing more space ad seats for passenger.
Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s London North Western route managing director, added: “Once complete in October this year, passengers will be able to enjoy a newly remodelled concourse, with new, longer, more spacious platforms with more room for passengers.
“This is a vital part of our Great North Rail project to transform train travel across the North.”
Merseytravel’s chief executive, Frank Rogers, called 2018 a “landmark year” for the Liverpool City Region’s transport projects: “By 2043 passenger numbers travelling at peak times through the station will more than double - this work is vital if we are to future proof rail services in and around the region for generations to come.”
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