New railway station or tram network put forward to alleviate Anfield roads congestion

The ideas were raised at a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority meeting when discussing the options to combat public transport issues around Anfield and the wider North Liverpool area.

Currently, the nearest station to the 53,000-seater stadium is more than 3km away in Kirkdale.

Committee chair councillor Steve Ranford raised the pollution that the amount of cars travelling to the stadium causes.

He said: “That part of Liverpool doesn’t have a rail system as an alternative and we have a Bootle branch line that could lend itself to adaptation and a train station there.”

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority transport and air quality portfolio holder councillor Liam Robinson added that the authority had committed to a transport feasibility study for the area.

He discussed the capacity issues with the proposed adoption of passenger trains on the nearby Canada Dock Branch line, known as the Bootle Branch line, and mentioned the idea of trams being used instead.

Robinson said: “We’ve widened the remit of the studies we’re doing. We’re looking at other kinds of alternatives, like tram train technology that could use the Bootle branch line and onto street running tracks to get closer to the stadium, that could be an option.”

Plans to reopen the station, in the city's Baltic Triangle district, are going ahead with funding secured from central government.

Mott MacDonald was appointed as lead designer for the station in April, with the project estimated to cost between £80M to £100M. The current plan is for the station to open in 2025, with a planning application to be made in 2023 and construction to start in 2024.

The funding boost comes after early proposals for the design of the station were revealed in February.

Like what you've read? To receive New Civil Engineer's daily and weekly newsletters click here.