WIRRAL line passengers will be faced with six months of major disruption when a £340m upgrade of railway track takes place next year.
There will be no trains between Wirral and Liverpool for six weeks from January in the first phase of work, with all services starting and ending at Birkenhead North and Birkenehad Central with rail replacement buses in operation.
Then for 15 weeks, all Wirral trains will start and terminate at James Street from Monday to Friday. During weekends, all services will start and terminate at Birkenhead North and Birkenhead Central stations, with rail replacement buses used again.
The work which has been described as 'essential' will start next year
Stephen Townley, Network Rail’s scheme programme manager, said: “This work is essential to maintain the safety and reliability of the network.
“Replacing the track and undertaking other maintenance can only be done when we can safely access the railway – which unfortunately means closing the railway to trains.
“Like the original 19th century pioneers, working conditions 40 metres underground are still hostile, and mean that lighting, water, ventilation and a supply of compressed air all need to be installed before work can begin.
“We have worked closely with Merseyrail and Merseytravel to plan the work to cause the least amount of disruption possible.”
The concrete base which the line runs upon will be replaced
The track known as the ‘Loop line’ was built 40 years ago and since this time has been continuously maintained but now the concrete base in the single bore tunnels now needs to be replaced.
Jonny Fearon, project manager for contractors who will be carrying out the work, said: “Although there will be slight disruption for six months to passengers, this work has a 60-year life span.
“At the moment the loop line is very demanding and needs a lot of maintenance, this work will stop that and will mean a better service for our customers.
“The design has taken 18 months to complete and we have spent years working closely with Network Rail to discuss access strategies.
“That is one of the main challenges we will face when carrying out the work, we only have two access points at the moment, one in Birkenhead and at Liverpool Central station which will be used solely for the concrete, meaning the work will involve a six-mile round trip for maintenance vehicles.”
The work will mean a more reliable train service for passengers
While the main changes are being done to the ‘Loop line’, engineers will also complete maintenance work on other parts of the line to limit the disruption to passengers.
Work will be taking place every day and night for the six months.
How will this affect you?
The work will be carried out in three phases, with different parts of the line closing during each of these phase.
Phase one- Tuesday January 3- Sunday February 12 2017
For six weeks, all Wirral line trains will start and terminate at Birkenhead North and Birkenhead Central. Rail replacement buses will run between these stations and Liverpool.
Phase two- Monday February 13- Monday May 29 2017
For 15 weeks, all Wirral line trains will start and terminate at James Street station from Monday to Friday. During weekends, all services will start and terminate at Birkenhead North and Birkenhead Central stations, with rail replacement buses being used again.
Phase three- Tuesday May 30- Sunday June 18 2017
The final phase, will last for 20 days and will mirror the first, with all Wirral line trains will starts and terminate at Birkenhead North and Birkenhead Central.
More information on transport arrangements will be available in autumn.
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