UK's first battery-powered fleet hits the tracks

The trains will serve the new £80m Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby

The UK's first battery-powered fleet of passenger trains has started running on Merseyside.

The trains, which are part of the Liverpool City Region's £500m publicly owned fleet, will run from the new £80m Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the move helps to pave the way "for cleaner and greener" transport.

The trains are part of a plan for Liverpool City Region to become net-zero carbon by 2040.

"These trains are the first of their kind in the country and will help us to significantly reduce our carbon footprint, paving the way for a cleaner, greener integrated London-style transport network," he said.

The mayor wants the region to be net-zero carbon by 2040

Headbolt Lane station is the first to be built in Knowsley since Whiston in 1990. It will become the new terminus of the Kirkby branch of the Merseyrail's Northern Line, as well as the final stop on Northern's Manchester-Wigan-Kirkby service.

"We've invested £80m in this fully accessible, state-of-the-art train station - and it will be the first to be served by our new battery-powered trains," Mr Rotheram said.

"Headbolt Lane station sets a new standard for public transport in this country - and it's the very least that our residents deserve."

In a phased roll-out, the station will initially be served by one Merseyrail service per hour to Liverpool Central, with services gradually increasing to four trains an hour.

Passenger Olivia Chadwick, who was using the station for the first time with her dog Mowgli to travel to Liverpool, told BBC Radio Merseyside it was a "game-changer".

"It's really good and it creates better opportunities for everyone who lives here," she said.

"Previously I would have to walk to the existing Kirkby station which could take up to 45 minutes. This is now a five minute walk so it's amazing."

Olivia Chadwick says the new trains are a "game-changer"

She added: "The new trains look better inside and glide along easier on the tracks."

The battery technology - which removes the need for a live third rail - could see the Merseyrail network running to previously inaccessible places, including Manchester, Wrexham, Warrington, Preston and Runcorn, according to a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spokesperson.

The scheme has been delivered by Mayor Rotheram and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in partnership with Knowsley Council, Network Rail, Merseyrail and Northern.

Funding for the scheme has come from the Transforming Cities Fund.

UPDATE - 16 October 2023: Story updated to make clear this is the first battery-powered fleet of trains, rather than train