BY the end of 2019 £340m will have been invested into Liverpool City Region's (LCR) rail network, it has been revealed.

Business and transport leaders met on Wednesday, March 20 at an event to celebrate the achievement of the first five years of the LCR 30 year long-term rail strategy with the launch of Transport for the North's (TfN) Strategic Transport Plan while looking ahead to the future.

They discussed how an additional £460m is currently being invested in locally owned, state-of-the-art trains and infrastructure across Merseyrail.

Under proposals, £39bn investment Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) would connect the region to HS2 via a new twin track line between Liverpool, Manchester and other northern cities.

It is believed that the region would see £15bn economic growth, 24,000 new jobs, 11,000 new homes and 3.7m more visitors per year due to the HS2 link.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram told the Globe: “The last five years has seen our rail ambitions grow, and with a real shift in focus from the infrastructure itself to what it can deliver for the economy, opening up new opportunities and promoting social inclusion, not least by helping create more jobs and connect people to them.

“Our passenger numbers will more than double in the next 30 years, with freight demands increasing too.

"Our plans for better local connections as well as those regionally, across the north and nationally sees us pushing beyond and challenging the confines of our current rail network – one which limits capacity and our potential, as well as reinforcing outdated geographical borders which don’t reflect the changing economic picture and people’s modern lives.”

Future plans for rail improvements across the region include;

  • New and more frequent routes including a half hourly service to Wrexham and Bidston on the Borderlands line from 2021, new services to Cardiff made possible by the Halton Curve and supporting Lancashire County Council in developing an outline plan for a new line to Skelmersdale – the second biggest town in the country without a rail station, including a new station at Headbolt Lane, Kirby.
  • Working as part of TfN to get Government to commit investment for Northern Powerhouse Rail, developing a preferred route and working as part of a new Station Commission on a new city centre station, in addition to Lime Street, to accommodate the new 400m long high-speed trains.
  • Developing plans for an extended Liverpool Central Station – the busiest underground station outside London.
  • More new stations – prioritised by how they support City Region priorities and their value for money.
  • Exploring the potential for local ownership of stations to act as a catalyst for investment and growth.
  • Promoting greater use of the rail network for freight, with consideration of rail connected logistics sites in the City Region and enhanced connectivity for the Port of Liverpool.
  • The creation of a new smart and contactless ticketing system with online payment options, for use across the Liverpool City Region transport network and across the north through our work with Transport for the North.

Cllr Liam Robinson, transport portfolio holder for LCR said: “We’ve achieved a lot in the last five years, working together as a City Region, with the rail industry and as part of Transport for the North.

“New and improved stations, new routes and new trains, including our state-of-the-art trains soon to arrive on the Merseyrail network, set the tone and momentum for the coming decades.”