Mott MacDonald, Owen Ellis to design Liverpool Baltic train station
The new train station, on the site of the former St James Station, is scheduled to open in 2025.
Liverpool Baltic would connect commuters to the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network. Acting as a stop between Liverpool Central and Brunswick Station, it would also offer toilet facilities, a cycle hub, and step-free access to the platforms.
Funding is still needed for the construction stage of the project, with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority seeking £55m from the government to deliver the £66m. The land for the station has already been purchased. Network Rail, Merseyrail and Liverpool City Council are all backing the scheme alongside the combined authority.
Mott MacDonald was appointed to the project under Network Rail’s Design Services Framework. Mott MacDonald is charged with creating the outline design of the station and managing the single option development.
The company confirmed it would be working with Liverpool-based Owen Ellis Architects on the design for the station. Mott MacDonald estimates this stage of the project will take a year to complete.
“There is a real local need for Liverpool Baltic,” said David Thomson, rail stations associate at Mott MacDonald.
“Not only in providing greater access to the Baltic Triangle but also in providing the people of Toxteth and surrounding areas with sustainable and affordable transport options to the wider city region,” he continued. “This will open up job opportunities for residents by allowing quicker and easier access into city regions, and further revitalise the area, delivering positive social outcomes.”
Liverpool Baltic earned its name thanks to a public opinion poll, which saw it earn nearly 78% of the vote over fellow name contenders Liverpool Parliament Street and Liverpool Riverside.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the name was a good choice for the station.
“The Baltic Triangle has undergone a true renaissance over the last few years, transforming itself from a forgotten industrial area into a vibrant, creative and thriving place to live, work and socialise,” he said. “The station’s name is a testament to that success – and will unlock a host of new opportunities for the people and businesses based there, boost footfall, and improve connectivity to the rest of the city region.
The original station on the site opened in 1874 and closed in 1917. Rotheram made reopening the station one of his manifesto pledges.
“This delivery of this project – alongside another new station at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby – is another manifesto commitment delivered,” Rotheram said. “It marks the first steps towards Merseyrail for All, my vision for the expansion of the local rail network. It’s a massive part of my ambition to give our city region what London has had for years – a public transport system that is better-connected, more affordable, more reliable, and easier to use.”
We now need to explore how to extend the Northern Line to the Central Docks area in a similar way London expanded the Docklands Light Railway into Limehouse Docks and beyond.
By David David
Years talking about it , and now another year at least to design and get on site, just for one station, that`s the UK for you, but it needs to happen.
As regards the name Liverpool Baltic, why, as it`s a local station but not exactly Berlin-Spandau, just Baltic-Parliament Street would have done, but the 3 choices gave little room for imagination.
By Anonymous
I’m no QS, but £156M to build one station on top of an already fully working/operational railway line? Am I missing something here?!?!
By Old Hall Street
Single storey?
A missed opportunity for mixed use above… ie James St, Moorfields etc
By LEighteen
Now they will talk about this till 2035 lol and plans will fall
By Anonymous
Why isn’t office space being incorporated within this design to attract future business ?
Again LCC go for the most cheapest option that will take a further 25 years to build
By Anonymous
Even after all this ,if a small group of local ,noisy protesters emerge who don`t want the station it could get refused at planning, amazing isn`t it, just recently the new station at Kirkby had to get planning permission locally, which was passed, but potentially it could have been refused and thus an important link to developing a future line to Skelmersdale would have been “de-railed”, typical Britain.
By Anonymous
This Is really good that Merseyrail are building and expanding the network so people can have easier access to the City Region.
I have been travelling on the merseyrail trains since i was a few weeks old and that was 15 years ago and my love for the yellow trains are growing even more.
thank you merseyrail for giving us all a good travel.
By Leon Cullen