The old Tuebrook train station has all but vanished from West Derby Road.
It's a cold, wet and miserable Wednesday afternoon and the north-east Liverpool community is a shadow of itself as pedestrians shelter from the rain. The station's old entrance, next to the distinctive pastel blue rail bridge, has been replaced by a water-stained concrete wall.
The former passenger station is also no longer there - the Dario Community Business Park and the site of Tuebrook Market now in its place. For nearly 80 years, the area was served by passenger trains connecting the north-east Liverpool community with the city centre and the docks.
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That level of train connectivity now feels very much like a thing of the past, with the surrounding neighbourhoods starved of a rail option since 1948. On West Derby Road today, pedestrians hurry past the site of the former station, while those relying on public transport huddle together under bus stop covers trying to keep out the rain.
The only trains to use the Canada Branch, more commonly known as the Bootle Branch line, are freight trains serving the docks. A train carrying a delivery of goods thunders over Tuebrook's rail bridge, an almost mocking reminder of the potential capabilities the line could still serve to its local communities.
Steve Radford, Liberal Party leader and councillor for Tuebrook and Stoneycroft, has campaigned for the line to reopen for pedestrians. "It's a real no brainer for me," Cllr Radford explains down the phone. "Tuebrook, Anfield and Clubmoor are areas that could really benefit from a connection to wider job employment.
"All public transport is effective in deprived communities because it gets people to employment markets. The reopening of the Bootle Branch line would connect people to areas like Warrington where there are significantly higher paying jobs in industry. The train line would also make the area more appealing to people who want to move out of cities like Manchester for cheaper housing.
"The reopening of the line would increase the levels of opportunities for those who are disadvantaged. There are circular routes connecting the south of the city, but not here in the north. It makes no sense to me as the line is already there. It would be a win for an area that has been neglected."
"The congestion on match days is implausible"
Cllr Radford tells the ECHO he has been lobbying for 25 years about the potential train plans, not only because of the economic benefits, but also to improve accessibility to nearby Anfield stadium. In a recent Liverpool City Region Combined Authority meeting, members debated the development of a local transport plan to encourage people to swap cars for a cleaner alternative.
Cllr Radford said it was possible to "sense" the air pollution from cars on match days. Currently the nearest station to Anfield is Kirkdale - two miles away from the stadium, meaning more fans drive and park in north-east communities including Tuebrook, Anfield and Clubmoor. He told the committee: "That part of Liverpool doesn’t have a rail system as an alternative and we have a Bootle branch line that could lend itself to adaptation and a train station there."
Cllr Liam Robinson, the chair of the Liverpool City Region transport authority, said it wouldn’t be straightforward to get passenger trains on the line and admitted given the prevalence of breakdowns of freight trains that currently use the route, it would be difficult to expand the passenger network to the branch line. The incoming leader of the Liverpool Labour group, who will soon step down from his roles with the combined authority, suggested tram technology could be considered instead to alleviate congestion issues.
He said: "We’ve widened the remit of the studies we’re doing. We’re looking at other kinds of alternatives, like tram train technology that could use the Bootle branch line and onto street running tracks to get closer to the stadium, that could be an option."
Speaking to the ECHO regarding the meeting, Cllr Radford adds: "The Bootle Branch line would be a great opportunity to help the football traffic. The congestion on match days at the moment is implausible. We are trying to encourage people not to have cars and use more public transport, but there isn't a train station to accompany it.
"The line would be a win for congestion and a win for opportunities. The north of the city needs it more than anyone. The residents here are hard done by and have been taken for granted. The potential reopening is a regular conversation in the community."
"We really lack a train station here"
On Rocky Lane, in sight of the Tuebrook railway bridge, is the New Beginnings, Improving Lives (NBIL) community hub - a CIC project first opened in 2019. The community store offers vulnerable people the opportunity to do a full weekly shop for much lower prices, while also helping them to improve budgeting and money management.
