Knowsley Council has given an update on the new £80m Headbolt Lane station following complaints that residents were being kept up all night due to noise from construction work.
The ECHO previously reported that neighbours were living with a "nightmare" as work on the new station in Kirkby was being carried out through the night, leaving children "going to school tired" and people being "exhausted" for work. One woman even reported being forced to take some time off work due to not getting any sleep.
Residents were told the upgrades needed to be carried out during the night to avoid disrupting passenger journeys and for safety reasons. But plans have now been put in place to "keep noise to a minimum."
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Work previously began on the construction of a new station at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby as part of Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram's plan to deliver a London-style transport system for the city region. It is expected to open to the public in 2023. The new station will extend the Merseyrail network, which currently terminates at Kirkby, to a new location off Headbolt Lane.
Knowsley Council has since confirmed that currently, Network Rail is on site widening the embankment to accommodate the new platforms and additional railway track. This work must be undertaken at night when the trains are not running to ensure the safety of workers who will be in close proximity to the live railway line.
Network Rail has written to local residents to confirm that it will increase the number of people and machines working on each shift to reduce the number of noisy nightshifts required for the embankment widening work. The work, which was originally scheduled to be completed by Friday, July 22, is now expected to be completed by Monday, July 4.
Contractors working on-site have been reminded to keep noise to a minimum and noise mitigations are also being implemented to the vehicles on site which will reduce the beeping sound as they move around.
The new station is scheduled to be completed in summer 2023. Northern Rail services from Manchester and Wigan will operate to and from the new three-platform station, which is also designed to support any future plans to build a new rail link to Skelmersdale.
Over the last three months work for the completion has included:
- Completing the majority of earthwork for the car park and station building
- Completing the majority of embankment widening work
- Commencing the construction of the car park
- Commencing drainage work
- The installation of new electrical cables along Headbolt Lane that will power a new sub station
- Station platform foundation work has commenced.
For any enquiries about the ongoing work contact Network Rail’s 24-hour National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41.
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