UK: Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby opened on October 5, with services operated by Merseyrail and Northern terminating from opposite directions.
Services run by the two operators previously terminated end-on at Kirkby, where the 750 V DC third rail electrification on the Merseyrail network ends. Merseyrail’s Northern Line services have now been extended 1·3 km to the new station using Stadler Class 777 electric multiple-units equipped with batteries.
There is initially an hourly service to Liverpool Central, which will be gradually increased to run every 15 min.
Northern’s diesel multiple-unit services from Manchester and Wigan which previously ran to Kirby now terminate at Headbolt Lane. ‘All investment in the rail industry is welcome and Headbolt Lane is a great addition to the Liverpool city region’s public transport infrastructure’‚ said Northern’s Regional Director Craig Harrop.
A 270 space car park is still under construction at the station and is expected to be completed soon.
The Headbolt Lane project was undertaken by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in partnership with Knowsley Council, Network Rail and the two operators, with funding from the Transforming Cities Fund.
‘We are so pleased to welcome our new customers from the communities around Tower Hill, Northwood and across Knowsley, Rainford and West Lancashire who will use this fantastic new station to access the Merseyrail network for the first time’, said Neil Grabham, Managing Director of the 50:50 joint venture of Serco and Transport UK which operates Merseyrail services under a 25-year concession.
‘It’s also the first time in 29 years that we have extended one of our lines and it’s thanks to the innovative battery technology on the groundbreaking fleet of Class 777 trains being introduced by the Combined Authority’, he said. ‘This truly is a milestone moment, as well as being a starting point for ambitious plans to grow the Merseyrail network over the coming years.’
Battery trains
A Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spokesperson said the use of a number of Stadler Class 777 electric multiple-units fitted with batteries represents ‘a milestone in UK railways – as the first all-electric, battery powered passenger fleet.’
The authority said ’battery-powered trains use up to 80% less energy than their diesel equivalents, and no other battery-powered rail project of this scale and ambition and with the same green credentials has previously existed in the UK.’
A single battery trainset operated between Aberdeen and Ballater in Scotland in the late 1950s and 1960s, and Vivarail developed a battery-diesel hybrid, but Merseyrail service ‘is the UK’s first all-electric, battery-powered passenger fleet’.
