Trams could be set to return to the streets of Liverpool after an absence of more than 65 years. Tram train technology has been put forward as a possible solution for transport issues around Anfield and the wider North Liverpool area.
The proposal could help ease matchday transport options for Liverpool FC fans heading to and from the stadium. ease pollution for local residents and alleviate congestion issues around L4. Currently, the nearest train station to the ward and football ground is more than two miles away in Kirkdale.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport and Air Quality portfolio holder, has been looking into the transport options and conceded the addition of a new mainline station ‘wouldn’t be straightforward’.
“We’ve widened the remit of the studies we’re doing,” he told a scrutiny committee this week. “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.”
Liverpool’s old horse-drawn tram system began to be replaced by electric tramcars in 1898 following the Liverpool Corporation’s purchase of the Liverpool United Tramway and Omnibus Company. They ran until 1957, when the last tram, (Car 293 No. 6A), ran from Liverpool’s Pier Head to Bowring Park on 14 September.
Below we take a look back at that almost forgotten age with some incredible photos spanning from the 1900s to post-war Liverpool, when the last tramcar was decommissioned.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport and Air Quality portfolio holder, has been looking into the transport options and conceded the addition of a new mainline station ‘wouldn’t be straightforward’.
5. An electric tram on Lord Street
An electric tram on Lord Street, circa 1900. (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
6. A view down William Brown Street
A tram heads away from William Brown Street, circa 1900. At far right is the Picton Reading Room of Liverpool Central Library, and behind it is the William Brown Library and Museum, which is now World Museum Liverpool. (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
7. An electric tram meets a horse-drawn tram
One of the first electric tramcars proceeds down Lord Street in Liverpool, circa 1902. A hansom cab rank is seen in the centre of the street, and on the right is one of the horse-drawn tramcars. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
8. A tram on a bustling street
A series of trams run through Liverpool’s bustling city centre in 1934. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)