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Friday 17 Jul 2015

Moorfields station platform upgrades to be rescheduled

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Work to complete the transformation of Moorfields station has been rescheduled after a three week extension was required to complete the first platform upgrade.

The redeveloped Wirral Line platform, which has been closed since April, will now reopen to passengers on 24 August.

As a result of the later completion date, work on the two remaining platforms will now be rescheduled to take place in 2016.

The revised programme will also incorporate a further £4.4m investment at Moorfields station, on top of the original £8m, to replace nine of the station’s escalators. This will improve the reliability and lifespan of the escalators which carry 6.5 million passengers a year, a number which is predicted to continue to increase. The work will take place over the next 12 months.

Chris Littler, area manager for Network Rail, said: “It is regrettable that we are not able to reopen the upgraded platform as planned and then continue our work to redevelop the rest of the platform areas. We wanted to make sure that the work was completed to the highest standard so passengers would benefit from and appreciate the investment being made.

“We have worked closely with Merseyrail throughout and will reschedule the work to avoid major events in the Merseyside area in 2016. The rescheduling means passengers will unfortunately have to wait a little longer to benefit from the improvements and I thank them for their patience.”

Alan Chaplin, Merseyrail’s managing director, added: “Moorfields is one of our busiest stations, and with Network Rail and Merseytravel, we’re determined to create pleasant environments for our customers that feel light, bright and airy. It’s unfortunate that the Wirral line platform will open three weeks later than scheduled, but the additional funding to replace the escalators is great news for our passengers and highlights our commitment to continually improving safety on the network.”

The £40m upgrade of Merseyside’s underground stations has already seen improvements to Lime Street, Central and James Street stations, including new flooring, brighter lighting and better passenger information, thanks to partnership working between Merseytravel, Merseyrail and Network Rail.