A MAJOR £10m scheme to open up the booming Port of Liverpool to extra freight trains could be at risk from the same government red tape that killed off Merseytram. more
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A MAJOR £10m scheme to open up the booming Port of Liverpool to extra freight trains could be at risk from the same government red tape that killed off Merseytram. more
The proposed rail link, linking Liverpool Docks directly to the west coast mainline has been given the go-ahead. This is great news for Liverpool's economy.
Sound, what will the route be?
I really don't know. I was trying to think about it earlier, but I couldn't think of any obvious route. Anyone else know?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kev
The trains from the docks had to reverse at Edge Hill to get onto the main lines. They had to lay 500 metres of track to make the link seamless. That may be it.Quote:
Originally Posted by AK1
Yes, 500 metres of track put the container terminal at a disadvantage.
I was right...Quote:
Originally Posted by Waterways
Go-ahead for £7.6m rail freight scheme
A CRUCIAL £7.6m scheme to build a direct rail link between Liverpool Docks and the main West Coast line has been given the green light by the area’s travel executive, Merseytravel.
It will enable thousands of tonnes of cargo and freight to be moved directly from the dockside to the country’s rail network, in what is one of the biggest local transport schemes since the creation of the Merseyrail network.
The scheme, which is being developed in partnership with Network Rail, Mersey Docks and Harbour Company and Northern Way, would mean more freight could be moved in and out of the docks quickly, and ease congestion on the roads leading into the docks.
The increasing levels of trans-Atlantic freight being shipped from Seaforth means hundreds of heavy container transporters crowding the road network towards Switch Island every day.
Merseytravel is to spend £240,000 on detailed design work on the scheme, which includes re-opening a disused stretch of railway line known as the Olive Mount Chord.
The leg of railway will link the line to Bootle with the London-Manchester lines.
Olive Mount Chord is only about a quarter of a mile long, but has been closed for the past 20 years.
Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel, said last night: “This scheme will bring tremendous economic and environmental benefits to both Liverpool Docks and the region.
“It will create a fast route into the port, allowing it to expand and create more employment, and it will ease both congestion and pollution by transferring vast amounts of container cargo from road to rail.”
Once the detailed design work is complete, work is expected to begin in August next year with overall completion in December 2008.
A spokesman for MDHC said last night: “We have been pressing for some time for this development. We encourage the freight industry to move as much of their goods as possible by rail, and this will enable us to increase the volume of rail freight.
“Currently, there are about 15 trains a day out of the port using an existing link to Edge Hill, but that is nearing capacity.”
The Port of Liverpool has one of the region’s biggest railway hub systems, with five railheads serving different parts of the dock system.
The existing link means that freight trains have to engage in shunting operations at Edge Hill to access the main routes to London and the South as well as Manchester and beyond to the East.
The re-opening of the Olive Mount Chord will give direct access to the main West Coast Line, as well as the Trans-Pennine routes at Edge Hill.
The MDHC is also seeking to build a new riverside terminal at Seaforth to accommodate the world’s largest container vessels, which are too big to enter the Seaforth dock system. That development would dramatically increase the potential for rail traffic.
Go on, some one show us using a map please
About time they did that... don't know why they ever pulled it up. Does seem stupid the diesels running round the trains at Edge Hill. Still, if they're coming in on the Mossley Hill / Allerton line then they'd have no choice anyway...
Many things were done to kill Liverpool. Reduce or eliminate its competitiveness is one way. The Thatcher government wanted to kill the city Geoffrey Howe's paper " Managing The Decline of Liverpool as a major Metropolitan area". This prompted Hatton and all to act - who were castigated as ruining the city.Quote:
Originally Posted by snappel
For 40 years the world's two largest liners had Liverpool on their sterns. Not once did the Queen Mary or Elizabeth sail up the Mersey because a government contract said they must use southern ports. Liverpool's Martins Bank was "merged with Barclays and immediately stripped of its identity and all moved to London.
