Proposals that will eventually allow Merseyrail riders to access free Wifi have taken another step forward.
Liverpool Council’s planning committee this morning approved the latest in a series of application to install masts to provide internet access across the rail network.
The approval for new masts between St Michaels and Liverpool South Parkway means 14 of the 15 necessary permissions for masts in Liverpool have now been secured.
However, it is not clear when customers will be able to ride the new trains and use the new Wifi network.
The state of the art fleet, ordered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for use by Merseyrail, was originally due to enter service last autumn but that timetable was scuppered by the pandemic.
Merseytravel, the region’s transport authority, said restrictions caused by the pandemic had meant delays in construction, delivery and training on the new fleet.
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In a statement towards the end of last year, a spokeswoman said continued uncertainty meant they were unable to provide an introduction date.
She said: “While we appreciate this is disappointing news, we are doing everything we can to put a revised schedule in place.
“Our focus is on driving this project forward and we hope to provide further updates regarding the introduction of the new trains as soon as possible.”
The spokeswoman said other work such as power upgrades was continuing to try to allow the introduction of the new fleet to start as soon as possible.
The fleet is being bought at a cost of £460m, with 52 trains eventually due to enter service.
The trains have higher capacity and range of new features, including significant improvements for passengers with special mobility needs.
Those passengers will no longer need to use a ramp to get on to the train, a ramp to get on the train, with the new fleet having a step that extends out and meets the platform.
