News
Kirkby Headbolt Lane station scheme moves a step closer with £3.3m funding secured and CGI images are unveiled
General Interest
The pledge for a new station at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby has moved a step closer thanks to a further £3.3m investment.
Images illustrating the potential design of the new station have also been revealed.
The new station plans include proposals for around 500 park and ride spaces and a bus interchange with step-free access throughout the station and onto the new Merseyrail trains.
The additional funding, from the Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund, has been approved to move to the next stage of Network Rail’s design process.
The full scheme includes the extension of the Merseyrail network beyond the existing Kirkby station. It would also mean that residents in the Northwood and Tower Hill areas of the town would be even closer to services on the Merseyrail network.
It would see Merseyrail services run into the new station, as opposed to the current services which run as far as Kirkby. Northern services from Wigan and Manchester would also operate to and from the new station.
The development also forms part of the plans to build new rail link to Skelmersdale, which would connect to the Merseyrail network via Kirkby.
An outline business case is currently being developed for the scheme, which is expected to be completed by September 2020. It is planned for the new station to be operational by 2023.
The station also forms part of the Liverpool City Region Long Term Rail Strategy, a 30-year plan, which was updated in 2018.
