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Monday 9 Jul 2018

Liverpool Lime Street platforms 1 and 2 to close again for final stage of eight week upgrade

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Platforms 1 and 2 in Liverpool Lime Street station are set to close again on Friday (13 July). This will allow Network Rail engineers to complete the final stage of the station’s major eight week transformation.

The platforms were reopened on 11 June following the first stage of upgrades. They will close again at around 8pm on Friday 13 July, having moved passengers in and out of the station for almost five weeks.

This has been an integral part of the transportation plan, developed by the rail industry over the past two years, to keep passengers moving and Liverpool open for business. The plan for the final stage will be similar to the start of the closure.

Passengers are advised to check www.networkrail.co.uk/lcr for travel advice and www.nationalrail.co.uk for live travel information. The station is set to reopen on Monday 30 July.

What has been delivered so far?
•Over 2500m track upgraded and track remodelled into each platform
•Two new platforms commissioned
•500m new track drainage throughout worksite
•Concrete foundations, surfacing and paving works on platform extensions (future platforms 1, 2, 9 and 10) and widened platforms (future platforms 3, 4 and 5)
•Installed 21 of 31 new signals and 4 new signalling gantries
•Over 10 miles of new cabling installed over 1.2 mile footprint
•Wholesale upgrade of overhead line equipment between Liverpool Lime Street and Edge Hill Station

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s London North Western route managing director, said: “We have been working together for around three years to deliver a robust transport plan during Lime Street’s major upgrade. The aim has been to keep passengers on trains where possible to ensure Liverpool remains open for business.

“This vital upgrade is part of £340m of improvements across the Liverpool City Region and sits within the Great North Rail Project. We’re remodelling station platforms, making them wider and longer to make room for longer trains and more passengers. An extensive signalling upgrade will also allow us to run more trains, more reliably.

“We are grateful to passengers for bearing with us. We understand there’s some short term pain while we undertake this work, but promise it will be worthwhile in the long term.”

Liam Robinson, transport portfolio holder for the Liverpool City Region said: “As we’re now in the final phase of the closure, please remember to double check your journeys before you travel as there may be some changes to the route. As always, a huge thank you to all passengers for their patience during these final few weeks.”

Liverpool Lime Street’s major transformation will be fully complete in October this year. Additional work will take place on Sunday 2 September and Sunday 14 October.

This work will enable an extra three services in/out of Lime Street every hour, including new direct services to Scotland. Remodelling and rebuilding station platforms will provide longer, more spacious platforms capable of accommodating longer trains and more passengers, more safely.

This capacity boost, also delivered by a wholesale signalling upgrade, is essential for the forecast growth in peak-time travellers through the station over the coming years.