Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters need to have Merseyrail connection, whether direct tunnels into the say Liverpool Waters or more likely tram-trains. Tram-trains have been proposed for a number of new lines in Liverpool. Mereytravel have delayed their procurement of rolling stock assessing what sort of trains are needed for the future of the city. Light-rail, as per Docklands, or tram-trains are the ideal rolling stock for Liverpool and Wirral Waters. The stand alone Merseytram cannot be compared to integrated Merseyrail tram-trains.
The cruise business is beginning to take off big time. What it is now and what it can be are very different. Liverpool can offer round the UK cruises, Irish Sea cruises, Scottish Island cruises, cruises to Portugal and Spain - all long and short cruises and some weekend cruises. Of course there will be more in the summer but it can be an all year around business. Offer up the cruises and promote them well and the city provide easy transport access with adjacent stations and the business will expand greatly. Cruising is now filtering down to families and the younger set, they are now not just floating care homes. They could be be a short booking thing in tat someone could say, "let's go on a weekend cruise" the week before departing and via it via the web. Done properly with enough hotels in Liverpool and the essential "direct" transport access and the business will boom in the city. Liverpool will be cruise port of choice for much of the UK.
The stop over cruisers do spend money in the city, with Liverpool being one of the favoured destinations. The last I read the city was short of around 30 hotels.
Few people travel from end to end from Southport to Hunts Cross. The service to the centre would be exactly the same. Getting from the north of the city to the south via tram-train would mean running down the Wapping tunnel to the Dock Road (could be elevated to give a historical link to the LOR) , through to Dingle and down Aigburth road joining up with the old Merseyrail tracks to Hunts Cross.
Services to Blackpool via Merseyrail tracks is going too far. The extreme northern terminal could be Preston. Freight over Merseyrail track is also going too far. Freight and stopper do not mix.
A bus interchange at Townsend Lane would make little impact on a 60,000 football crowd. Only 6 car rail stations with multiple platforms can make an impact on large crowds. Revival of the eastern section of the the Outer Loop can happen if the Bootle Branch is electrified and the port freight traffic increases. Stopping passenger service will have to be taken off the line. The Outer Loop can also easy access a station at airport if one is eventually built. Huge sections of north and east Liverpool will have direct access via the eastern section which currently just a trackbed.
The loss of regional direct connectivity using Exchange will be a large loss. HS2/HS3 needs easy and seamless access from all over the region.
Of course vessels cannot block access to channels or locks, tat f goes without saying. But anchors can be freely dropped knowing that no pipe or cable is on the bed.
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The political climate is pointing to that HS2 and HS3 may come Liverpool. There is also political pressure to expand Merseyrail. It is a matter of "analysis", not fancy, to gain an effective and cheap solution. Merging the HS2/HS3 access with Merseyrail expansion will bring dividends. Treating them separately and the usual cludge will emerge.
Yes Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters will need connecting with public transport to the rest of their local networks. Liverpool Waters being somewhat remote from the city centre could be connected to Edge Hill through the Waterloo Tunnel, but this would mean that City Line trains would no longer serve Lime Street, or potentially Central or Exchange Stations. It's difficult to see how the site could be connected to the rest of the rail network from the city centre end, but it would be possible from Canada Dock by reopening the branch and connecting at Atlantic Junction to the Bootle Branch, a project that Peel I know has been looking at but probably more connected to the movement of freight from the Canada and Huskisson Dock area which is now cut off from the rest of the rail network within the Port. Much of course depends on what is finally built on the site, given that it is a very long term development and for moment my money would be on a bus service. If you look at the developments in the south dock system, apart from Brunswick Station and a few bus stops, there is not a huge amount of public transport, yet the area appears to prosper.
As far as Wirral Waters is concerned, I suspect there may be an opportunity for a combination of separate rail and tram systems serving the site along with the bus, but again with it being such a long term development it's difficult to predict the final outcome. The one thing is certain about both schemes is neither of them appear on the 30 year plan what ever is posted here on these developments is unlikely to happen for many years yet, although one would assume the respective councils will have pencilled in rough plans before approving the developments.
Perhaps at this stage it may be worthwhile we remind ourselves of what the Merseytravel 30 year strategy actually contains which is briefly described on their website as follows.
"
Liverpool City Regions 30-year rail future detailed in new strategy
Published on 27/08/2014
The rail schemes that will support and grow the Liverpool City Region economy over the next 30 years by improving links within it and to cities and towns further afield, have been detailed in a Long Term Rail Strategy.
The document will be put to the Merseytravel Committee next week (4 September) before going to the Combined Authority for approval on 19 September.
A draft blueprint, which outlined the package of 12 rail priorities, was approved by both bodies in May. The full strategy details potential individual schemes within these themes, the rationale behind them and possible timescales.
