13.03.19
Liverpool metro mayor announces commission into new city centre rail station
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has unveiled a commission to deliver a new station in Liverpool city centre to connect the region to HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).
Metro mayor Steve Rotherham announced the creation of the station commission, with the CEO of Everton Football Club Denise Barrett-Baxendale the chair of the “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
The high-speed rail station commission follows Transport for the North’s Strategic Transport Plan, which will see Liverpool City Region (LCR) fully connected to HS2 and NPR – but the authority also stated the need for a new station to accommodate these changes.
Rotherham said that Liverpool needs a station in the city centre capable of accommodating the HS2 trains and NPR trains coming to the city, and that Liverpool Lime Street will “simply not be able to cope.”
He said the new station will create a gateway to the Liverpool city region fit for the 21st century, bring a world-class welcome to the region, and bring huge social and economic benefits to the city and the north.
The metro mayor said: “Connecting the Liverpool City Region to HS2 and NPR will both cut journey times and increase capacity, boosting our economy by £15bn.
“What we envisage is more than just a station and a world-class transport hub, it has the potential to be a destination in its own right, architecturally stunning and featuring leisure and recreation facilities, commercial, retail, high-quality office accommodation, residential facilities and much more.”
He acknowledged that this kind of infrastructure project will be “enormously challenging” which is why the commission had been created to take the idea forward.
The commission will bring together experts from the transport, business and public sectors, and its remit will be to consider all key considerations in developing the project including size, functions, location, and orientation of the station.
Denise Barrett-Baxendale commented: “I am tremendously honoured to have been asked to chair this commission. I have no doubt that it will be challenging but with that challenge comes a golden opportunity to create a modern transport hub fit for the city region’s future.”
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson added that whilst the commission takes forward the exciting work, the government needed to put their money where the mouth is and commit to funding.