A new lift has opened at Birkenhead Park railway station on Merseyrail's Wirral line that benefits passengers by providing a step-free route from the street to the platforms.
The lift can accommodate 16 people, and provides easier access to the platforms for wheelchair users, people with mobility needs or heavy luggage, or those with children in buggies.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, local people who had campaigned for the new lift were joined by Cllr Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Portfolio Holder, and Jane English, Deputy Managing Director of Merseyrail.
With the opening of this lift, there are now 63 step-free stations in the Liverpool City Region, which represents two-thirds of the Merseyrail network.
Funding for the lift came from the Department for Transport's Access for All programme and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's Transforming Cities Fund, as part of a wider vision to make the local rail network the most accessible in the country.
Benefitting from the current round of investment are new lifts that will be installed during the next few months at Hillside, Hunts Cross, and St Michael's stations. Next year, new lifts will be installed at Broadgreen on Northern's network, and a second lift at Liverpool Central.
The upgrades are in line with the Metro Mayor's wider vision to create a London-style transport system for Merseyside that is quick, simple, affordable, and accessible to all.
Among those who have long campaigned for a lift at Birkenhead Park is the Mahoney family Because of access issues at Birkenhead Park, they have had to walk further to other stations so that their son John, who is in a wheelchair, can reach the platform.
Sue Mahoney said:
“This new lift will have a tremendously positive impact. We have been campaigning for this since we fostered John at the age of three- and he's 30 years old this year.
“We are living right at the back of the station and John loves going to Liverpool at the theatre. We did struggle down the stairs for a few years – but it's become too much, and we have been walking down to the next station instead.
“Having a station we can use on our doorstep makes such a big difference – not only for us but for all the people who want to access the park. It's great for everybody.”
Cllr Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Portfolio Holder said:
“Removing barriers to public transport are key in terms of us supporting independent travel. We want a rail network that works for everyone, and the new lift means that more people now have access to the rail network, making a huge difference to their daily lives.
“As this round of upgrades completes over the next few months, we're working on developing proposals for the next set of stations that would benefit from similar investment as we continue to strive to have the most accessible rail network in the country.”
Andy Heath, Managing Director of Merseyrail, said:
“We are delighted to see the new lift at Birkenhead Park station open. This represents the latest part of our commitment to make Merseyrail the most accessible rail network in the UK.
“We know the benefit a lift at our stations brings to the communities we serve, allowing not just wheelchair users to travel independently, but also those customers who have mobility issue and those travelling with small children or luggage.
“This further improvement is the first of a number of new lifts which will open network between now and Christmas, complementing perfectly the roll out of our fully accessible fleet of new trains which will also begin to be rolled out later this year.”
