People have had their say on where they would like to see a new station built
Site of the disused St James Station which will become the new Baltic Merseyrail Station(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
ECHO readers have shared their views on where in the region would benefit from a Merseyrail station after plans for a new stop were approved by city councillors last week. Liverpool Council’s planning committee on Tuesday gave the green light to proposals to construct a new £100m station on the edge of the city centre in the Baltic Triangle district.
The station plans were formally submitted to the local authority by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority last November. The station will be created by redeveloping the disused former St James Station, which lies below the Baltic Triangle – an area of creative businesses and residential buildings that lies between the city centre and the south of the city.
The application site involves an existing cutting to the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, located midway between Liverpool Central Station and Brunswick Station, where an underground train station once stood but was closed in 1917 during the First World War.
With plans approved, it is hoped that work could begin on the construction of the new station as early as the end of this year. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, who first announced the station plan in 2022, hopes passengers will be able to use the new station by late 2027.
The new Merseyrail train (left) and old at Sandhills Station(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)
There are plans for other new Merseyrail stations in the pipeline. The latest to be announced were Daresbury in Halton, Woodchurch on the Wirral and Carr Mill in St Helens. The ECHO has also run a poll in recent months asking readers where they would like a new Merseyrail station to be built
Among the most popular responses was Liverpool John Lennon Airport. At the moment, Liverpool South Parkway Station is advertised as being ‘for Liverpool John Lennon Airport’, but train users would need to get a bus or taxi to make the nearly three mile journey to the airport.
There are currently no public plans for a station at the airport. However, it is hoped that a ‘glider’, such as those seen in Belfast, could assist public transport options to the terminal.
Last year we saw the vehicle – on loan from Belfast and decked out in Merseytravel yellow – as tests began to see how it could work across hotspots throughout the city region. The 10-wheeled vehicle, first dubbed a trackless tram, underwent tests throughout Liverpool to establish key changes that may need to be made to the city’s infrastructure with a view to a full rollout by 2028.
The Glider Future Rapid Transit system on display at Anfield(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A station in Skelmersdale was another popular response from ECHO readers. The West Lancashire town has been without a station since 1956 but one could be delivered as part of regeneration plans, which were unveiled last year.
A number of suggested stations were those which made up the former Liverpool Loop Line, which closed fully in the 1960s. The line ran from Halewood to Aintree, with several branches, and included many stops which no longer exist today – such as Gateacre, Childwall, Knotty Ash, West Derby, Clubmoor, Walton on the Hill, Huskisson, Warbreck and Aintree Central.
Certain stations and parts of the line were subject to planned reopening in the 1970s but that did not get off the ground. The former line has been used as a path for walkers and cyclists for decades.
Other popular suggestions in the poll were stations in Woolton, Utting Avenue, Thornton, at Everton’s new Bramley-Moore stadium, Speke, Smithdown Road, Ledsham, Heswall, Prenton, Anfield and Croxteth.
After the Baltic station was approved by the council, Mayor Rotheram said: “Planning permission was another major milestone for the Liverpool Baltic station scheme and I’m delighted we are now passed that and ready to get work underway!
“This is another step in our vision to build a fully integrated London-style transport system. We’re extending Merseyrail to more communities with future stations already planned in Daresbury, Woodchurch and Carr Mill. I believe good quality public transport is a right, not a privilege.
“For decades there were no new stations built on our network, so this is another major milestone in the development of the expansion of rail services in our region. It’s not just about improving connectivity – it’s about creating new opportunities, connecting our communities to jobs, education, and each other, and contributing to a healthier, greener Liverpool City Region.
“Investing almost £100 million at the heart of one of the UK’s most vibrant areas, will help to make this part of the city more accessible to all while easing congestion and helping us achieve our net-zero targets.”