Road, Rail & Access Issues

[Silvercity]

https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/17494378.wrexham-to-liverpool-direct-train-welcomed/

Details of new rail service beginning in May between Wrexham and Liverpool allowing access for passenger to travel by train for Liverpool Airport.

 

[Silvercity]

Halton Curve Railway upgrade
Another major transport scheme is the £18.7m re-launch of the Halton Curve railway line.
The upgraded line is set to provide hourly services between Liverpool and Chester via Runcorn, to better connect Liverpool John Lennon Airport, north Wales and stations along the route such as Helsby and Frodsham.
Trains are expected to be running from May - unlocking unprecedented leisure and business opportunities between Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.

I would expect passengers from Chester will now be able to reach South Parkway Station for the airport bus link in about 25 mins once the new service begins in May.

 

[Silvercity]

A piece of an article I just come across in Place North West Magazine.

Station to station
Of all the grand ambitions aired at MIPIM, one of the most interesting was Liverpool’s setting up of a commission to build a new railway station for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. There is huge scepticism around this, because it’s a £6bn job and who gets that kind of Government largesse, apart from Crossrail? However, some interesting points have come up location-wise, most intriguingly the possibility of a decent southern link to Liverpool’s airport, throwing up the potential of linking Liverpool and Manchester’s airports – which in international accessibility terms would massively tilt the balance of Northern power firmly towards the North West.

 

[paully]

A piece of an article I just come across in Place North West Magazine.

Station to station
Of all the grand ambitions aired at MIPIM, one of the most interesting was Liverpool’s setting up of a commission to build a new railway station for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. There is huge scepticism around this, because it’s a £6bn job and who gets that kind of Government largesse, apart from Crossrail? However, some interesting points have come up location-wise, most intriguingly the possibility of a decent southern link to Liverpool’s airport, throwing up the potential of linking Liverpool and Manchester’s airports – which in international accessibility terms would massively tilt the balance of Northern power firmly towards the North West.

Hope they are right Carl

 

[Silvercity]

Hope they are right Carl

Well it would be good for passengers if it happened and the tracks are not that far away, an intermediate station could also be added to serve the Speke township which has no rail station either. As ever this is not London so transport investment is slow coming.

 

[paully]

Well it would be good for passengers if it happened and the tracks are not that far away, an intermediate station could also be added to serve the Speke township which has no rail station either. As ever this is not London so transport investment is slow coming.

Too true..nowhere exists outside of London

 

[Silvercity]

Transport for Wales have started to release details of their new rail service into Liverpool Lime Street. The service will call at Liverpool South Parkway Station which provides bus transfer links to Liverpool Airport.

Cysylltiadau / Contacts
Halton Curve: the countdown for Liverpool services begins: ChesterRailStation2019.04.11-1

25/04/19

English
Halton Curve: the countdown for Liverpool services begins
Transport for Wales is gearing up for the start of new hourly services linking north Wales and Cheshire to Liverpool which will begin next month.

From 19th May, Transport for Wales will begin its new services along the route in what has been described as a "major economic boost" for the region.

A total of 215 new services per week have been created.

Services will be hourly from Chester, calling at Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn, Liverpool South Parkway (for John Lennon Airport) and Liverpool Lime Street.

There will also be two direct services per day from Wrexham General and one direct from Liverpool to Wrexham.

Prices are now in retail systems with selected fares as follows:

Wrexham General to Liverpool Lime Street Anytime Day Return £11.50
Chester and Helsby to Liverpool Lime Street Anytime Day Return £7.50
Frodsham to Liverpool Lime Street Anytime Day Return £7
James Price, Chief Executive of Transport for Wales, said:

"Transport for Wales is investing £5 billion to transform the transport sector throughout the Wales and Borders network and we're incredibly excited to see the introduction of the new services linking north Wales and Cheshire with Liverpool.

"It will be a major economic boost for the area and the fact Transport for Wales are delivering 215 brand new services a week, really underpins our commitment to building a better transport network for all.

"This project saw an immense amount of hard work, dedication and investment by so many individuals and agencies and shows just what can be achieved by collaborative working.

“We are approaching our first six months at Transport for Wales and this is another important milestone as we continue to deliver our vision."

The new services are being introduced along the 1.5 mile long Halton Curve as part of Network Rail's Great North Rail Project involving extensive upgrades to track and signalling meaning that the line was able to operate a new hourly service, in both directions, between Liverpool and Chester/Wrexham.

The project follows decades of hard work by local campaigners and significant work and investment by DfT, Welsh Government, Liverpool City Region, Merseytravel and Network Rail.

