Media centre

Friday 22 Jul 2016

Final platform upgrade at Moorfields station to be completed this weekend

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Passengers will be able to use all three platforms at Moorfields station from tomorrow (23 July) when the fully refurbished platform 2, upgraded as part of a £12m investment, reopens.

The third and final platform to be refurbished will re-open following a three-month closure to transform the environment for passengers. The improvements form part of a wider £40m package of upgrades to all five underground stations by Network Rail as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan, carried out in partnership with Merseytravel and Merseyrail.

The transformation of Moorfields will create a more pleasant environment for passengers travelling to and from Liverpool’s business district in the heart of the city.

Work has been undertaken in phases with each of the three platforms being taken out of use temporarily to allow the improvements to take place. The work started in 2015, however the station has remained open throughout.

Throughout the station, new flooring, lighter and brighter walls and improved lighting have been installed as part of the investment and the walkways have undergone improvements. Nine of the escalators from the concourse to the platforms are also being refurbished in order to meet the predicted doubling over the coming years of the 6.5million annual passengers using them.

Passengers should be aware that work on the non-platform areas of the station environment will continue until August, but services will run as normal from Saturday. Work to upgrade the escalators is due to be completed before Christmas.

Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail, said: ‘The much-needed upgrade of Moorfields has been delivered as part of a wider £40m investment in the underground stations on Merseyside. The platform work that we have carried out will provide passengers with a better and brighter station environment. Once all work is completed by the end of the year, it will be a station to be proud of.

“The work represents investment being made across the north west as part of our multi-billion pound, nationwide Railway Upgrade Plan which is providing passengers with a better, more reliable railway. We are committed to improving the railway in order to meet the growing number of people travelling by rail and this is the latest example of the benefits this record level of investment is delivering.”

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Merseyrail’s managing director, added: “Moorfields is one of the most important and busy stations on our network, and we look forward to the work being completed on 23 July. It’s a significant milestone, as it’s the last of our five central Liverpool underground stations to be refurbished, following a continuous programme of work that’s been carried out over the last four years. Along with Merseytravel and Network Rail, I am very pleased that all our passengers travelling to or from the centre of Liverpool can now enjoy much more attractive, modern station environments, enhancing their overall experience of the local rail network.”

Moorfields is the last of the five underground stations being refurbished as part of Network Rail’s £40 million investment to upgrade Merseyrail’s loop line stations. The other stations were Liverpool Central, James Street, Lime Street and Hamilton Square.

For the latest travel information visit www.nationalrail.co.uk.