Birkenhead Park station along the Merseyrail‘s Wirral Line now has a brand new lift on the station, which provides a step free route onto the platforms.

The 16 capacity lift had its official opening on the 26th August and was added to the station due to local people who campaigned for it.

The Mahoney family were amongst the locals campaigning as the lack of access meant walking much further to get their son John onto a platform.

They were joined by Cllr Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Portfolio Holder, and Jane English, Deputy Managing Director of Merseyrail, for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The addition of the lift ups the total number of step free stations in Liverpool to 58 out of 83.

The lift was funded from the Department for Transport‘s Access for All scheme and the Liverpool City Region Combines Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund.

Further improvements will bring further accessibility to Hillside, Hunts Cross and St Michael’s stations over the next few months.

Sue Mahoney said:
“This new lift will have a tremendously positive impact. We have been campaigning for this since we fostered John at the age of three – and he’s 30 years old this year.
“We are living right at the back of the station and John loves going to Liverpool to the theatre. We did struggle down the stairs for a few years – but it’s become too much, and we have been walking down to the next station instead.
“Having a station we can use on our doorstep makes such a big difference – not only for us but for all the people who want to access the park. It’s great for everybody.”
Cllr Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Portfolio Holder said:
“Removing barriers to public transport are key in terms of us supporting independent travel. We want a rail network that works for everyone, and the new lift means that more people now have access to the rail network, making a huge difference to their daily lives.
“As this round of upgrades completes over the next few months, we’re working on developing proposals for the next set of stations that would benefit from similar investment as we continue to strive to have the most accessible rail network in the country.”
Andy Heath, Managing Director of Merseyrail, said:
“We are delighted to see the new lift at Birkenhead Park station open. This represents the latest part of our commitment to make Merseyrail the most accessible rail network in the UK.
“We know the benefit a lift at our stations brings to the communities we serve, allowing not just wheelchair users to travel independently, but also those customers who have mobility issue and those travelling with small children or luggage.
“This further improvement is the first of a number of new lifts which will open on our network between now and Christmas, complementing perfectly the roll out of our fully accessible fleet of new trains which will also begin to be rolled out later this year.”