Services on the line all but stopped in May 1975, although the route was kept open with an occasional summer only parliamentary service from Chester to Runcorn.



Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Metro Mayor, said: "One of the Combined Authority's key aims is priorities is to deliver major improvements in connectivity for our area.

“The Halton Curve is one of many ambitious rail schemes across the Liverpool City Region that have been delivered by the Combined Authority, working together in partnership with a number of organisations.

“Thanks to this, there are now more frequent trains between Liverpool and Chester and the first direct services between the city and Wrexham since 1975.

“With future plans to expand further into North Wales and an aspiration for direct Liverpool to Cardiff services, this is just the start of us realising the potential benefits that re-opening the Halton Curve will bring.”

Marcus Barnes, senior sponsor at Network Rail, said: “The Halton Curve is a relatively small stretch of track in Frodsham, but it unlocks a wealth of leisure and business opportunities for the Liverpool City Region, its airport, Cheshire and North Wales.

“Our track and signalling upgrades, to allow trains to run in both directions on the line, were completed in May last year. It’s incredibly exciting that the Halton Curve will soon reach its full potential with new services between Liverpool and Chester, with some services on to Wrexham.

“This is another great example of the Great North Rail Project in action.”

 

[Silvercity]

New rail link is to begin on Monday, a bit more information regarding it.

New direct rail service between Wrexham and Liverpool to start next week
Published: Thursday, May 16th, 2019
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The timetable for the new direct rail link between Wrexham and Liverpool has been revealed – with three services operating six days a week.
The new service, which will operate between Wrexham General and Liverpool Lime Street Station, will begin on Monday.
It is the first direct rail service between North Wales and Liverpool in over 40 years.
This new service will be in addition to a new service running hourly from Chester which will travel via Helsby, Frodsham and Runcorn.
The Monday to Friday timetable is:
Wrexham General depart: 06.35
Liverpool Lime Street arrive: 07.59

Liverpool Lime Street depart: 17.37
Wrexham General arrive: 18.50
Wrexham General depart: 19.09
Liverpool Lime Street arrive: 20.14
The Saturday Timetable is:
Wrexham General depart: 06.19
Liverpool Lime Street arrive: 07.31
Liverpool Lime Street depart: 17.37
Wrexham General arrive: 18.39
Wrexham General depart: 19.10
Liverpool Lime Street arrive: 20.24
Wrexham Councillor David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: “This is great news and this service will be welcomed by rail users in Wrexham and North Wales.
“I hope it is the first of many new routes connecting the region with Liverpool, including Liverpool Airport.”
Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Metro Mayor, added: “One of the Combined Authority’s key priorities is the delivery of major improvements in connectivity for our area.
“The Halton Curve is one of many ambitious rail schemes across the Liverpool City Region that have been delivered by the Combined Authority, working together in partnership with a number of organisations.
“Thanks to this, there are now more frequent trains between Liverpool and Chester and the first direct services between the city and Wrexham since 1975.
“With future plans to expand further into North Wales and an aspiration for direct Liverpool to Cardiff services, this is just the start of us realising the potential benefits that re-opening the Halton Curve will bring.”

 

[Silvercity]

New rail service began today from Chester / Wrexham to Liverpool Lime Street, via a piece of line known as the Halton Curve . This service will as time progresses be extended to further Welsh destinations. Importantly trains call at Liverpool South Parkway, which offers massively improved rail access for Liverpool Airport passengers from Chester and beyond.

 

[Silvercity]

Travelled on the new rail link today. Trains nice and clean and staff informative. For first weekday service trains both ways were quite busy. Also nice to see passengers with suitcases already using service to reach airport.

 

[Silvercity]

London Northwestern Railways have improved their services to Liverpool South Parkway, and therefore increasing choice for passengers reaching the airport. Their train now actually go beyond Birmingham some as far as Euston , so more station are now linked easier for Liverpool Airport passengers .

Liverpool John Lennon

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Free yourself from the car with direct services to Liverpool South Parkway for John Lennon Airport.
Just a short bus or taxi ride from the station, Liverpool John Lennon Airport is easy accessible by rail. Regular buses operate between the Airport and Liverpool South Parkway. The 500 (express) operates every 30 minutes, with the 80A and 86A operating up to every 20 minutes ensuring regular departures between the Airport and the rail interchange. The 86A now operates 24 hours a day.

