Brunswick station, Merseyrail.

[eps200]

I was sat in the tunnels between moorfeilds and Liverpool central yet again the other day and it occurred to me could Brunswick offer a cheaper more realistic alternative than rebuilding central?

The current problem is that central is a through station for the southport hunts cross line, but also a terminus for the both kirkby and omskirk lines. This causes conflicts multiple times every week with knock on effects due to central only having two rather overcrowded platforms.

But Brunswick the next station down the line has loads of space, if even one more platform was added to act as the new terminus central would be able to much more effectively use it's two platforms.

It would also add an interchange for those going from the southern part of the northern line to the kirkby and ormskirk branches removing a little bit of overcrowding.

Am i missing something major here?

 

[MarkyT]

I was sat in the tunnels between moorfeilds and Liverpool central yet again the other day and it occurred to me could Brunswick offer a cheaper more realistic alternative than rebuilding central?

The current problem is that central is a through station for the southport hunts cross line, but also a terminus for the both kirkby and omskirk lines. This causes conflicts multiple times every week with knock on effects due to central only having two rather overcrowded platforms.

But Brunswick the next station down the line has loads of space, if even one more platform was added to act as the new terminus central would be able to much more effectively use it's two platforms.

It would also add an interchange for those going from the southern part of the northern line to the kirkby and ormskirk branches removing a little bit of overcrowding.

Am i missing something major here?

The current arrangement seems to work fairly reliably but it is a risk with so many reversals taking place on a through running line, so I suspect if it does go wrong it will do so fairly spectacularly. There is a reversing siding at the south end of the station though, which although seeing some peak use is not generally utilised during the day, so presumably that can be used as a refuge for a cripple if there's a problem.

With only one Merseyrail Northern Line branch to the south compared to three in the north, there's always going to be an imbalance in train numbers, so some will have to terminate somewhere in the centre unless the full frequency was extended all the way out to Hunts Cross. I agree it would definitely be easier to add a newly constructed platform at Brunswick rather than adding a completely new one built underground at Central, but some extra stock would be required to run the extended services there, and the site at Brunswick is not really 'easy' being constrained by cuttings overbridges and nearby buildings etc.

Ideally if there was a second branch somewhere to the south, Kirby and Ormskirk trains could diverge and terminate elsewhere, but we are where we are and there isn't one today. One thing is for certain any increase in frequency of the northern line through Central will force something like this to be done as current operations are at capacity with tight three minute turn-rounds.

 

[Huntscross]

The layout of the platforms here has always struck me as slightly wasteful there's a good 3m of waste ground between the platform and cutting wall. There's also a large empty space that used to hold the gas silos you can see on Google maps. Speaking as a casual observer of course.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

A second southern branch to Liverpool Airport may alleviate the reversing problems at Central.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

A second southern branch to Liverpool Airport may alleviate the reversing problems at Central.

Not meaning to be picky but nothing goes close to Liverpool Airport, Liverpool South Parkway is the nearest to the airport but still at least a 10/15 minute taxi/bus journey away.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Not meaning to be picky but nothing goes close to Liverpool Airport, Liverpool South Parkway is the nearest to the airport but still at least a 10/15 minute taxi/bus journey away.

Not a great distance to build a branch to - maybe also on to the populous Speke estate as well.

 

[Camden]

Don't know about going to liverpool airport, but I am pretty certain I heard that the medium term issues at central station in liverpool being dealt with by a turnback facility at Liverpool South Parkway. That would mean no trains terminating at Liverpool Central station and trains running every five minutes or so between Sandhills and Liverpool South Parkway station.

 

[Y961 XBU]

There is a Dis used Platform at Hunts Cross but theres no Stock to run anything extra

 

[eps200]

Suppose they may do that once the new trains are brought in.

 

[8A Rail]

A second southern branch to Liverpool Airport may alleviate the reversing problems at Central.

Give us more of the "London" money and we will build it = solution solved!

 

[Gareth]

Don't know about going to liverpool airport, but I am pretty certain I heard that the medium term issues at central station in liverpool being dealt with by a turnback facility at Liverpool South Parkway. That would mean no trains terminating at Liverpool Central station and trains running every five minutes or so between Sandhills and Liverpool South Parkway station.

Yes, there is a plan to build a turnback facility at Liverpool South Parkway. I'd be surprised it all three services went south of Central though. More likely two of the three, rather than the current one.

 

[Huntscross]

Could they not extend the Garston docks freight branch right to the river bank then round behind Speke hall to the airport?

 

[Wavertreelad]

Could they not extend the Garston docks freight branch right to the river bank then round behind Speke hall to the airport?

I'm fairly certain this has been has been discussed in the Merseyrail planning new Stations thread

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102146

which you may also find interesting.

I'm assuming by the Garston Docks Freight Branch you are referring to the old
St Helens Canal & Railway Company branch which today forms part of Garston Freightliner Terminal and is only accessible from the WCML at Speke or at LSP heading back towards Lime Street. Prior to the construction of the Garston Byepass the line extended beyond Dock Road joining the present day Mersey Rail track just east of Cressington Station. Further details of the original railway can be found at this site.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/g/garston_dock/

I must admit I too had considered your idea of running the line alongside the River, but decided against it because I suspect if would be quite expensive with all the tunnelling at the Aigburth end under largely residential developments.

In the end I favoured what may be a much easier alternative on the basis that I suspect that when Liverpool2 is completed, Freightliner will find it compelling to vacate their Garston base and migrate to Seaforth which potentially would generate substantial new flows. This would allow the existing Freightliner terminal site to be redeveloped and the old through route to Central restored. This would require a short cut and cover tunnel to be constructed from the entrance of Garston Dock Road underneath Garston Bypass to connect to the Merseyrail route to the east of Cressington Station. Potentially this route would then allow a spur off the line before it joins the WCML at the rear of Speke Retail Park allowing a station to be constructed adjacent or even partly under Speke Boulevard as the line then passed through the eastern end of the old airport site towards a new station serving JLA, and/or Speke. Unfortunately, I suspect any chance of constructing a line to JLA are fairly remote at the moment, but should Freightliner vacate the site then the prospects could increase, and in any event if would them to operate local services from the WCML directly into Central which might become necessary should HS2/HS3 be constructed into Lime Street.