Lea Green upgrades cleared for opening
The Office of Rail and Road has signed off an improvement programme including a new station building and integrated multi-storey parking, meaning facilities should open soon.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority committed £15m to delivering the project in March 2021, providing the cash from its Transforming Cities Fund allocation.
Lea Green forms part of the St Helens Southern Gateway project, with Casey landing the role of main contractor, starting work in February 2022.
The station clocks up around 500,000 users a year. Local MP Marie Rimmer posted on her website that the station will be fully operational from 18 August.
ORR’s authorisation covers the new station building, which replaces the previous building constructed in 2000. It also includes the integrated multistorey car park, which more than doubles parking capacity at the station, as well as a new station forecourt, public realm improvements, passenger information systems, and other upgrades.
ORR authorisation is a critical hurdle to overcome in getting new, upgraded, or renewed infrastructure, such as at Lea Green, ready to open. It confirms that standards on areas like health and safety, accessibility, environmental protection, and reliability and availability have been met.
ORR has worked closely with Network Rail’s safety review panel to support Northern, which operates Lea Green station on behalf of Merseytravel, and the wider project team, through the authorisation process.
Northern shared its final documentation with ORR on 4 August, and ORR worked quickly so the station could be authorised on 7 August.
Steve Fletcher, deputy director, engineering and asset management at ORR, said: “This is an important step for improving rail connectivity on Merseyside, and we look forward to seeing the upgraded infrastructure open to passengers soon.
“We’re pleased to have played our part in getting Lea Green Station ready to open. Our team worked closely with Northern to support them through the authorisation process, just as we do for new trains and infrastructure across the country.”
Delivery has been delayed, with the project requiring various issues arising on previous checks to be addressed.
Marie Rimmer, MP for St Helens South and Whiton, said: “I’m delighted to see the upgrades at Lea Green station finally authorised. Lea Green is a gateway for our community to both Liverpool and Manchester, and these improvements will make a real difference for passengers.
“The new station building and expanded parking will be especially valuable for our more vulnerable constituents, making travel safer, easier, and more accessible. This is very welcome news and a step forward for our local transport infrastructure.”
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