Liverpool is setting up a Station Commission to oversee delivery of a planned new £6bn station in the city centre connecting to HS2 and the Northern Powerhouse Rail network.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, described construction of a new station as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

The Commission will be chaired by Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, CEO of Everton Football Club.

Rotheram said: “Connecting the Liverpool City Region to HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail will both cut journey times and increase capacity, boosting our economy by £15 billion.

“In order to make that connection happen we will need a new station in Liverpool city centre, capable of accommodating HS2 trains, NPR trains and linking in with our local transport infrastructure.  Lime Street will simply not be able to cope.

“Building a new station is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a gateway to the Liverpool City Region that is fit for the 21st century.

“What we envisage is more than just a station and a world-class transport hub, it has the potential to be a destination in its own right, architecturally stunning and featuring leisure and recreation facilities, commercial, retail, high-quality office accommodation, residential facilities and much more.

“But of course bringing this kind of infrastructure project to fruition will be enormously challenging, and that is why I have created this Commission, to take forward the work required.”

Barrett-Baxendale said: “I have no doubt that it will be challenging but with that challenge comes a golden opportunity to create a modern transport hub fit for the city region’s future.”

The Commission will bring together a range of experts from across the worlds of transport, business and the public sector.

Its remit will be to take forward all the key considerations in developing the project such as the size, functions, location and orientation of the station, working with partners on all elements leading towards its development.

A full connection to both Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 will reduce journey times between Liverpool and Manchester to around 23 minutes and Liverpool and London to around 89 minutes.

The current estimate for delivering the scheme and the development, design and construction spend is £6bn over a ten-year build programme.

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “We now need Government to put their money where the mouth is and commit to funding the project, while the Commission takes forward the exciting work of making it happen.”

Source: Construction Enquirer