£100m set to be signed off for Liverpool’s Baltic station as construction date nears

Plans for a new £96m train station that will ‘change the face of one of the coolest, most vibrant areas in the country’ could move forward next week.

Members of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will be asked to approve a nearly £100m cash injection for the new Merseyrail station in the Baltic Triangle at meeting on Friday (September 20).

Plans for the redevelopment of the long unused stop at the former St James’ location on the edge of the city centre were announced in 2022 with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram aiming to get passengers on track by 2025. It is now thought the station, which will be located on the northern line, will be opened closer to the end of 2027.

Should the £96m funding package - which would come from the £710 million City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement - be agreed by leaders next week, a formal planning application could be submitted to Liverpool Council next month. Pending approvals from the Department for Transport, construction could begin as soon as next year.

The station, which will be named Liverpool Baltic, will be constructed off Upper Parliament Street and plans include step-free access from street to train, passenger waiting facilities, fully accessible passenger toilets, secured monitored cycle parking and links to an enhanced local active travel network.

Discussing the new station, Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “I’ve always said that a world-class transport network is key to unlocking the full potential of our region – and that’s exactly what we’re building. This new station at Liverpool Baltic is just another step on the journey towards making our Merseyrail system bigger, better, and more accessible for everyone.

“People here are passionate about their communities, and I’m really proud to see the overwhelming support this project has seen, which reflects just how much of a difference it’s going to make. It’s about more than just getting from A to B – it’s about connecting people with jobs, education, and each other while cutting down on car journeys to help us hit our net-zero targets.

“We’re investing nearly £100 million into a station that’s going to change the face of one of the coolest, most vibrant areas in the country – and we’re not stopping there. We’ve got plans for three more stations in Daresbury, Woodchurch, and Carr Mill.”

Mayor Rotheram has pledged that work to develop the three additional stations will be underway by the end of the decade. It will mean that every borough of the city region will have had a brand-new station since he took office in 2017.