The transformation HS2 could bring is reflected in the schemes being taken forward as is the importance of developing east west connectivity across the whole of the north, including key programmes already in development such as electrification of the lines between Liverpool and Manchester to reduce journey times.
Said Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel:
"This is real 'big picture' thinking by the Liverpool City Region. Such strategies are not traditionally driven by local bodies. Doing it this way, working with Network Rail, ensures that our transport planning is intrinsically linked to our economic planning.
"There's growing confidence in our City Region economy and a recognition of the key role that we have in the 'northern powerhouse' as a means to rebalance the whole UK economy. But this can only be properly realised by ensuring that we are geared up for a significant increase in passengers and freight over the next 30 years.
"The rail strategy is about co-ordination and building on our successes, most notably the Merseyrail network. It is about ensuring that the rail connections we have within our city region link seamlessly with those beyond, not only to what we would consider the untapped potential of local catchment areas such as North Wales and Skelmersdale but to London and to places like Manchester and across the Pennines to Leeds through better, faster and more frequent connections.
"Delivering on our strategy will make us 'HS2 ready' and it puts us ahead of the game in taking forward east west connectivity across the north. The need for City Regions to develop their own plans to feed into this bigger picture was one of the recommendations of the 'One North' report presented to the Chancellor earlier this month."
The Long Term Rail Strategy, developed by Merseytravel as strategic transport advisor to the Combined Authority, is intended to be regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects changing economic circumstances and funding opportunities over the next 30 years. All individual schemes proposed will demand full feasibility studies and robust business cases to progress.
As a result of all these factors, it is unlikely that all those projects listed will become a reality. Conversely, there may be new schemes proposed during the life of the strategy in response to new demands, for instance, as yet, unplanned regeneration schemes.
The scheme areas proposed to be taken forward are:
Improving National Passenger and Freight Connections
Increasing frequency of Liverpool London services; new direct routes including to Scotland and South Wales; extending platforms at Liverpool South Parkway to take longer trains.
Enabling Growth on the Merseyrail Network
Replacing the stock with higher capacity units with the capability to run on parts of the network where they do not currently; power upgrade to the network; improvements to station accessibility.
Increasing Capacity in Liverpool City Centre
Encouraging more use of James St and Moorfields stations especially at peak times; extending and increasing platforms at Lime Street to accommodate additional services (including high speed trains); creating more platform space at Liverpool Central; investigating the potential for a new city centre station.
Improving Connectivity on the City Line
Improving the level and quality of services in line with the success of Merseyrail. Increasing capacity at Wavertree junction for services between Mossley Hill and Edge Hill; extending Merseyrail services between South Parkway and the Airport, Speke and Runcorn; creating new stations to serve the universities and Smithdown Road corridor.
Facilitating a High Quality Service on the Cheshire Line
Electrification and capacity enhancements allowing for more and faster trains; extending Merseyrail services to Warrington and beyond; new stations at Tarbock Interchange (or Halewood South) and Warrington West.
Connecting via Halton Curve
Restoring direct connections to Wrexham and North Wales from Liverpool and Liverpool Airport; faster journeys and increased frequency to Chester; direct link to Frodsham and Helsby; creating an alternative route between Liverpool and Cardiff via Shrewsbury.
Improving Connections to Chester and Ellesmere Port
Electrification of ChesterCrewe line (Crewe being HS2 hub), North Wales mainline and Chester Warrington line and Ellesmere Port Helsby line; new route between Chester and Leeds via Newton-le-Willows.
Serving New Development on the Southport Wigan and Ormskirk Preston Line
Improving links with new developments in West Lancashire and South Preston. Electrification of the Ormskirk Preston line; reinstatement of Burscough curves between Ormskirk/Preston and Southport directions; interchange station at Burscough Bridge allowing connections between Ormskirk/Liverpool services and Southport/Wigan services.
Connecting to Skelmersdale and New Development in Wigan
Electrification of the line between Kirkby and Wigan; electric spurs between Rainford and Skelmersdale and Upholland and Skelmersdale; new stations at Headbolt Lane (Kirkby) and Skelmersdale; increased services between Kirkby and Manchester Victoria/Rochdale line.
Enhancing the Borderlands Line
Increasing service frequency between Wrexham and Bidston; new station at Deeside industrial Park; full electrification of the line longer term. This would be incorporated into the Merseyrail Wirral line.
Converting Freight Lines to Passenger Usage
Review the findings of the Northern Ports study to better understand the requirements for freight access to Port of Liverpool, but current plans include upgrade of North Mersey and Bootle branchlines to passenger services creating new routes to Ormskirk and Edge Hill; new stations at Anfield, Tuebrook and Edge Lane.