The recent Brunswick Quay Tower is another example were Westminster put in the dig. The London based media in the 1980s and 90s character assassinated the city to deter investment.
You could write a whole book on these little chinks into the Liverpool mountain to bring it down.
I think this is great news I'm very pleased with this,in the vioce of the Echo section yesterday it said "there will be no excuse for freight carriers to use the roads when there is a viable underground option available to them",Is it an underground or more shoddy journalism from the Echo?
There is a load of very short tunnels and bridges around there. That is about all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul D
Thanks John that's what I thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by Waterways
The Olive Mount Curve is I think it. 1905 map. This section was taken up 20 years ago. Why, I don't know. The trains from the outer link came in from Seaforth on the left hand line at top of picture. This meant the trains had to reverse and shunt about to get onto the main line. Now Olive Mount is back up, it seamlessly takes trains onto the main line and out to the left via the Olive Mount Tunnel.
http://www.toxteth.net/maps/liverpoo...apbw_21x10.gif
Thanks John this bodes well for the new terminal at Seaforth they're hoping to build then.
Currently they can only have about 10 trains a day serving a port like Liverpool, which had the most comprehensive train network in the world. Currently trains had to wait for a quite time to get on the main lines. This means they can double trains at least. They have to work at night when the passenger trains are off the main tracks, so the time window is short. The throughput must be maximised through the junction.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul D
The place hardly coped with current traffic, never mind when post Panamaxes come.
I see Felixstowe is increasing rail throughput to cope with post Panamaxes.
I hope it's a case of when because the South are trying to take that market away from us.:disgust:Quote:
The place hardly coped with current traffic, never mind when post Panamaxes come.
The local transport plan says:
New Stations
B10 Maghull North
B11 Town Meadow
B12 Car Mill
B13 Vauxhall (Stanley Dock)
B14 Parliament Street (Chinatown)
B15 Otterspool
B16 Skelmersdale
B17 Woodchurch
B18 Deeside Industrial Park
B19 Beechwood
B20 Wavertree
B21 Greenbank Park (Penny Lane)
B22 Ditton
B23 Chapelford (for Omega)
So a new station at Penny Lane (not on the junction though). Wavertee, maybe Welington Rd. Parliament St (the station is there) and one at Stanley Dock.
We are waiting for stations at the ends of the Waterloo and Wapping Tunnels - and few staion cut into these tunnels too.
A NEW £7.6m scheme to open up the booming Port of Liverpool to extra freight trains was given a big boost yesterday when the Government said it had "strong potential". more
Great news!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kev
Port rail link plans submitted
The rail link would take freight off the roads, supporters claim
A £7.6m plan to reopen a rail link between the Port of Liverpool and the West Coast Mainline is a step closer, according to travel chiefs.
The stretch of line known as the Olive Mount Chord links the route to Bootle with the London to Manchester line.
Although out of use for 20 years, Merseytravel believes the line could boost freight traffic to the port and reduce congestion on the roads.
A planning application has been submitted to Liverpool City Council.
The company which runs the region's public transport came up with the plans in partnership with Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, Network Rail and Northern Way.
Councillor Mark Dowd, member for Bootle and Chair of Merseytravel, said: "Improved rail access to the Port of Liverpool is a high priority for us, but it will also bring direct benefits to people living in Bootle and around the docks.
"The cargo trucks may bring massive economic benefits to hauliers and others, but to the people of Bootle and along the dock route they can bring misery."
A display of the scheme is on show at Wavertree Library until the end of July.
If approved, Merseytravel hopes to begin work later in 2007 with completion expected by the end of 2008.
