09.10.17
Liverpool Lime Street reopens first two platforms in £340m upgrade
Network Rail has reopened two platforms at Liverpool Lime Street as the £340m investment in the Liverpool City Region continues.
The platforms had been closed as part of the redevelopment which will upgrade the station’s signalling systems as well as improve existing tracks and add a fourth track between Huyton and Roby.
The work is part of the Great North Rail Project - which will be completed in 2018 - and will enable an extra three services per hour in and out of Liverpool’s main station, including new direct services to Scotland.
Main line services between Liverpool and Birmingham, London, Leeds, Manchester and Crewe have been diverted to Liverpool South Parkway since work began nine days ago.
The station has since experienced more than three times the numbers of regular passengers, with upwards of 155,000 journeys starting and ending at the destination.
The upgrades to Lime Street are expected to be completed on 22 October but the reopened platforms mean trains will be able to run between 6am and 8pm daily.
Rob Grey, project manager at Network Rail, said: “This much needed investment will boost the city’s economy and enable more reliable, more frequent journeys.
“Completing the fourth track between Huyton and Roby is a major milestone and we are making great progress at Lime Street, a third of the way through the first phase of its major upgrade.”
Work between Huyton and Roby has been completed in two stages, the first of which was completed in 2014.
When finished, the improvements will include new platforms at both stations, signalling upgrades and overhead line equipment installed, and new facilities at the stations including better customer information systems, new lifts and easier access via the subway.
Sharon Keith, regional director at Northern Rail, added: “It’s great to see such early progress in the transformation of Liverpool Lime Street and the modernisation of the Liverpool City Region infrastructure.
“We are delighted to once again be able to offer rail services to our customers on the Huyton and Roby line and are excited about the long term benefits the line upgrades will bring in tandem with our own modernisation programme.”
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