Selected New Stations
Responding to new developments, new markets and areas of latent demand, including stations that do not fit into other packages. Proposed new stations at Carr Mill, Ditton, Maghull North, St James, Vauxhall, Town Meadow. All these would be subject to an evaluation exercise to better understand the potential. This would have to be satisfied before progressing to the statutory development framework (GRIP stages).
To read the Committee report and Long Term Rail Strategy in full, please visit the website
http://moderngov.merseytravel.uk.net/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=1109&x=1 "
http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/abou...ear-rail-future-detailed-in-new-strategy.aspx
Having read this several times I am yet to see any mention of Tram or Tram-Train lines, instead I see reference to electrification and re-openings as well as faster trains, something that a tram-train is unlikely to be.
I'm not disputing the cruise business can grow, and yes it needs promotion and this is already happening as both Fred Olsen and P&O are currently advertising on Bauer commercial radio network across the North of England as an example, including specific mentions to cruising from Liverpool. I'm not sure the number of hotels being required is accurate as despite the recession there has been a mini boom in creating a wide variety of hotels in the city centre over the last few years. Of course we should not forget that the cruise business is only part of the reason why hotels are required in the city, the Liverpool Echo Arena and Bt Confernce facilities generate huge numbers of visitors as do the two major football clubs whose stadiums are due to be extended or rebuilt in the coming years. Add traditional tourist attractions such as the global interest in the Beatles, and of course three Universities
and it becomes apparent that increasing Liverpool's direct connectivity by rail become more important and urgent.
I would not dispute that not many passengers travel the full length of the line from Southport to Hunts Cross, in the same way there are probably very few passengers who travel on the 60, 61, 68 and 81 bus routes which cross the city from north to south but you will find most of these services are full at various times of the day and in various different places. If you curtail all the Northern Line services at Central, every train has to reverse in the same way that Ormskirk and Kirkby line trains have too. This causes delays and limits the capacity of the Central Station which is reaching capacity. If the Edge Hill Spur is constructed the Ormskirk and Kirkby trains could continue on through the spur on to the City Line, assuming of course the new Merseyrail stock is dual voltage which seems to be the likely option. This not only would boost capacity of Central but it would lead to more efficient use of rolling stock as it would no longer be sitting in a station waiting for it's next turn. Instead the train is carrying passengers and thus raising revenue for the operator to the benefit of all concerned. The new travel opportunities would also benefit the Merseyside public as not every passenger wants to travel to and from the outskirts of the city to and from the city centre as you and many others suggest.
My suggestion for a Merseyrail Blackpool service via the Bootle Branch and North Liverpool Line was just in illustration of perhaps what might be possible with a little thought. For example, let's say the fracking industry takes off on the Flyde coast, there could be a need for more services to and from Blackpool. It may be difficult to add additional services to say Manchester, but terminating a Merseyrail service at Blackpool could provide additional capacity between there and Preston where passengers could then reach Manchester or London etc on other services. At the same time the same train would provide the capacity between Preston and Ormskirk and also relieve capacity between there and Liverpool. passengers wishing to travel to Moorfields, Central or beyond could change at Bootle Oriel Road, or stay on the same train to Lime Street via the Bootle Branch providing new travel opportunities in both direction for residents along this section of the route. I'm not necessarily saying the service would be branded as Merseyrail, as it will probably be operated by the new Northern franchise operator, in the same way that Northern already operates service for Merseytravel on the City Line. The same model could also be used for other "Merseyrail extensions" but all are likely to see improvements to the ticketing arrangements to protect revenue.
I doubt there is football ground in the country were 60000 supporters are going to use the train to attend a football match, witness the queue of traffic at the end of M62 at the Rocket and along Queens Drive from Liverpool and Everton home games. A station at Townsend Lane would not only serve the football grounds on match days as it would serve the whole area to the wider benefit of the community for the rest of the week. The Outer Loop does not feature in the strategy plan so it must be assumed that even if Everton relocate to Walton Hall Park any resumption of services along the Outer Loop is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. As for mixing freight with passenger services, I have proposed an alternative route via the Kirkby to Wigan line for freight services which would alleviate the problem. Much is also going to depend on which projects Merseytravel implement first together with the volumes of freight moving through the Port of Liverpool. Please also consider that it's highly likely that at least initially the majority of intermodal trains would operate over night when passengers are either reducing in frequency or have ceased altogether.
The present Prime Minister and Chancellor certainly seem supportive of Liverpool, when last did any Tory PM visit the City so often in recent history? The Power House of the North proposal would seem to suggest the big Northern Cities should be better connected and HS3 would appear to be one of the projects which would be the heart of idea. Connecting Liverpool to HS2 would then be far easier to justify, especially if phase1 was extended to Crewe as Higgins proposed last year. The Northern Councils are also generally supportive of the scheme despite their differences on other policies with the current Government as everybody appears to recognise that investment in infrastructure is becoming increasing necessary to help boost the economic of the whole of the North of England.