Book now with no fees

Trains from Birmingham
Trains from Liverpool

• One-way from £9.50
• Book in advance.
• Up to 3 trains an hour
• One-way from £3.50
• Book in advance or on the day
• Up to 3 trains an hour

Trains from Wolverhampton Trains From Crewe

• One-way from £9.50
• Book in advance or on the day
• Up to 4 trains an hour
• Return within a month from £11.60
• Book in advance or on the day
• Up to 3 trains an hour

Trains from Stafford Trains from Runcorn

• Off-peak return from £22.90
• Book in advance
• Up to 3 trains an hour
• One-way from £3.20
• Book in advance or on the train
• Up to 3 trains an hour

Location

 

[Silvercity]

London Northwestern Railways have improved their services to Liverpool South Parkway, and therefore increasing choice for passengers reaching the airport. Their train now actually go beyond Birmingham some as far as Euston , so more station are now linked easier for Liverpool Airport passengers .

Liverpool John Lennon

• Share
• Tweet

Free yourself from the car with direct services to Liverpool South Parkway for John Lennon Airport.
Just a short bus or taxi ride from the station, Liverpool John Lennon Airport is easy accessible by rail. Regular buses operate between the Airport and Liverpool South Parkway. The 500 (express) operates every 30 minutes, with the 80A and 86A operating up to every 20 minutes ensuring regular departures between the Airport and the rail interchange. The 86A now operates 24 hours a day.

Book now with no fees

Trains from Birmingham
Trains from Liverpool

• One-way from £9.50
• Book in advance.
• Up to 3 trains an hour
• One-way from £3.50
• Book in advance or on the day
• Up to 3 trains an hour

Trains from Wolverhampton Trains From Crewe

• One-way from £9.50
• Book in advance or on the day
• Up to 4 trains an hour
• Return within a month from £11.60
• Book in advance or on the day
• Up to 3 trains an hour

Trains from Stafford Trains from Runcorn

• Off-peak return from £22.90
• Book in advance
• Up to 3 trains an hour
• One-way from £3.20
• Book in advance or on the train
• Up to 3 trains an hour

Location

 

[Silvercity]

There services are much cheaper than Virgin normally.

 

[Silvercity]

Travelled on new Transport for Wales railm service yesterday afternoon from Frodsham to Liverpool Lime Street, when we stopped at South Parkway, I noticed several passengers alight with suitcases. So it looks like people have already discovered this new link to reach the airport from Chester area / North Wales.

 

[Silvercity]

Virgin Trains have put in an application as an open access operator to run an hourly London to Liverpool service . This is due to them loosing the west code franchise . What is interesting about this proposed new service is that the train will called at Liverpool South Parkway which allows passengers to reach Liverpool Airport by way of a frequent bus connection from the station. The service will stop at several midland destinations allowing easy connection to Liverpool Airport.

 

[Silvercity]

A bit more information with respect to Virgin's open access rail proposal.

Virgin Trains open access service to ‘show the rest of the industry how it can be done’
11 Jun 2019











UK: A partnership of Virgin Group, Stagecoach, SNCF and Alstom has applied to the Office of Rail & Road for permission to operate open access trains between London and Liverpool from May 2021, which it says would be ‘the UK’s most advanced and customer-focused’ rail service.
The announcement on June 11 came two months after the Department for Transport disqualified the same partners from bidding for the West Coast Partnership contract to operate franchised services on the West Coast Main Line. These are currently provided by Virgin and Stagecoach under the Virgin Trains brand.
Virgin Trains is seeking paths for 24 open access services per day between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street, calling at Lichfield, Tamworth, Nuneaton and Liverpool South Parkway.
No decision has been made on the rolling stock which would be used; the Alstom Pendolino trainsets which Virgin Trains currently operates on West Coast services could not be used, as they will transfer to the next franchisee.
Revenue from the service is estimated at around £50m/year. Every ticket ‘would be guaranteed to be at least 10% cheaper than equivalent tickets offered by rail competitors’, and would include a seat reservation; there would be full refunds for passengers who had to stand in the event of disruption. Onboard services would include free wi-fi, a film and TV entertainment service and at-seat on-demand catering.
‘Virgin Trains has led the UK rail industry for 22 years’, said Managing Director Phil Whittingham. ‘But we want to go further. These new services will allow us to take the customer experience on the UK’s railways to the next level and show the rest of the industry how it can be done.’

( from Railway Gazette )

 

[Silvercity]

With a new rail operator taming over from Virgin on the West Coast Mainline, Avant are suggesting an enhanced Liverpool to London service, with one of these to call at Liverpool South Parkway Station.

 

[Silvercity]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...YQxfQBCCgwAA&usg=AOvVaw1E0eAOJMj3bk-7hpljiCtQ

[/URL]

 

[Silvercity]

Liverpool Echo
Tram plan could expand to include airport and Bramley-Moore Dock

 

[Silvercity]

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