Pictures show £15m Lea Green railway station development taking shape

The Star reported this week how pictures showed the new station taking shape.

A key part of the new station involves the previously oversubscribed car park being replaced with a modern decked car park.

This is set to increase park and ride capacity to around 450 vehicles, enabling it to become a key commuter station for people who work in neighbouring cities.

Significant upgrades include a new station building at Lea Green with waiting room, toilets and other customer facilities.

As the pictures show, the development is progressing, although it is behind schedule, with previous announcements suggesting public transport bosses were aiming for a completion date of summer 2023.

In a joint statement issued to the Star, St Helens Borough Council, Liverpool City Region and Northern said the delays were due to wet weather over the summer back which had put back brickwork.

But they are optimistic construction will be concluded by the end of December.

The statement read: “Despite some unavoidable delays - largely down to wet weather over the summer affecting the brickwork schedule – positive progress continues to be made on the new Lea Green Railway Station.

“Key milestones to date include the completion of the decked car park's main structure, glazing and cladding works, lift installation and facing brickwork, which are now substantially progressed."

Once construction is completed, the new look station will still need sign-off from transport authorities before passengers can use it.

The statement added; “Construction work is expected to be completed for Christmas 2023 – however, before the new station can fully opened to the public, regulatory sign-off will be required by the Office for Road & Rail and Network Rail to ensure the completed project complies with national standards, which means it will be the new year before the facility is fully able to open for passenger use.

“Services continue to call at Lea Green Station as normal while work is ongoing.

“Once completed, Lea Green Railway Station will be one of the most modern of its kind in borough and the wider City Region, forming a key part of the St Helens Southern Gateway scheme with the aim of encouraging the use of public and active transport to support net zero ambitions.”

Speaking last year when the project started, Cllr Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, set out his hopes for the station.

He said: “With services calling at a number of key cities, Lea Green is without question one of St Helens’ busiest railway stations, highlighted by how oversubscribed the car park currently is, so it deserves first-class facilities to match which will improve customer experience tenfold.

A CGI of the station (Image: Merseytravel)

“The Liverpool City Region has big plans for public transport and active travel across Merseyside which St Helens will play a key part in – with this investment improving facilities in and around Lea Green for rail users, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.”