Exclusive: ECHO uncovers delays and frustrations with £100m project heralded by Metro Mayor
Exclusive: ECHO uncovers delays and frustrations with £100m project heralded by Metro Mayor
A new £100m Liverpool train station set to serve the thriving Baltic Triangle area of the city centre is set to be significantly delayed, the ECHO understands. Plans for the flagship new station were approved by Liverpool City Council in April last year after the plans were formally submitted by Mayor Steve Rotheram’s Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (CA) in November 2024.
However, the ECHO has been told that nine months on from permission for the major project being granted, the CA is still yet to appoint a main contractor. The ECHO understands there is now expected to be a significant delay in the delivery of this crucial project, which leaders had previously said would be completed by the end of next year.
Following our questions, Mayor Rotheram has told this newspaper he is not happy about the delays and is pushing his teams to find ways to move faster on the project. He said the national picture, including the fallout from HS2 has had an impact.
The planned station, seen as a key part of the Mayor’s ‘Merseyrail for All’ pledge, will be created by redeveloping the disused former St James Station, which lies beneath the Baltic Triangle – a former industrial area now filled with creative and hospitality businesses between the city centre and the south of the city.
The application site involves an existing cutting to the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, located midway between Liverpool Central Station and Brunswick Station, where an underground train station once stood but was closed in 1917 during the First World War.
It was hoped that work on the station could have started at the back end of last year, with a hopeful completion date of late 2027, it was later suggested that March 2028 was a more likely opening date. But having investigated the situation, the ECHO understands this could now be delayed again, with a main contractor still yet to be appointed.
This would be yet another additional delay for the key project. When it was first announced in 2022, it was estimated that construction would begin in 2024 and be completed before the end of 2025. It was also hoped the station could cost closer to £80m, before this was later revised to £100m.
As with most project delays, it is likely that an extended construction period could also result in an increased final cost of the project.
The ECHO understands when public organisations like a Combined Authority want to build train stations, they can either ask Network Rail – the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the nation’s railway – to carry out the build, or they can go out externally for a different contractor.
According to a new statement from the CA, appointing the main contractor for the Liverpool Baltic Station is the ‘next step in this process’, and the organisation said more will be announced on this soon. It is not clear why a contractor has yet to be appointed on the project.
A Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spokesperson said: “Liverpool Baltic is a central part of Mayor Rotheram’s vision to transform public transport across the city region. It complements a programme of major investment, including our £500m publicly owned trains, taking buses back under public control, and plans for a new rapid transit system.
“Once delivered, Liverpool Baltic will be the third new Merseyrail station built since Mayor Rotheram took office in 2017, with Maghull North and Headbolt Lane already completed. A further three new stations are planned for Carr Mill in St Helens, Woodchurch on the Wirral, and Daresbury in Halton.
“Appointing the main contractor is the next key step in this process, and we have been exploring a range of delivery methods to ensure the project is delivered to the highest standard – more will be announced on this soon.
“As with any complex infrastructure scheme, particularly one that involves a new station in a deep railway cutting on an operational line, it is important the project is carefully considered. The Mayor has been actively pushing the organisation to accelerate delivery wherever possible, while ensuring the programme remains achievable and the station is delivered to the highest standards.
“Progress is continuing well, with early site preparation work scheduled to begin this year, laying the groundwork for the main construction phase to follow. New junctions and road layouts including space for active travel will also be included as part of the scheme.”
In a candid statement to the ECHO, Mayor Rotheram admitted his frustrations at further delays on the project.
He said: “When the Combined Authority first announced the station at Liverpool Baltic, we gave a target of 2028 based on what we believed was achievable – and that was a timeline set in good faith. We knew it would be a complicated job: it’s a deep-cutting site, on a live rail line, with all the engineering challenges that brings but have still tried to do all we could to bring that forward.
“But what’s changed since then is the national picture. Network Rail, who still deliver most of this country’s rail infrastructure, have seen their capacity squeezed with the fallout from HS2 tying up resources and limiting their ability to take on new work. That’s had a real impact.
“But the reality is that we’ve secured the funding, and I’ve been pushing our teams hard to find other ways to move faster, including bringing in an alternative contractor. But there are a limited number of contractors licensed to work on the railways that we are able choose from.
“I’m not someone who is ever happy about things being delayed. I wanted us on site quicker. I’d rather be up front with people now than risk overpromising and underdelivering. This project is still happening, and we will see it through to delivery.”
A Network Rail spokesperson tod the ECHO: “We work closely with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and all our partners in the region. Liverpool Baltic Station is an exciting project and we will be pleased to support its development.”
