Baltic station timeline moves out
Delivery of a railway station serving the Liverpool district will be delayed from the initial target date, with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram now hoping for completion in 2029.
Planning consent was given in April last year for the £100m Liverpool Baltic project, which would be the third delivered since Rotheram took office in 2017, following Maghull North (opened that year) and Headbolt Lane in 2023.
When consent was secured, a construction start early this year was the target, and an opening date of 2027 ambitiously stated. But although procurement has been carried out for initial preparatory works, set to begin soon, the main construction phase has not yet been procured.
Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside this week, Rotheram rowed back on the stated opening date target, admitting that he had “pushed our lot to be more ambitious” than the previously expected target of late 2028. With procurement still to be completed, he told presenter Tony Snell that delivery is now expected “after 2028”, with a firmer date to follow in due course.
Earlier this week, a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spokesperson said that appointing the main contractor is the “next key step”, continuing: “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.”
Situated on the Northern Line, between Liverpool Central and Brunswick Station, the station will benefit from existing rail infrastructure – rail lines and tunnelling – left over from the site’s historical use as St James station, which closed in 1917.
The main bulk of funding was secured to advance Liverpool Baltic in 2024, through the city region’s sustainable transport settlement. Further weight was potentially given to the LCR infrastructure coffers last year, with a £1.6bn Transport for City Regions settlement that will also allow three more stations, at Daresbury, Woodchurch in the Wirral, and Carr Mill in St Helens.
Planner WSP, Mott MacDonald and Owen Ellis Architects are key members of LCR’s professional team on Liverpool Baltic.
Finding the right organisation to deliver the job remains the point at hand. Such projects are generally either delivered directly by railway body Network Rail as project lead, or for a body such as LCR to appoint a principal contractor directly. That sems to be the main avenue being explored, with the Mayor telling the BBC that “I’m not going to be at the back of a list” and that work has been ongoing since May last year to move things on.
However, he said, other large projects are impacting the market, stating that “HS2 is sucking a lot of energy and good contractors in” adding that with such a specialised project, “there’s only a small number of authorised providers who can work around live rail infrastructure”.
Totally in awe of our can do attitude.
By Roy
Wait till Labour get into Government they said !!!!!!!
By Anonymous
Standard public sector. Slow hand clap for this country’s ability to deliver anything in a timely manner.
By Mike
Leave it any later and our friends from Reform might be in power.
By Rich X
Surprised? not…..
By Baltic Boy
Just like the transport for the new Everton Stadium it’s always late or playing for time when he had 4 years to come up with a solution. Now he, or his team, act as if this latest embarrassment is all under control and just a hiccup, now we have a delay for Baltic that is “hopefully” till 2029. It’s just incompetence and slipshod for what is a flagship project, did they not see this coming. In the meantime the long suffering people of Broadgreen still await further progress on their station upgrade as they commute from a station full of weeds, litter, mud, and panels of chipboard that are meant to pass as station buildings.
By Anonymous
Honestly, how much longer can this continue with our city? Rotherham, Robinson it doesn’t really matter they do not have the means or the quality to bring any big projects through. Totally depressing start to the year once again.
By Anonymous
Steve has a habit of over committing and under delivering. It’s always someone else’s fault. Reading this, the main substantial works have yet to be rendered so the £100m figure is just an estimate? Guess what happens next.
By Anonymous
If it was Manchester it would be completed by now plus another two metro lines – but Steve isnt Andy
By Frank
So Mersey Tidal gone back 2 years. Baltic gone back similar. Works to London Rd for section 106 and bus and cycle routes were meant to start 1st quarter 2026.
By Lizzy Baggot
The dead hand of Liverpool’s public sector once again demonstrating a complete inability to deliver, whilst talking the sort of game that might lure the unwary into thinking they were somewhere capable. Like, you know, Manchester.
By Anonymous
Hopefully Burnham becomes PM and gives Steve Rotheram a job. Liverpool needs a proper mayor with vision.
By Simon
Steve Rotherham immediately blames Network Rail and HS2 needs. Passing the buck or what ! There is rail construction work going on up and down the country. His excuses don’t wash when this has faced delay after delay. Then this is Liverpool under Rotherham management.
By Steve Davis.
How useless is this Mayor
By Anonymous
Bulls-eye this is what you could have won!!!!!!
By Anonymous
Steve Rotheram, excels at hot air , production of CGI images and fairytales . Its painful and sad to see him floundering and our city constantly falling behind due to his ineptitude. If only we had a dynamic proven alternative candidate whilst he remains in post nothing substantial will happen , don’t even start me about the transport debacle of sandhills and the chaos around the new EFC stadium
By Paul - Woolton
Couldn’t run a bath. Look at everything that has been promised to this city . And we all look when we see an new exciting proposal and go NOPE wont happen and then we are proven right.
By Anonymous
This is truly embarrassing for the City
By Anonymous
So the mad rush to get this application submitted and approved was for what exactly? Surely they should have had the work program aligned with planning? If worth doesn’t start until 2029, won’t the planning permission have expired before it has been implemented? What a kick in the teeth to the teams (but public and private sector) that worked to secure the consent.
By Anonymous
Not entirely surprising these types of projects always seem to run into these types of issue. Go have a look at how long it’s taken Birmingham to build a station in Moesely, and that’s without all the complications of working in a 200 year old cutting.
By L17
Anything with Steve Rotheram’s name attached to it should be taken with a large pinch of salt. I’d love him deliver on what he promises – Littlewoods building? – I really would but he’s not helping himself with his constant failure to deliver. C’mon Steve, prove me wrong or step out of Andy Burnham’s pocket and leave the job to someone who’s up to it.
By Kenrick
Time for a new Mayor. The region has been held back for far too long. They can’t even deliver a simple train station.
By Anonymous
Local businesses in the Baltic have now expressed their concerns about this delay, the Batic isn’t just about clubs and bars it’s also a business area and somewhere we’re hundreds of people live. They deserve to know what’s going on in terms of business locations, property values etc, as we know that having a train station in your locality can positively boost the economy there. Just look at Crossrail, DLR, or Tube line extensions to see the effects in London.
By Anonymous