Shortage of rolling stock delays Halton Curve by 12 months

DELAYED deliveries of new rolling stock will mean the long-awaited Halton Curve rail line will not open until May next year – 12 months after engineering works were completed.
The delay has disappointed members of the North Cheshire Rail Users Group (NCRUG) , which was formed 27 years ago, originally with the sole purposes of fighting to keep the line open.
NCRUG spokesman Mark Warren (pictured) told members of Frodsham Town Council the group was also disappointed that the service, when it eventually started operating, would not be running earlier in the morning and later at night.
They were lobbying for an earlier start because the first wave of flights from Liverpool John Lennon Airport – which carried around 3,000 passengers on average – was at 6am while the first trains from Frodsham was not until 6.31am, meaning rail passengers could not link up with aircraft departures.
A similar problem would exist at night, with the last train running before the arrival of incoming flights.
Mr Warren said NCRUG was also lobbying hard for rail fares to be kept in line with existing fares between Chester and Liverpool.
NCRUG also believed the proposed two-carriage trains on the Halton Curve would prove to be inadequate for the number of passengers expected.
They wanted to see shuttle services between Frodsham and the Wirral to that under-utilised car parks at Ellesmere Port and Stanley could be used to relieves parking in Frodsham.
Mr Warren said the new service would be run by Transport for Wales and it was hoped that eventually it would be extended to North Wales, including Llandudno