Liverpool’s £100m Baltic Station chugs on
Liverpool City Council will now decide whether to approve the scheme, which would bring rail passengers right to the heart of the city’s creative centre.
Subject to approval, construction of the train station on Merseyrail’s Northern Line could begin next year with opening scheduled for the end of 2027.
Liverpool Baltic is a cornerstone of Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram’s transport vision of “Merseyrail for all” in the city region.
Rotheram said: “I believe good quality public transport is a right, not a privilege.
“Liverpool Baltic isn’t just about improving connectivity – it’s about creating new opportunities, connecting our communities to jobs, education, and each other, and contributing to a healthier, greener Liverpool city region.”
Almost £100m in funding for the station was secured in September from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
The chosen site for the Baltic station utilises the existing rail infrastructure that served the site’s original station, St James station, which closed in 1917.
Designs for the station have been drawn up by Owen Ellis Architects with Mott MacDonald leading.
Rotheram’s transport plan includes a target to make Liverpool City Region net zero by 2035 – a goal which would be more achievable with additional public transport.
Rotheram said: “For decades there were no new stations built on our network, so this is another major milestone in the development of the expansion of rail services in our region.
“Investing almost £100m at the heart of one of the UK’s most vibrant areas will help to make this part of the city more accessible to all while easing congestion and helping us achieve our net-zero targets.”
He added: “Liverpool Baltic is another step in our vision to build a fully integrated London-style transport system.
“We’re extending Merseyrail to more communities with future stations already being planned in Daresbury, Woodchurch, and Carr Mill.”
Other public transport projects in the Liverpool city region pipeline are the upgraded Mersey Ferry, the St Helens interchange development, and regional bus franchising.
The application is yet to be validated by Liverpool City Council.
Good to see this progressing. I think St James station closed earlier than 2017.
By Abots
Hi Abots, thanks for commenting, you are correct the station shut over 100 years ago in 1917, not 2017. The article has been adjusted. Thank you! Charlie
By Charlie Valentine
I believe planning are up in arms about this saying there is no requirement for this station .
They wanted the monies to build social housing on the Warerfront for the real people of Liverpool
By Anonymous
This great news for those who reside in the Baltic and the top end of Park Rd, plus people seeking leisure in the Baltic too. Steve says he wants Merseyrail for All so can we please see a plan to get the Outer Loop reopened with battery powered trains,as we have no Merseyrail in the East and South East of Liverpool.
You’ve just visited NY and Boston, you’ve also been to Hamburg earlier this year,so you must know what a proper urban rail network looks like.
By Anonymous
This is good news , but the positives outweighed by the absence in the budget ( unless I missed it ?) of any commitment to the Liverpool/ Manchester new rail link and the much needed upgrade to Liverpool Central station. Although I note improvements to the Manchester/ Leeds line and Piccadilly going ahead
By George
Good that it’s getting built but £100m though!? Is that really value for money?
By Mike
Is there capacity for this? Won’t the local railway lines now all be very busy with all the fossil fuel-burning container trains the Crosby nimbys have decided will keep the port viable?
By Anonymous
This is great news, and the start of hopefully more new stations and an extension of Merseyrail – the outer loop reinstatement would completely change the city. Its still shocking that London continues to get a much higher spending per head on public transport than the North West, an area which is one of the most densely populated areas of Europe.
By GetItBuilt!
Very good news. Even though it’s only 15 mins from central walking, a good portion of people won’t venture that far especially in colder months so this will increase the footfall and give Baltic that final push it needs.
By Anonymous
Another shiny toy from the Metro Mayor. Meanwhile Central, Moorfields and James Street are a mess. I despair.
By Anonymous
CRSTS funding is primarily for public transport, so delivering a new station in itself isn’t really the question – it is whether that’s the best use of relatively limited funds. £100m for a new station in an area reasonably-well served isn’t giving that “right” to good public transport that Rotheram bleats on about to many people. East Liverpool, meanwhile, is disastrously disconnected unless you have a car.
By Bleater
@Anon 3pm, looking at it another way it’s also convenient for those living in places like Mill St or Windsor St so they catch a direct train to North Liverpool, Crosby, Southport, etc or to Garston etc in the South.
By Anonymous
Great news and the design looks complementary to the character of the area too. This is not just for the Baltic it spreads out into Stanhope Street, Dingle, and even makes the top of Upper Parliament Street and Princes Boulevard more accessible too. It will help the Knowledge Quarter spread southwards. Keep at it Steve!
By Paul Blackburne
Love the idea of the battery operated trains! and learning from other cities. As for spending £100m on Baltic I think Steve needs to take a chunk and focus on and around Lime St, Hotham St the gateways into the city – which are a mess – people coming to the Royal and School of Tropical Medicine and Sciontech – what must they think? Sort London Road out for goodness sake
By Bob Dawson
@Bob 2.54pm, you can’t take money out of a transport budget to smarten up the environment around London Rd and that end of Lime St. This Baltic station will do wonders for the area , it is costly but a fair amount of that is down to the provision of escalator and lift accessibility plus they seem to be using quality materials.
Yes London Rd does need sorting out, and things will improve if more flats are built, thus filling in the grot spots and providing footfall in the shops, bars, cafes, etc.
By Anonymous
£100m on an infill station?? Who is building it? Their union mates??
I hope the service reduction shown in the mockups (one train in every 20 minutes??) And lack of Merseyrail branding merely reflects that’s it’s probably being designed in Manchester…
Stupid name too. But I guess that’s what happens when you don’t take expert led decisions.
By Jeff
What have Labour done for Liverpool ?
By Anonymous