Liverpool South Parkway Liverpool South Parkway

Merseytravel, making Europe’smost modern interchangeFrom past to presentLiverpool South Parkway (LSP) joins together the twostations of Allerton and Garston.The St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway opened AllertonStation on 15th February 1864.Garston Station, which was situated 300 metres fromwhere LSP now sits, was opened ten years later in 1874by the Cheshire Lines Committee Railway.LSP from conception to realityIn the mid 1990s when Liverpool Airport was expanding,Merseytravel and its partners looked at various options forimproving public transport to the area.A direct rail link was considered but was found tobe hugely expensive and impractical so seriousoptions had to be explored to find analternative way of linking publictransport effectively to the airportand the many jobs that werebeing created in the area.The result was the completerefurbishment andtransformation of AllertonStation (pictured more recentlyright) and the movement ofGarston station (below) 300metres from its previous siteinto the main scheme.In 2002 consultants wereappointed to develop anddesign a stunning, state-ofthe-artlandmarkinterchange that could linkthe rail network withbuses, taxis and the airportand provide a park and ridefacility for South Liverpool.Preliminary works started in January 2004 andconstruction began in earnest in July 2004. The bridgefrom the main LSP building to the former Allerton stationplatform was lifted into place on Christmas Day 2004.Liverpool South Parkway wasopened to the public on Sunday11th June 2006.Unique, futuristicand changing theface of publictransport designAs one of Merseytravel’s biggestconstruction projects, the £32 millionLiverpool South Parkway Interchange is revolutionisingpublic transport in South Liverpool, providing fast andefficient links to Liverpool John Lennon Airport as well asaccess to thousands of jobs.The eco-friendly interchange, with its futuristic design, canboast a number of unique features.Award winning designLiverpool South Parkway has already won majorenvironmental awards for its use of building techniques –and for its potential contribution to the regeneration ofthe Speke and Garston Pathway areas – some more thana year before it even opened!Merseytravel beat 30 other entrants – includinginternational and multinational organisations – to benamed national champion in the transport and freightcategory of the Green Apple Awards.Clean, green and sustainableThe sustainability elements and the complete integrationbetween the various forms of transport are some of thebest examples of their type in the country and fascinatingelements of the project.The use of waste blastfurnace slag instead ofcement, saved 310tonnes of CarbonDioxide (CO 2 ) ascompared to theproduction of ordinarycement.Rainwater harvestingsaves 700,000 litres ofmains water per year.The roof uses 2.3 tonnes of recycled aluminium.Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood ensuredall timber products came from a responsibly managedforest.Solar photovoltaic cells on south facing windows providesome of the electricity and saves 1.5 tonnes of CO 2 a year.Geothermal heatpumps use 18100-metre deep boreholes which, althoughmore expensive toinstall, can savebetween 30 and 60 percent on costscomparedwithconventionalsystems.Accessible to allMerseytravel’s own Access Officer, himself a wheelchairuser, worked closely on the development of the project.As a result detailed design features include easy accessdoors, variable height ticket counters, colour contrastdesign features to assist people with low vision, accessibleWCs, high visibility signage, induction loops systems forpeople with impaired hearing and a visible staff presenceto assist all passengers.Linking transport togetherMajor features of Liverpool South Parkway include asingle integrated booking office and passengerinformation and enquiry point; real-time information forflights at the airport, buses and trains displayed side byside, secure cycle storage, incorporated bus and taxi stopsand a 240 space park-and-ride car park free to users ofthe facility.A high frequency bus shuttle runs to Liverpool JohnLennon Airport. LSP is a secure and safe environmentthanks to CCTV and customer information systems.WorkingtogetherA steering group,headed by Merseytravel,oversaw the project. Themembers included:Liverpool City Council;Network Rail; LiverpoolLand Development Company; Government Office NorthWest; Liverpool John Lennon Airport; First North Westernand Serco Nedrail who are the holders of the MerseyrailElectrics and Northern Rail franchises.The Engineer for the works for the project was NeilScales, Chief Executive and Director General ofMerseytravel.Architects on the project were Jefferson Sheard and themain contractors were Edmund Nuttall, one of Britain’slargest civil engineer contractors.While they can lay claimto building Merseyside’smost recent innovativeproject, Edmund Nuttallhave a long establishedlink with the region, theywere also responsible forbuilding the Liver Buildingand the first MerseyTunnel.Spotlight on MerseytravelMerseytravel has achieved Centre of Excellence statusfor integrated public transport, transport planning andthe delivery of public transport schemes.It was voted Passenger Transport Authority of the Yearin 2004 and in 2005.Merseytravel aims to provide Merseyside with “anintegrated public transport system accessible to all” andMerseytravel’s reputation as a leading authority onenvironmental issues is encapsulated in the planningand building of Liverpool South Parkway.