Liverpool Baltic | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Baltic Triangle, Liverpool England |
| Coordinates | 53°23′38″N2°58′34″W / 53.3939°N 2.9760°W |
| Grid reference | SJ 351 890 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Proposed |
| Key dates | |
| 2025 | Construction planned to begin |
| 2028 | Planned opening |
Liverpool Baltic railway station is a proposed station in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool, England, which would be built on the site of the former St James station, which closed in 1917. [1] Construction is expected to start in 2025, and the station would be open around three years later. [2]
In 2012, Liverpool's Strategic Investment Framework listed the reopening of St James as important to the success of the Baltic Triangle development. Merseytravel agreed to work with Liverpool Vision in March 2014 to investigate the cost of reopening the station and its projected usage. [3] In January 2015, Merseytravel confirmed that they would be carrying out a study for the station's potential reopening in the 2015–16 financial year. [4] Merseyrail listed the re-opening of the station as a 'top rail project' during a presentation on rail development and delivery in November 2016. [5]
Merseytravel commissioned a report into the reopening of the station which was completed in September 2017. [6] The report compared reopening St James against the construction of a new station in the Chinatown area of Liverpool. While the report found many benefits to opening a station in the city's Chinatown area, it concluded that: "A new station at St James is feasible and potentially highly beneficial, albeit at a high cost and with correspondingly reduced value for money." [6] Merseytravel's chairman Liam Robinson stated in an interview with the Liverpool Echo in February 2019 that reopening the station would be a significant task and would involve the construction of new platforms, ticket offices, waiting areas and lift shafts. [7]
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced in August 2019 that they were planning to use part of a £172 million funding package to reopen the station, subject to the plans being approved. [8]
In October 2020, it was announced that £1.2 million of these funds were to be used to commission Network Rail to complete the next stage of design work for the reopening project. A further £300,000 of these funds had been used to purchase a plot of land adjacent to the station site upon which the Combined Authority hopes a future ticket office might be constructed. [9] In 2020, the Combined Authority applied for additional funding for the reopening project from the third round of the Department for Transport's New Stations Fund. [9] A public vote was put forward in January 2022 by Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, to choose a name for the station when it reopens. [10] Officials felt that the existing name for the station would cause confusion with James Street station. The public were asked to choose a new name between:
On 12 April 2022, the results of the vote were announced, with 77.7% of the public voting for Liverpool Baltic as the name of the new station. [11]
Work on the station was intended to start in 2024, however, as of December 2023, planning work was still being undertaken. [2] The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority expect to apply for planning permission in 2024 with construction commencing in 2025, for completion in 2027 or 2028. [12]
The station would be between Liverpool Central and Brunswick, and would be served by trains operating between Southport and Hunts Cross. [13]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool Central | Merseyrail Northern Line | Brunswick towards Hunts Cross | ||
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lines – the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The network uses 750 V DC third rail electrified lines having 75.0 miles (120.7 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) are underground. Since January 2023, Merseyrail commenced replacing its train fleet, withdrawing the Class 507 and 508 trains and introducing 53 new Class 777 trains. The network carried 25.5 million passengers in the 2022/2023 statistical period.
Merseytravel is the passenger transport executive, responsible for the coordination of public transport in the Liverpool City Region in North West England. Merseytravel was established on 1 December 1969 as the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive. From 1 April 2014, with the creation of the Liverpool City Region, Merseytravel expanded its area of operation from the metropolitan county of Merseyside to also include the Borough of Halton.
Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline terminus. It is the busiest station in Liverpool, though considerably smaller than Lime Street station, the mainline terminus, and the busiest station to operate solely on the Merseyrail network. The station is the busiest underground station outside London serving 40,000 people daily. The station in passengers per platform is the busiest underground railway station in the United Kingdom outside of London at 3,979,547 per platform per annum and coming tenth out of all stations outside the capital, underground or overground.
Liverpool St James station in Liverpool, England, was a railway station situated on the old Cheshire Lines Committee line from Liverpool Central between Central and Brunswick stations. The station was the penultimate station before Central terminal station competing with new electric trams. This line is now a part of the busy Merseyrail's Northern Line from Southport, Kirkby, Ormskirk branches to Hunts Cross. The station is located in a deep cutting between two tunnels at the junction of Parliament Street and St. James' Place, opposite St James' Church.
The Northern line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Wirral line. The cross-city route runs from Hunts Cross in south Liverpool then branches in the north to terminate at Southport, Headbolt Lane and Ormskirk (Lancashire).
The Canada Dock Branch is a 4-mile 59 chain long railway line in Liverpool, England. The line's route is from the large Edge Hill rail junction in the east of Liverpool to Seaforth Dock to the north. The line was originally built by the London and North Western Railway terminating at Canada Dock, with a later branch extension added to Alexandra Dock and links onto the MDHC railway lines. The line is not electrified.
The Skelmersdale branch was a standard gauge railway (SKE) which connected the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Rainford Junction via Skelmersdale. At Rainford it connected with the Liverpool and Bury Railway and the St. Helens Railway. It was built by the East Lancashire Railway, which was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway shortly afterward. The steam railmotor which served the line was sometimes known locally as the "Skem Dodger" and other times as the "Skem Jazzer".
Kirkby railway station is situated in Kirkby, Merseyside, England. It is located 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of Liverpool Central and is on the Headbolt Lane branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line.
Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874 and carried passengers from 1858 to 1956.
The City Line is the brand name used by Merseytravel on suburban rail services in the Liverpool City Region starting eastwards from the mainline platforms of Liverpool Lime Street railway station.
Headbolt Lane is a railway station in Kirkby, Merseyside, England, which opened on 5 October 2023.
Maghull North is a station in Maghull, Merseyside, England, on the Northern Line of Merseyrail. The station opened on 18 June 2018 to serve the north end of Maghull. The station serves as the main station for Moss Side, Ashworth Hospital and planned new housing.
Liverpool in North West England, is a major British city with significant road, rail, and ferry networks, in addition to an international airport and a well-known dock system. As with most other major UK cities, Liverpool's transport infrastructure is centred on its road and rail networks. Public transport services within the city are controlled and run by Merseytravel.
Steven Philip Rotheram is a British politician serving as Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Walton from 2010 to 2017.
The Baltic Triangle is an area of Liverpool city centre defined by Liverpool City Council as the triangular portion of the city bounded by Liver Street, Park Lane, St James Street, Hill Street, Sefton Street and Wapping.
Woodchurch is a proposed railway station situated between Upton and Heswall on the Borderlands Line.
Vauxhall railway station is a proposed railway station in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool. If it is constructed it will be sited between Moorfields and Sandhills on the Merseyrail Northern Line. Construction of the new station was proposed in January 2017 by Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, as part of the city's North Docks project and also Everton Football Club's potential plans to build their new stadium in the area.
The British Rail Class 777 METRO is a class of electric multiple unit passenger trains currently being delivered by the Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail, being used on the Merseyrail network in the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. The trains have the ability to operate on the third rail-powered sections of the network, with some units carrying onboard batteries to allow use on unpowered track. Ordered in 2016, construction of the units began in 2018. The first unit entered service on 23 January 2023, following delays to the deployment programme. The Class 777 will replace Merseyrail's current Class 507 and Class 508 units, which were built between 1978 and 1980. Seven units of the total 53 ordered are being configured as battery electric multiple units (BEMUs) for use on non-electrified lines, being designated subclass 777/1.
The history of Merseyrail dates back to the 19th century, with the original formation of the Mersey Railway, however, Merseyrail dates back to the 20th century, namely being set up by British Rail in 1969, it did not become a single network until 1977.
