New railway station opens in Warrington

A new £20.5 million railway station has opened in Warrington, which has been partly funded by the local council.

Warrington West benefitted from £4.2 million of Department for Transport’s New Stations Funding, and £6.5 million from the Local Growth Deal via the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.

The remainder of the funding comes from Warrington Borough Council and developer contributions.

The new station was delivered by Balfour Beatty with the support of Network Rail who own and operate the railway infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland.

Work began on the station, part of the Chapelford development, in January 2018.

‘Warrington West station is an important part of our ongoing work to invest in our transport infrastructure, increase sustainable travel choices, reduce the need to travel by car and make sure our borough is a well-connected, business-friendly place,’ said the council’s cabinet member for transportation, Cllr Hans Mundry.

‘Residents and commuters in west Warrington are now benefiting from a first-class, modern and accessible train station, providing excellent links with Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington town centre and Birchwood, as a key employment area. I’m delighted that the station is now open.’

The managing director of Balfour Beatty’s Regional North and Midlands business, Thomas Edgcumbe, added: ‘We were delighted to join with our partners to celebrate this key milestone, the success of which is testament to the capability of our expert teams who consistently deliver high quality infrastructure improvements.

‘This multi-transport facility is an important scheme, procured through Scape’s Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework, which will significantly benefit rail users in Warrington by reducing road traffic and improving links in the borough to nearby major UK cities.’

The station has now been handed to Network Rail and will be managed by Northern – alongside other stations in the town such as Warrington Central, Birchwood, Sankey for Penketh Padgate and Glazebrook.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: ‘Warrington West is now an integral part of our infrastructure and will provide a vital link not only to Warrington town centre, but to other major towns and cities. And with our brand-new trains operating direct to Manchester Airport, Warrington West also provides a link to the rest of the world.’

Photo Credit – Shutterbug75 (Pixabay)