A councillor said he is shocked and angry after train services will be partially brought back to one station in Wirral but not another.
In August 2022, train services were reduced at Green Lane and Bromborough Rake train stations in order to reduce delays and improve services along the rest of the line.
The change was temporary until Merseyrail finishes rolling out its new trains but this will be partially reversed at Bromborough Rake on March 13 after a long campaign by Labour and Green councillors. No date has been confirmed for the new trains on the Wirral.
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Officials said the reason behind the change at Bromborough Rake was because of the train station’s step free access and improvements in the service since August with services at Green Lane being reviewed.
However Wirral’s Green Party Leader Cllr Pat Cleary called it a “nakedly political decision ahead of the local elections” given Labour and the Greens are campaigning heavily in Bromborough.
He added: “I am shocked that Green Lane has been excluded from this decision. I want to understand the rationale behind it.
“Green Lane serves a deprived community in a ward that has the lowest car ownership in the borough and what we have is a Labour run city region absolutely abandoning the poorest people in the Wirral and the most transport dependent community on the Wirral.
“I think it is shocking though obviously good for Bromborough. None of these cuts should have been approved.”
Labour have hit back, pointing to a campaign since August by Cllr Sue Percy for a review of the services who argued it was “too long for residents to wait” for the new trains at both locations.
Labour Council leader Janette Williamson said: “At no point has Cllr Cleary approached me to ask for help on resuming services at Green Lane - something which I might have expected in his role as ward councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere, nor has he been to the Combined Authority meetings I have attended on the issue, or to my knowledge asked for a written question to be raised.
“I can only assume that he has been caught napping and is claiming to be ’shocked’ that services will resume at Bromborough Rake station.”
Cllr Williamson said Bromborough was the first train station because of the step free access for people with disabilities or using prams. She said she will continue to push for a review of Green Lane.
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “The grandstanding from Cllr Cleary is particularly perplexing as he has made no efforts to contact me in the six months about the changes Merseyrail made. Far from his frankly ludicrous claim of “abandoning” the poorest people on the Wirral - I am, instead, working alongside our local councils to fundamentally reform public transport to ensure it works in the best interests of those who rely upon it.”
He argued Labour had delivered on making transport more accessible from investing in new trains to £2 bus fares, as well as money into walking and cycling routes, adding: “That’s hardly something that could even remotely be described as abandonment.”
Mr Rotheram added: “All these measures are designed to attract more people onto public transport and build a London-style integrated transport system that gets people out of their cars, which is something you might think would receive some recognition from the Greens. Instead they are only interested in cheap party political stunts and are not representing the people who they are elected to serve.
“We instead will continue to deliver for the people of Wirral.”
Mr Rotheram said he had been in regular dialogue with Merseyrail and local councillors to understand the impact of the reduced services and that constructive dialogue with the train operator allowed services to be partially reinstated at Bromborough while keeping Green Lane under review.
Cllr Cleary in response to the criticism said he, and Green councillors Chris Cook and others, had raised the issues through the proper channels, including at Liverpool City Region transport committee meetings during the campaign for both stations.
A Combined Authority Spokesperson said: “The original changes on the Chester line were introduced by Merseyrail last year to help manage performance on the network and to ensure a reliable service for all passengers.
“While ultimately the introduction of the new trains will result in a full return to regular service, we have kept these current arrangements under review working closely with Merseyrail and taking on board comments from local people.
“Since the changes were put in place, there has been some improvement in performance which has presented an opportunity to make some incremental changes to services initially at Bromborough Rake, taking into account the accessibility benefits at the station.
“Once the impact of this has been assessed we will continue to review arrangements both at Bromborough Rake and Green Lane stations with a view to considering further improvements should circumstances allow.
“We are committed to seeing a full return to services as soon as possible and we appreciate passengers’ patience at this time.”
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