This is great news! It makes you wonder why these old lines where closed in the first place.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul D
Try this map ref:
http://www.multimap.com/maps/#t=l&map=53.40653,-2.9227|17|4&loc=GB:53.40371:-2.8706:14|wavertree|Wavertree,%20Hyton,%20L16%202
(near Wavertree Technology Park Station, chord runs under Rathbone Rd, just South of Edge Lane. Certainly route looks pretty intact. Was it a daft decision to close it in the first place? Can be replaced with new track now, and cost of maintenance in the interim avoided. Old track probably in use at some preserved railway somewhere in the country.)
this picture reference suggests some slightly different location, but I think it's wrong...
http://www.bevanprice.freeuk.com/livpool.htm
My only note of caution is to make sure that alternative diversionary routes also exist. A fine way to get shippers annoyed is to attract a lot of freight on to rail, and then for complete chaos to ensue if/when there's some sort of blockage. DIVERSIONARY ROUTES are vital in these schemes. Let's find out what's proposed. (Much is made of the Felixstowe-Nuneaton scheme round where I live. It's currently CLOSED following the derailment of a freight train south of Ely on a river bridge, and may be closed for several months. How's that for service? Hopeless. Where's the diversionary route?
Stephen, Cambridge
I posted a LIVERPOOL & DISTRICT 1928 MAP a few weeks ago on Liverpool Past. This shows many of the railway lines and stations that were about in Liverpool at the time if you are interested in looking.
regards
Rob
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul D
Port rail link plans submitted
The rail link would take freight off the roads, supporters claim
A £7.6m plan to reopen a rail link between the Port of Liverpool and the West Coast Mainline is a step closer, according to travel chiefs.
The stretch of line known as the Olive Mount Chord links the route to Bootle with the London to Manchester line.
Although out of use for 20 years, Merseytravel believes the line could boost freight traffic to the port and reduce congestion on the roads.
A planning application has been submitted to Liverpool City Council.
The company which runs the region's public transport came up with the plans in partnership with Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, Network Rail and Northern Way.
Councillor Mark Dowd, member for Bootle and Chair of Merseytravel, said: "Improved rail access to the Port of Liverpool is a high priority for us, but it will also bring direct benefits to people living in Bootle and around the docks.
"The cargo trucks may bring massive economic benefits to hauliers and others, but to the people of Bootle and along the dock route they can bring misery."
A display of the scheme is on show at Wavertree Library until the end of July.
If approved, Merseytravel hopes to begin work later in 2007 with completion expected by the end of 2008.
:rolleyes:I think the journalist means the Liverpool to Manchester (Victoria) railway (not forgetting Wigan, Preston & Blackpool etc).
The London to Manchester railway is the other side of the M6.
What's going on in the local media? Presumably pieces are proof read? I know I'm over reacting but it's in response to a pattern of lazy inaccuracies that I have noticed in the local papers.
I blame it all on Maggie Thatcher, that well remembered school "Milk Snatcher". Clearly the lack of vitamins and calcium in these young journalists diet seriously affected their cognitive abilities !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jericho
Green light for revived rail link to Mersey docks
Oct 30 2007 Rob Merrick Liverpool Daily Post
Seaforth Docks will be linked to the rail network by reopening the Olive Mount Chord
A VITAL £7.6m project to provide a direct rail link between Liverpool docks and the UK’s main rail network is to go-ahead.
The Department for Transport (DfT) yesterday announced a £1.7m grant to help restore the track at Olive Mount Chord and enhance the gauge on two key rail routes.
The money plugs the missing link in a complicated funding package also involving Merseytravel, port owner Peel Holdings, Network Rail and the regional development agency.
And it means Merseytravel can press ahead with plans to begin work later this year and complete the scheme by the end of 2008.
The project is crucial to prevent freight trains having to reverse across passenger lines at Edge Hill to enter or leave the docks, a procedure that takes 40 minutes.
Bringing Olive Mount Chord back into use will raise the strict 21-a-day limit on trains in and out of Seaforth, a limit the port is within about one year of hitting.
At the moment, rail traffic from the Port of Liverpool heads along the Seaforth dock line to Edge Hill, where trains have to head back towards Liverpool and into a siding before reversing back onto the main line.
By restoring the Olive Mount Chord close to Wavertree Technology Park station, trains will reach the main line directly.
