LOCAL leaders are set to approve £9.5m of funding for new lifts at two railway stations as part of Mayor Steve Rotheram’s ambitious target to make the City region’s network step free by 2030.

The package, part of the Inaccessible Stations Programme, will be recommended for approval at the November Combined Authority meeting paving the way for work to start at Aigburth (Liverpool) and Rock Ferry (Wirral) stations in the new year.

Mayor Rotheram has pledged to ensure all local rail stations are fully accessible by 2030, which together with the sliding step technology on the region’s new £500m publicly owned trains which allows level boarding for all passengers, will make the Liverpool City Region home to the country’s most passenger friendly and accessible rail network.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- “For too long, our local rail network has not been designed around the needs of those who rely on it the most, leaving some of the most vulnerable in our communities cut off from their local stations. Since I was elected, we have invested tens of millions of pounds to improve step free access across our train stations, which is why we are now one of the most accessible networks in the country, but I know there is still more work to be done. We have already made great progress with level boarding on our new £500m trains and now we want to make sure all our stations are accessible to all too. This funding will help us continue our journey towards that aim.”

The funding is part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) a pot of £710m set aside for major transport infrastructure projects across the Liverpool City Region.

Matched funding for lifts at 4 stations:- Aigburth and Walton (Liverpool) and Rock Ferry and Port Sunlight (Wirral) - was confirmed by the Department of Transport’s Access for All scheme earlier this year. The plans for Port Sunlight and Walton are currently, at the design phase.

This will bring the number of accessible stations to 66, while the Combined Authority presses ahead with future plans to ensure all 83 stations have step free access from pavement to platform:- Formby, Birkenhead North, Orrell Park, Meols, Birkenhead Park, Hunts Cross, Hillside and St Michael's stations have already had new lifts opened.

The investment is part of the Mayor’s vision to build an integrated London style transport system that is quick, simple, affordable, and accessible to all.

Improving the rail network is happening in parallel to major investments across the wider transport network including the purchase of more than 100 zero emission double decker electric buses, a £32m transport interchange for St Helens Town Centre, £26m for the first new Mersey Ferry in over 60 years and £100m for the new Liverpool Baltic Rail Station.