Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced that the new £80m Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby will open its doors to passengers on Thursday 5 October.
The fully accessible station is the first to be served by the Liverpool City Region's new publicly owned battery powered trains. These trains are the first of their kind in the country and will help to significantly reduce the region's carbon footprint.
Headbolt Lane station is the second new station opened by the Mayor since his election, and the first delivered under Merseyrail for All, a commitment to expanding the local rail network across the city region.
The battery technology removes the need for a live third rail, which could enable the Merseyrail network to run to places previously inaccessible, including as far as Manchester, Wrexham, Warrington, Preston and Runcorn.
Both the new station and the region's publicly owned trains are central to the Mayor's plans to deliver a London-style transport network, which aims to make the region's public transport quicker, cheaper, greener and more reliable.
🔜 | 🚉 - @MetroMayorSteve has announced that Kirkby’s new £80m Headbolt Lane station will open to passengers from this Thursday (5 October).
— Liverpool City Region (@LpoolCityRegion) October 3, 2023
Find out more 👉 https://t.co/tV38ZmbDSl #MerseyrailForAll pic.twitter.com/RBbJISoII0
Network Rail will be completing some outstanding works which were delayed after issues with the contractors, Buckingham Group who collapsed into administration last month.
Over 20,000 people in the Northwood and Shevington areas of Kirkby are set to benefit from having the new rail service on their doorstep.
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said: "As a Kirkby native, I know how long local people have been talking about a station at Headbolt Lane. Thanks to devolution and the power it gives us to shape our own destiny, we've turned that talk into reality.
"We've invested £80m in this fully accessible, state of the art train station - and it will be the first to be served by our new battery powered trains. These trains are the first of their kind in the country and will help us to significantly reduce our carbon footprint, paving the way for a cleaner, greener integrated London-style transport network.
"Headbolt Lane station sets a new standard for public transport in this country - and it's the very least that our residents deserve. We're incredibly grateful to local people and passengers on the Kirkby line for their patience and understanding throughout this project - I hope they'll agree with me that it's been worth the wait!"
Photo credit: Liverpool City Region