Cllr Mark Dowd, Merseytravel’s chairman, said: “This is excellent news, which will enable us to invest in gauge enhancements on in all routes into the docks.
“The ports are key economic engines for Merseyside and Olive Mount Chord will be a vital artery to the ports.
“It will allow us to shift huge amounts of freight from road to rail, while supporting the continued economic success of the sub- region.”
Last night, the DfT announced that Rosie Winterton, a transport minister, will see for herself the need for the scheme when she visits the Port of Liverpool today. (Tues)
Ms Winterton said: “This funding underlines the Government’s commitment to improving the rail freight network across the country, as well as supporting the growth of the Port of Liverpool.
“Importantly, passenger services will also benefit as these infrastructure improvements are expected to improve reliability.”
Olive Mount Chord, which is just 300 metres long, was closed in the 1970s, when the Port of Liverpool – and rail travel – were both in sharp decline.
Last year, the Daily Post revealed that Network Rail, Merseytravel and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) were all increasingly alarmed by delays.
The Port of Liverpool package has been put together by Network Rail (£3.82m) the regional development agencies (£3.6m), Merseytravel (£2m) and Peel Holdings (£0.75m)
The DfT’s £1.7m grant is a small slice of £132m for rail improvements into ports announced by the department yesterday.
Much bigger grants will go to Felixstowe, in Suffolk, (£80m), Southampton (£43m) and the Humber (£8m)
In total, the schemes will take around 300,000 lorry journeys off British roads every year, the DfT said.
The green light has been given for work on a new multi-million pound
Freight link between the Port of Liverpool and the West Coast Main Line.
Merseytravel's Olive Mount Chord project involves reopening a disused stretch
of railway, linking Bootle with London and Manchester.
The line, about a quarter of a mile long, has been closed for 20 years.
BBC News Read More
‘Vital’ rail link could help ease road congestion
Jan 21 2008
by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post
WORK is to start on a “vital” new rail freight link between the Port of Liverpool and the West Coast Main Line.
The £7.9m Olive Mount Chord project will bring back into use a stretch of track which has been closed for 20 years.
The scheme, expected to start within weeks and finish before the end of the year, is key to moving freight in and out of the docks more quickly and easing road congestion.
It is hoped it will also unlock investment in the port.
The work involves a disused quarter-mile stretch linking Bootle with London and Manchester.
Merseytravel has approved its £2.1m contribution to the project, which is supported by Network Rail, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Merseyside’s district councils and the European Regional Development Fund.
It will remove the need for freight trains to reverse at Edge Hill, slashing rail times by cutting the need to cross lines into and out of Lime Street.
Cllr Mark Dowd, chairman of Merseytravel, said the scheme could help reduce the number of lorries passing through Bootle from the motorway via Switch Island.
Source: Liverpool Daily Post
switch island could be made easier with a big flyover and re-engineering of the lights system, however what are the real links direct to liverpool / london ,? flight direct is still not the best, this train route seems to be a bit of an answer and the rest is road / also i don't know what percentage needs to go to london, exports can go direct to certain european / british cities via flight / rail , are we sitting in a cul de sac ,
Is this still going ahead? Has there been any confirmation of the stations being built?
The Chord will be re-opened...thats for definite from what I can gather in Merseytravel. As for stations; I think the only one they have on the cards at the moment is one for LFC, but to make the whole project pay, more will be built no doubt.Quote:
Originally Posted by TDK
May 7 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post
A GIANT crane got into action as part of a £7.6m project to create a fast route into the Port of Liverpool.
The 13-metre Kirow crane, one of only five in the UK with a huge lifting capacity of up to 1,200 tonnes, laid the new tracks as part of the Olive Mount Chord project – a key freight link between the Port of Liverpool and the West Coast Main Line.
The scheme involves reopening a disused stretch of railway line, linking the Bootle line with the line to London and Manchester.
The line, about a quarter of a mile long, has been closed for 20 years.
