Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has restated the Combined Authority’s commitment to improving the city region’s transport infrastructure as he officially opened new and improved facilities at the Newton-le-Willows station interchange.

The revamped station forms part of the birthplace of modern railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway line, which opened in 1830.

The Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor unveiled a commemorative plaque alongside St Helens North MP Conor McGinn and other representatives from the key partners involved in developing the scheme.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“Transport is a hugely important of our lives, which is why we are working hard to improve links across the city region, whether by investing in our key routes, commissioning a brand-new £460 million project to deliver a fleet of new state-of-the-art trains for the Merseyrail network, or, as in Newton-le-Willows, modernising and improving our stations.

“These facilities will make a huge difference to local people’s travelling experience every day and I’m proud to officially open them to the public.”

The Newton-le-Willows Interchange scheme, a £18.95m investment funded by the Local Growth Fund and Merseytravel, opened to the public in January 2019.

£14.4m of the investment comes from the Local Growth Fund (LGF). LGF funding is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund.

The rail elements of the scheme were delivered by Network Rail with contractor Galliford Try on behalf of Merseytravel. The bus interchange and car park elements were delivered by North Midland Construction.

The scheme has seen a new main station entrance and ticket office established on the south side of the tracks on Alfred Street and other improvements, including:

• Step free access to and between the platforms via new subway and lifts
• Bus interchange adjacent to the new ticket office
• New 400-space car park (expanding from the existing 100 spaces)
• Dedicated drop-off and pick-up area
• Improved passenger waiting facilities
• New toilet facilities
• Additional cycle parking