Green light given for new £80m station

A new station at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby has been backed by planners.Work will begin at the site in January 2022, with the opening of the station planned for spring 2023.The £80m scheme is being delivered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in partnership with Knowsley Council, Network Rail, Merseyrail and Northern. Funding for the project has come from the Transforming Cities Fund.The decision to approve the plans was made at a meeting of Knowsley Council’s planning committee.The new station plans include step free access throughout the station, a bus interchange, cycle parking and links to cycling and walking networks. Passenger waiting facilities and toilets and approximately 300 park and ride spaces are also included.The full scheme includes the extension of the Merseyrail network beyond the existing Kirkby station and will see Merseyrail services run into the new station. Northern services from Wigan and Manchester will also operate to and from the new three-platform station.It will be the first station to benefit from battery technology on the new trains for the Merseyrail network. This will remove the need to extend the third rail beyond the existing Kirkby station.The scheme is also designed to support future plans to build a new rail link to Skelmersdale. The Combined Authority is working closely with Lancashire County Council, West Lancashire Borough Council and Network Rail to support the project.