CREATING a new railway station for a St Helens community is among the first pre-election pledges made by Labour's city region mayor Mayor Steve Rotheram.
The plan for a station at Carr Mill would be part of the biggest expansion to the local rail network in decades and see the area served by Merseyrail trains.
In the first policy pledge of his campaign for re-election to a third term, Mr Rotehram has announced his intention to build new stations at Daresbury in Halton, Carr Mill in St Helens and Woodchurch on the Wirral, with the aim to have work underway to build all three by the end of the decade.
In December last year, the Star reported how a fresh business case was being drawn up by St Helens Council to create a railway station at Carr Mill.
The area was previously served by a rail station, but its closure in 1917 contributed to Carr Mill "having limited public transport connectivity", says St Helens Council.
Plans for a station in the area have been discussed for decades but have never materialised.
This bold vision for a better-connected region is part of the Mayor’s Merseyrail for All pledge to connect historically underserved communities to the local rail network.
In a statement, Mr Rotheram, the Liverpool City Region’s Labour Mayor said: “Any modern, thriving region is only as good as its public transport.
"Since I’ve been Mayor, I’ve worked around the clock to give our region what Londoners get to enjoy every day: a reliable, accessible, affordable and integrated network that helps, rather than hinders people getting about.
“But I know that in some parts of our region, Liverpool can feel as distant and inaccessible as London.
"I’m working to put that right, bringing local people closer to each other and to the opportunities we’re creating."
All of this will link with the Mayor’s plans to take back control of the region’s bus network to build a truly integrated transport system.
Since he was elected in 2017, Mr Rotheram has been vocal about his ambitions to revolutionise the region’s local rail network with a London-style system that makes it faster, cheaper, cleaner and easier to travel around the region.
He has overseen the investment of more than £100m to build the first new Merseyrail stations in more than 20 years with the addition of Maghull North and Headbolt Lane – with the latter served by the region’s new battery-powered trains that have the potential to extend the Merseyrail network to areas as far away as Manchester, Wrexham and Warrington.
If re-elected, the Mayor has also pledged to complete the new £100m Liverpool Baltic station by 2027, a full year ahead of its current schedule, as well as regenerating Moorfields station and upgrading the entrances.
Other proposals include plans to deliver a seven-day network with increased timetable provision at weekends and evenings by 2028.
The Mayoral election will take place on Thursday, May 2 2024.
In a statement supporting the plans, Cllr David Baines, leader of St Helens Borough Council, said: “Improving public transport in St Helens is a top priority for us all, and bringing Merseyrail here is a key part of our ambitions.
"Carr Mill will be a game changer not just for the Haresfinch and Moss Bank area but wider communities too, connecting our borough to the Merseyrail network and making travel easier for residents.
"It’s an exciting opportunity.”
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