THE CONNECTION between Liverpool and North Wales is of “huge importance” and will be strengthened by continued investment in public transport according to a senior Welsh Government minister. It was revealed last week how plans are being put in place over the next decade to improve rail connections between our city and Wrexham – Wales’ newest.
Among the schemes proposed include the renaming of the Borderlands line to the Wrexham to Liverpool line, which takes in a number of key locations on this side of the border, including Birkenhead and Bidston. There are also hopes of connecting services to a proposed Liverpool to Manchester rail line as put forward by the Metro Mayors in both cities last week.
Now Ken Skates, Welsh Government cabinet secretary for transport and North Wales, has told the LDRS why the links 40 miles away and across the border are so important on both sides. He also explained how technology pioneered in Kirkby could be the answer to faster trains between Wrexham and Liverpool.
He said: “The connection with Liverpool is vital for North East Wales, for the whole of North Wales and in terms of employment, in terms of socialising, in terms of family connections, connection with Liverpool is something that I think all people in North East Wales recognise as being of huge importance. We need to improve that connectivity, so people don’t have to rely on a private car, and the best way to do that is to invest in public transport, rail between Wrexham and Liverpool, and also corresponding complimentary bus services.
“The objective in the next three years is to introduce two trains an hour on that line. We’re also looking at whether we could test demand for services at Deeside industrial estate, but these would be in all like to be heard on conventional trains longer term.”
Immediate changes are being delivered, with a raft of improvements planned for the next twelve months, three years and through to 2035 with the Liverpool City Region seen as a key partner in the development. Work is expected to begin to unlock key pinch points between the two cities to bring about a metro service between both sides.
In January 2023, Merseyrail unveiled its fleet of battery operated trains, beginning in Kirkby. Mr Skates revealed how Transport for Wales could be another adopter of the project to link up with Liverpool and directly into the city centre rather than having to stop at Bidston.
He said: “It’s entirely possible to utilise electrified trains that could operate between Liverpool directly with Wrexham and with electrification you get faster take off, so you can have reduced journey times and that would then in turn, would enable four trains an hour to operate on the line. Technology is emerging to enable that to happen.
“Battery trains, for example, the technology that’s been developed for them could see them have far greater range in a relatively short space of time. So we could be using battery trains to deliver that direct metro type service between Liverpool and Wrexham, or a number of stages we need to get to.
The minister is also joining the Northern Arc board alongside Metro Mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham to connect the proposed Liverpool to Manchester line with North Wales. He explained how the three areas are working together to improve connectivity.
He said: “The conversations we’re having are brilliant. I was with them just last week, where they presented the vision for the Northern Arc in particular, the direct link between Liverpool and Manchester and how that could benefit North Wales as well, particularly in getting to the airport faster.
“We’ve been in discussions about how we all work together to deliver those direct regular services between Wrexham and Liverpool, because we all want to see it happen. Both at a political level, but also between officials within Transport for Wales and Merseytravel, we’re seeing a huge degree of collaboration, which will result in a sustainable solution to the question of how do we deliver four trains an hour on that route direct into Liverpool?”
A huge amount of people travel west to east between Merseyside and North Wales for work and studying opportunities. The minister explained how furthering economic ties would justify the desire to improve the transport offer across the border.
He said: “The big driver is economic growth and dealing with economic inactivity, unemployment, lack of opportunities, poor productivity, and improving public transport is a huge enabler through all of those to be addressed. It’s all about making sure that we can maximise economic opportunities between Wrexham and Liverpool, and indeed beyond as well.
“It’s about the whole of the region and the northern arc can go all the way from Holyhead to Hull. In this specific area, a huge number of people currently drive to and from the Wirral, to and from Wrexham and Deeside, from either side of the border, and a huge proportion of people would use public transport if it was more frequent, more affordable or better integrated with better bus and train services.
“It’s all about driving that economic growth and when the reality is we’ve got a functional economic area that is east west, we need to make sure that we design the public network to serve it. As I said last week at the presentation, we’re all Northerners, so we’re all going to be working together to get the outcomes for the entire Northern Arc.”