Cllr Mark Dowd, chairman of Merseytravel and a former train driver himself, said: “This is a key phase of the works. The sheer size and scale of this crane has enabled us to progress these track works quickly.
“It will bring direct benefits to people living in Bootle and the dock route. We need to find ways to cut down the number of heavy vehicles passing through the town from the motorway junction at Switch Island and this scheme could help us achieve that.”
Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel, said: “Improving rail access to the Port of Liverpool will bring tremendous economic and environmental benefits to both Liverpool docks and Merseyside.
“It will create a fast route into the Port, allowing it to expand and create more employment and it will ease both congestion and pollution through the ability to transfer increased amounts of container cargo from road to rail.”
Merseytravel is contributing £5.6m to the project, which is also being supported by Network Rail, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, district councils and the European Regional Development Fund.
The contribution is one of Merseytravel’s largest during 2008.
It will help move freight in and out of the docks more quickly and ease road congestion, and will also remove the need for freight trains to reverse at Edge Hill, slashing rail times by cutting the need to cross lines into and out of Lime Street at Edge Hill.
It is hoped work could be completed by the end of this year.
My mate once looked at a house in Church road on the main road route out of Seaforth docks. It had subsidence according to the surveyor caused possibly due to the sheer weight in numbers of artics using the route to switch island. Soundproofing boards were put up on part of the stretch too.
The construction of a new freight link between the Port of Liverpool and the West Coast Main Line is under way with the laying of the tracks.
more
A PIONEERING machine, used only a handful of times in the UK, has helped lay tracks in a key rail project to create a fast route into the Port of Liverpool. Read
I have to say I'm astonished by earlier short sighted policies to remove easy rail access to ports such as Liverpool and Garston. Let's hope the reinstated link will take some of the heavy port traffic off the roads.
Perhaps also re-instate the Bridgewater canal barge usage to carry wheat from the Liverpool docks to Kellogg's Cornflake factory in Trafford Park, Manchester. These days it goes by large tanker lorries.
Dec 16 2008 by Marc Waddington, Liverpool Echo
A MAJOR new rail link to Liverpool?s ports is on track to be completed in the new year.
The ?7.8m scheme will include the reopening of the Olive Mount tunnel after 20 years, and the completion of a 750-metre stretch of freight link track.
It will mean the main line east of Wavertree Technology Park station will be linked to Seaforth Docks and give better access to the West Coast mainline.
It is hoped that as well as making access to the ports easier, the Olive Mount Chord scheme will also cut congestion on the roads around the ports and surrounding areas.
Stuart Waldron, chairman of the Merseyside and Halton Freight Quality Partnership, said the rail link, a partnership involving Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, Network Rail, Peel Ports, Mersey Maritime and the NWDA, will provide a much-needed boost.
He added: ?The line is substantially complete. It has taken a number of years, unfortunately, because of the time it takes to bring together such funding packages.
?But we are on track and it should be operational in the new year, and it should attract businesses to the port.?
Agencies behind the scheme are also hopeful it will make the Port of Liverpool more attractive to investors, countering the government?s controversial plans to introduce backdated tax increases for portside businesses.
About 70% of the north west?s freight is handled at Liverpool, but the ports can only be accessed via a line at Edge Lane. The reopened stretch of track will link Bootle to the Liverpool to Manchester line.
Network Rail spokesman Keith Lumley said that rail passengers would also notice the benefits of the scheme.
He added: ?Building the line saves a complicated manoeuvre involving a train having to reverse at Edge Hill to get on and off the line to Seaforth Docks.
?Such a manoeuvre can have a serious impact on passenger train performance to and from Liverpool.?
marcwaddington@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Whose idea was it to rip the track up 20 years ago? Some very stupid things are done. They also tor down the concrete rail flyover at Edge Hill too. If this was still there it would make matters easy for Merseyrail to expand using the Wapping and Waterloo tunnels.
THE costs of building a crucial new road into the Port of Liverpool to relieve congestion could rise to ?200m ? five times the original estimate. Read