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Liverpool Lime Street Remodelling

Overview

Substantial changes at Lime Street station will lengthen and widen some platforms by removing the long-disused loco release roads and also removing platform 1, and will add two new platforms in between the existing 7 and 8.

Re-signalling will see Lime Street, Allerton Junction, Speke Junction, Ditton, and Runcorn boxes all closed, with control transferred to the Manchester ROC at Ashburys.
I understand that the resignalling of the Edge Hill area, previously planned with the others, has been postponed and this will remain an island of local operation when the rest of the work has been completed. The same may also apply to Ditton.

Inevitably, the project will also provide a substantial increase in retail space with four new shop units, including a supermarket, which will be accessed from Lord Nelson Street.

The two new platforms will go in here between 7 and 8 with the removal of the Virgin offices and other buildings.

Schedule

In 2016 plans were announced for the station to close completely on 30 September 2017 for nine days followed by three weeks of extremely limited services. This was later revised and the work ran for three weeks between 30 September and 22 October 2017. Total closure was from 30 September to 8 October, followed by reduced services with trains running only to/from Manchester (via Earlestown) and Wigan/Preston.

A number of further closures were required, at Christmas and Easter, the two bank holiday weekends in May, an eight week operation in June and July 2018, followed by at least one final 1-day closure.

In service for 9 December 2018[Network Rail - September 2018 Enhancements Delivery Plan].

I have the following list of stages in the project. Obviously they are all provisional, especially the later ones.

  • June/July: Major blockades at Lime Street with total closure 02 June to 10 June and 14 July to 29 July. Limited service to/from Huyton and beyond, 11 June to 13 July.
  • When the station re-opens on 30 July it will be without platform 1 (new number), and platform 2 (new number) will have a reduced length.
  • Sunday 02 September: Lime Street closed for one day for resignalling work.
  • Monday 08 October: Platform 1 (new number) will open.
Progress

For the latest progress and pictures see my News Blog.

Summary

Some people have been confused by the platform re-numbering, so here's a summary table:

Old no.   New no.   Work
1-Track to be removed.
21Platform to be lengthened to tunnel face.
32Platform to be lengthened to tunnel face.
43Track has been moved to former location of siding, platform to be widened and lengthened.
54Platform to be lengthened.
65Track has been moved to former location of siding, platform has been widened.
--Track has been removed on the long-closed platform line adjacent to 7 (old number).
76No change.
-7New platform.
-8New platform.
89
910New edging is pretty much complete.