With the installation of new lifts at four Merseyrail stations, 80% of Liverpool city region stations will now offer step-free access to platforms.

The Liverpool City Combined Authority will install the new lifts at Port Sunlight and Rock Ferry on the Chester/Ellesmere Port line, at Walton on the Ormskirk line, and at Aigburth on the Hunt’s Cross line.

The Liverpool City Combined Authority will invest £9.5m in the scheme, with the remaining funding to come via the Network Rail “Access for All” programme.

The mission of the “Access for All” programme is to make travelling more accessible for disabled passengers and passengers facing mobility restraints such as heavy luggage or pushchairs. As many railway stations as possible will have complete step-free access from pavement to platform.

Most of the railway was designed during the Victorian era, but today we understand better the access needs of the wider population, and have the motivation to provide it.

The Mayor has pledged to ensure all local rail stations are fully accessible by 2030, thus making the Liverpool City Region the nation’s most passenger friendly and accessible rail network.

This new investment complements sliding step technology on the region’s new £500m publicly owned class 777 trains.

On this rolling stock, the train has an electrically powered step that moves out when the train stops to form a flush bridge over the gap between the carriage floor and platform.

This is especially helpful for passengers with cycles and prams.

New lift installations have already taken place at Formby, Birkenhead North, Orrell Park, Meols, Birkenhead Park, Hunts Cross, Hillside and St Michael’s, with work currently taking place at Broad Green.

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At its best public transport can be a great leveller, connecting people from all walks of life with jobs, opportunities and each other. Yet, for too long, our local rail network has not been designed around the needs of those who rely on it the most, leaving some of the most vulnerable in our communities cut off from their local stations.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region