Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram says it is ‘full steam ahead’ for four new Merseyrail stations but the spiralling cost of building the first – Liverpool Baltic – raises questions about value for money and the timetable. Tony McDonough reports

In summer 2025 Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram boasted of how he had secured £1.6bn from the Government to fund new transport projects.

It is to pay for four new stations, the Glider transport network, new buses and multimodal smart ticketing. However, the latest revelation about the spiralling cost of just one of the new stations, Liverpool Baltic, raises questions about value for money – and the timetable.

On Thursday Mr Rotheram said he was pressing ahead with the construction of four new Merseyrail stations – Liverpool Baltic, Carr Mill in St Helens, Daresbury in Halton and Woodchurch in Wirral.

His manifesto commitment was for work to start on all four stations by 2030 but with no published target for completion. And the Combined Authority’s track record over the Baltic Liverpool station doesn’t inspire confidence.

Liverpool Baltic, which already has planning consent, was originally due to open in 2025 and was predicted to cost around £80m. This soon rose to £100m and and on Thursday the CA admitted the projected cost had now ballooned to £160m.

In January this year it was revealed that because Network Rail is severely constrained by capacity, work on the station would face “significant delays”. Now the CA is saying “subject to the necessary approvals, construction is expected to begin in 2027”.

A less than definite statement that certainly leaves room for further delays and who is to say the cost won’t rise further? It has echoes of the ultimately doomed Merseytram project in the early 2000s where costs spiralled to such an extent Whitehall had no choice but to pull the plug.

On the current cost trajectory the four new stations, which Mr Rotheram believes are essential to expand the Merseyrail network and offer better connectivity to disadvantaged communities, could end up costing the thick end of £1bn.

But at what point are taxpayers justified in asking “does this represent value for money?”. Is there a ceiling in what is an acceptable cost?

That same question may also be asked about another proposed large scheme – the Mersey Tidal Power barrage on the Mersey. £7m has already been spent developing plans for the barrage which is likely to cost at least £6bn and probably more.

Given the current state of the public finances, it feels likely Prime Minister Andy Burnham would baulk at such an outlay regardless of the close relationship he has with Mr Rotheram and his belief in the benefits of English devolution.

Mr Rotheram is also seeking around £2.5bn from Whitehall for another major project – the £5bn redevelopment of Liverpool Central Station and the surrounding streets. Will that price tag also rise?

On Friday, November 6, the six council leaders who make up the Combined Authority will be asked to approve further progress on the four new stations. It is pretty much a certainty they will.

In Halton, work is under way to explore plans for a new station at Daresbury, with feasibility studies and an initial business case commissioned. Findings are expected in early 2027 to help shape the next steps.

At Carr Mill in St Helens, initial plans and designs have been completed, with further development work planned alongside Network Rail, Northern and St Helens Council.

And in Wirral, plans for a new station at Woodchurch are also progressing, with early development work under way and findings expected in early 2027. Mr Rotheram is in no doubt about the value of these plans.

He said: “When I became Mayor, it had been nearly 20 years since the last new Merseyrail station opened. Since then, we’ve opened two more (Maghull North and Headbolt Lane)  and now we’re making progress on another four.

“I’ve always believed that where you live shouldn’t determine the opportunities available to you in life. But if you can’t get to a decent job, college or university because there’s no convenient rail connection, you’re already starting at a disadvantage. I don’t think that’s right.

“That’s the thinking behind Merseyrail for All. I want to bring the benefits of our fantastic Merseyrail network to more people and places, including communities that have been cut off from those opportunities for too long.”