Founder Michelle Roach is busying herself helping people pack plastic shopping bags with an array of frozen meat and fresh fruit and vegetables. "I'm from Croxteth myself which is just another area with no train station," she tells the ECHO. "I have to drive everywhere but would definitely get the train if it was available.
"It's rubbish around here for trains, isn't it? The nearest station to us here is probably Rice Lane or Walton. We really lack it here - it would be brilliant if we had it."
Michelle explains a lot of people struggle to get to them - and they often find themselves paying for taxis to get people to and from their community store. "If they're vulnerable we'll often get them an Uber," she says. "But if there was a train station here we could get a train ticket for them." Michelle turns to a woman currently stood at the counter and asks if she would use a train. "Definitely, it would make everything easier," she responds.
Also working at the shop is Laura McDonald and her teenage daughter Sophie Ferns. Laura, dressed in a hoodie with the NBIL branding on, says: "Lots of people are aware of us through our social media but they can't always get to us. If there was a train station nearby, people would be able to get to us much easier."
This applies to the mum and daughter as well, who commute from Allerton when they are volunteering at the shop. Laura explains even if she isn't volunteering, she will drive Sophie to Tuebrook to save the painstaking bus journey that the teenager would have to take. She adds they live near to Liverpool South Parkway, so would benefit from a train line.
Further up the road, opposite Newsham Park, is the Jade Roberts Project - a counselling and prevention service that wants to help end stigmas around suicide. Sabrina Dunbavin was a founding volunteer at the project, that first opened its doors in November. The mum, who lives in Crosby, says her journey to Tuebrook can take her between an hour and 90 minutes depending on buses. The journey can involve at least two buses and a train.
"It takes me well over an hour and that's if the bus actually comes," she tells the ECHO. "Another volunteer comes from the Wirral and it sometimes takes her fives buses to get to and from the project. If there was one direct transport link that could connect this part of the city it would benefit everyone as it would be cheaper."
Sabrina adds that just like the NBIL shop, the project itself would benefit from a train link. "We've started doing phone appointments because people are struggling to get to us," she says. "We have referrals from as far as Southport, so people are coming from a long way. If there was a train station nearby people would be able to get to us much easier. The train line is there, so why can't this area be served by a train?"
"A long and complex process"
On Monday, January 23 the first of the new state-of-the-art Class 777 Merseyrail trains ran between Liverpool Central and Kirkby. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the new fleet of trains, which will continue to be rolled out over the next year, are a crucial part of his plans for a London-style, modern public transport system.
But it is hard to view the success of the new trains without considering the communities that are not getting the opportunity to use them. Ahead of his re-election in 2021, Mr Rotheram pledged to deliver "Merseyrail for all" - a commitment to connecting "under-served communities to the Merseyrail network".
At the time, Mr Rotheram said: "Merseyrail for all is my ambitious plan to extend the current network, so it reaches communities right across our city region and beyond...Good public transport is vital for connecting people with each other and opportunity. Our region deserves what London has had for years: a transport system that is affordable, reliable and easy for people to get about. I’m working to build one and these trains are a massive part of that."
New stations will soon be delivered in locations including the Baltic Triangle and Kirkby, but north-east Liverpool, and those who live near the Bootle Branch line, will be waiting considerably longer. "We remain committed to looking into the possibility of reintroducing passenger services to the Bootle Branch line, but this is a long and complex process that requires a lot of work," a spokesperson for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority tells the ECHO.
"We are currently working in partnership with key stakeholders to improve public transport access in the short and medium term to this area of Liverpool. With the advent of new transport technologies, new opportunities have arisen and therefore there is an imperative to revisit the conclusions of earlier work. One major challenge with the Bootle Branch line is that it is a very active freight line which has become even busier in recent years.
"Any use of the line for passenger services would need to be balanced against this critical freight usage. The Bootle Branch is a critical asset to the City Region for enabling modal shift of goods and therefore helping us to achieve our Net Zero ambitions."
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