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Tuesday 26 Sep 2017

Platform work complete at Liverpool South Parkway in time for Lime Street upgrade

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Redirecting services to Liverpool South Parkway will play a vital part in keeping passengers on the move and the Liverpool City Region open for business during Lime Street’s major upgrade later this month (30 Sept – 22 October)

Network Rail announced today that they have completed vital work to extend platform 4 at Liverpool South Parkway in order to accommodate longer trains throughout the upgrade.

Completed on time, engineers have built the temporary 150 metre extension using an extensive scaffolding system built around existing overhead line structures and relocated one of the signals.

Sean Hyland, senior project manager at Network Rail, said: “Liverpool South Parkway station is going to act as a major interchange station during Lime Street’s major transformation.”

“In order to prepare for this we’ve completed vital platform extension works at the station to allow passengers travelling on Virgin services to alight at South Parkway during the upgrade, ready to pick up the next Merseyrail service into Liverpool.”

Frank Rogers, chief executive at Merseytravel, said: “The work completed at Liverpool South Parkway represents our commitment not only to providing quality transport services but to keeping people moving during the Lime Street Station upgrade.

“Transport providers have worked together to provide services to keep people moving and it’s really important that customers, both local and from further afield, plan ahead and familiarise themselves with the alternative arrangements so they can continue to get about easily and seamlessly during the works.”

Said Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Merseyrail's managing director:

“Merseyrail will play a key role in keeping the city region moving, transporting people between Liverpool South Parkway and the centre of Liverpool throughout the three-week period of work. This project is testament to effective partnership-working on the part of Merseytravel, Network Rail and all the train operators affected, both from the local area and beyond. It underscores our collective determination to develop an improved railway for everyone.”

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“The Lime Street station upgrade is an essential part of our ambitious transport and infrastructure plans for improving the City Region’s capacity and connectivity and enabling the City Region to reach its full economic potential.

“As the upgrade gets underway we’ll be continuing to make the case for the north to get the infrastructure commitment and funding it deserves, particularly in light of developments just last week with Transport for the North regarding plans that would give us direct connectivity to the High Speed network and HS2.”

The Lime Street upgrade is the biggest transformation the station has seen since the 19^th Century. It is one of 10 major railway upgrades that make up the £340m railway investment in the Liverpool City Region by the end of 2019, and sits within the wider Great North Rail Project to transform rail travel for customers in the north of England.

Once complete in 2018, the work will enable an extra three services per hour in and out of Lime Street station, including new direct services to Scotland. Longer, better managed platforms will allow bigger trains, with more space for passengers, in and out of the station.

To support Liverpool South Parkway becoming the temporary main rail ‘hub’, there will be some service and timetable changes on the Merseyrail network and passengers are reminded to check before they travel.

Strikes by RMT members on the Merseyrail network and on Northern train services are due to take place on Tuesday 3^rd and Thursday 5^th October, with plans being put in place to help keep passengers on the move.

Over the 23 days, engineers will continue work to remodel station platforms, increasing them in number and in length. Work will also take place to install overhead line equipment to power electric trains and upgrade track.

This is the first of two phases of work at Liverpool Lime Street, with a further station closure planned in summer 2018. Key travel details are below, but to find out more visit www.networkrail.co.uk/lcr