Liverpool Exchange/

[Waterways]

Scouseyuppie, I see where you are coming from. Many points:

• Liverpool Waters will regenerate the back end of Exchange station.
  
  
• By just re-using a tunnel not far off 200 years old the Merseyrail system is transformed giving great flexibility.
  
  
• Lime St can still have more capacity - just by taking the commuter City Line away and underground - where it should be. This gives great knock-on benefits to Mesreyrail services. And great flexibility in getting the City Line and the Canada Dock Branch meshed properly into Merseyrail electric.
  
  
• Lime St can be lengthened for longer trains- OK expensive rock cutting at the back of the station, but not a show stopper.
  
  
• Trains can park at Edge Hill junction acting as a buffer for Lime St - increasing capacity yet gain.

Maglev trains has been mentioned at Government level - running one between John Lennon and Manchester Airports along the ship canal wall. The problem is getting a Maglev terminal into Liverpool. The bottom section of the Queensway road tunnel can be used - as it was originally intended. However, only the underwater section was left big enough for trams/trains. Birkenhead announced it was to drop its tram system, so using the lower section was dropped. Some boring would be needed from vent shafts on each side to get trains under the road section - most the tunnel length is big enough.

Then Maglevs could run up farmland on the Wirral, enter via Bidston, along B'head docks at high level and into the Dock exit of the tunnel and onto an underground station at Lime St - at the end of Queensway.

Then connections to Merseyrail and Lime St main line.

Or abandon Queensway for cars altogether and only use Kingsway tunnel. Greater Merseyrail services should eliminate the need for cars travelling between both sides of the river. Queensway can accommodate Maglev and Merseryrail - two Maglev and two Merseyrail lines can run through that tunnel.

I do appreciate the existing rail tunnel can cope with around 3 to 4 times the existing traffic. However, the usage of the Queensway dock exits can give greater flexibility to Merseyrail accessing districts previously not reached. Using light-rail cars, the Liverpool docks exist can then go elevated, as in London's Docklands. At Birkenhead, Wallasey can be reached on elevated sections running right into Wirral Waters.