Green Lane train station's platform two closed until October due to upgrade works

The works are set to take place ahead of the introduction of a new fleet of Stadler trains in 2020.

Platform two (towards Rock Ferry) will be out of use until October 20.

Any passengers who need to travel towards Hooton/Chester or Ellesmere Port from Green Lane will need to board any Liverpool bound train from platform one and change at Birkenhead Central.

Travellers from Liverpool to Green Lane are advised to take a train to Rock Ferry and then change onto a Liverpool bound train which will call at Green Lane.

Merseyrail are urging all rail passengers to give themselves extra time for their journeys.

Wayne Menzies, head of rail for Merseytravel said: “This next phase of planned works will be vital in welcoming our new, state-of-the-art trains to the Liverpool City Region in 2020.

"I want to thank passengers not only for their continued patience and cooperation but for following the advice given which is designed to help keep them on the move.

"We, and our partners at Merseyrail and Network Rail have worked together on this project and significant planning has taken place, to minimise disruption for passengers and people living near to stations wherever possible by having the works take place at night when the stations and wider network is not in use.

"Of course, while these works continue, high-quality rail replacement buses will be available to get people where they need to go.

"We also encourage customers to consider other travel options, including commercial bus services.

"Please check your tickets and passes before you travel.”

The last train from Liverpool will not call at Rock Ferry and trains toward Liverpool are not affected by the works.

Upgrades are part of a rolling programme of planned works which will prepare Wirral and Northern lines for the new state-of-the-art trains.

Some of the works include altering the height of station platforms and realigning the track so that the new train's sliding step can meet the platform edge to provide unassisted access for all passengers.

Lucy Middleton, scheme project manager at Network Rail, said: “We’ve completed around 85% of our upgrades on the Merseyrail network to prepare platforms for the arrival of new trains and their innovative sliding step technology.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to complete all upgrade work at Rice Lane, Green Lane, West Kirby, Birkenhead North and Chester as the changes needed were more complex than we originally thought.

“We didn’t want to impact further phases in the programme and made the decision to delay this work until later in the year. We’re sorry to Merseyrail passengers for the further disruption to their journeys and would like to thank them for bearing with us.”

Further planned works will take place at:

• Hamilton Square to Hooton: line closed until 14:00, 8 September
• Aintree to Walton: line closed until 13:00, 15 September
• West Kirby: platform 1 closed with all trains to operate from platform 2, 16-20 September
• New Brighton/West Kirby to Hamilton Square: lines closed, 21-22 September
• West Kirby to Hoylake: closed, 23-29 September
• Southport to Formby: line closed until 13:00, 29 September
• Birkenhead Central to Chester / Ellesmere Port: line closed, 13 & 20 October
• Bache to Chester: line closed, 14-19 October

The upgrades started in October last year, with eleven phases planned in total with some stations needing more work due to unforeseen circumstances and the decision was made to return to these stations later this year so that other phases of work were not delayed.

Further planned works will also be taking place from later this year and into 2020 to ensure that all stations are ready to accommodate the new longer trains. There will also be work to install equipment to provide a pioneering connectivity system which will include high quality on-board WiFi.

Passengers will find timetable information and travel advice to plan their journeys at merseyrail.org/itshappening