‘New standard’ – UK’s first battery-powered trains roll onto tracks in …

A battery powered train pulling into the new Headbolt Lane station. Photo: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

The UK’s first battery-powered passenger trains hit the tracks in Merseyside on Thursday as the Liverpool City Region continued its roll out of a new £500m publicly owned fleet.

The trains will run from Kirkby’s brand new Headbolt Lane train station^[1], following an £80m investment in the travel hub. Metro mayor Steve Rotheram said it will “set a new standard for public transport in this country”.

In a phased roll-out of the new technology, the station will initially be served by one Merseyrail service per-hour to Liverpool Central, then services will gradually increase to four trains per hour.

The battery-powered trains are part of the Mayor’s plan to deliver a London-style transport network and to help the Liverpool City Region hit its net-zero carbon target for 2040.

LCR’s new fleet also includes 52 of 777 class trains, the first of which rolled out from out from Liverpool Central station back in January^[2] 2023.

References

1. ^{^} Kirkby’s brand new Headbolt Lane train station (www.liverpoolworld.uk)
2. ^{^} first of which rolled out from out from Liverpool Central station back in January (www.liverpoolworld.uk)