02.09.15
Liverpool could get new city centre station
A new rail station could be built in Liverpool as part of the city’s ambitious regeneration plans, mayor Joe Anderson has revealed.
He said that an outline planning application for the station, which would be built on the former Archbishop Blanch School site on Mount Vernon Road, is expected “by the end of the year”.
Bu Merseytravel said a number of possible stations have been identified as part of its Long Term Rail Strategy, which it published last year. But no decision has been made.
Anderson said a new station on the Mount Vernon Road site would be a major hub, and that it was a good location because it already had Wapping Tunnels carrying the Edge Hill line underneath.
“It’s an ideal location, an ideal site where the university is and also where the [Royal Liverpool] hospital is, and we’ve already done some work on that,” he said.
“The city is growing and going from strength to strength and we want that to continue to happen.”
It was also noted that the station would be part of plans to equip Liverpool to benefit from HS2 and would be carried out alongside the development of Lime Street station.
A Merseytravel spokesman said: “Within our Long Term Rail Strategy, we have identified a number of possible new stations and, also, the potential to open new lines.
“We are currently going through a station prioritisation process for the potential sites identified in that strategy, but we are not currently at the stage to take any decisions in respect of new city centre stations.”
It has also been suggested that, as part of Network Rail’s £1bn investment in the north of England, Liverpool Lime Street station could be closed in 2017 or 2018 – for up to two months – for improvement works, including plans for an additional platform.
(Image: Liverpool Lime Street station c. Tony Hisgett)