Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has announced that additional funding is being committed to ensuring that developments can be made in accessible transport.
Thanks to the £19 million funding, the city region is on track to having the most accessible train network in the country, with new developments being made to making sure that four stations are step-free from pavement to platform. The stations involved are Aigburth, Port Sunlight, Rock Ferry, and Walton.
A commitment to making all local railway stations fully accessible by 2030 came as part of the Mayor’s recent re-election campaign, with this complementing the new sliding step technology that is in use on Liverpool City Region’s new £500 million trains. Achieving this pledge would make the city region’s rail network the most passenger friendly and accessible in the country.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:
“At its best public transport can be a great leveller, connecting people from all walks of life with jobs, opportunities and each other. Yet, for too long, our local rail network has not been designed around the needs of those who rely on it the most, leaving some of the most vulnerable in our communities cut off from their local stations.
“Since I was elected, we have invested tens of millions of pounds to improve step-free access across our train stations, which is why we are now one of the most accessible networks in the country – but I know there is still more work to be done.
“That is why I have pledged to make every station on our local rail network fully accessible by the end of the decade and this latest investment will take us one step closer to making that ambition a reality.
“From the £500m we have invested in our new fleet, to the tap-and-go ticketing we will be introducing soon – and the pipeline of new stations we are building – I want to ensure that everyone can benefit from the incredible transformation we are delivering across our local rail network.”
Work on the stations is set to take place over the course of the next few years, with the funding coming two different sources. These sources are the combined authority’s own City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement and Access for All accessibility funding, both of which will contribute £9.5 million.
Hundreds of millions of pounds for transport developments have already been committed by the mayor, with the construction of two new accessible railway stations and work now starting on the new £100 million Liverpool Baltic station. These have all come as part of the wider vision for the city region to benefit from a ‘London-style’ integrated transport system.
Once this latest round of work is completed, 62 of the 83 railway stations in the city region (approx.. 80%) will have step-free platform access.
Image credit: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
