A REGIONAL transport leader has outlined ambitious plans for the future of the Wrexham to Bidston railway line.

Liverpool City Councillor Liam Robinson, who serves as the Transport Portfolio holder for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said the line had been "the forgotten child of the railway network".

He said that although a 75 per cent growth in passenger numbers in the last ten years showed a clear demand for the line, the people using it had often been subjected to a "very poor quality service" due to "neglect and lack of investment".

Cllr Robinson said: "Our recent celebrations around the arrival of a new service linking Wrexham and Liverpool city centre for the first time in over 40 years via the re-opened Halton Curve, brought into stark contrast the other rail link between our city region and North Wales – which has in the past been the forgotten child of the rail network in our area.

"For many years the “Borderlands” line – the rail link between Wrexham and Bidston in Wirral has been of very poor quality, with old, cramped trains and regular cancellations. Under previous operators, there was little incentive to improve services meaning that rail users in places such as Heswall, Neston, Hawarden and Shotton would often be subject to an unacceptably poor level of service.

"When you think about some of the kind of locations it connects, the enterprise zones on the routes, such as Wirral Waters and Deeside Industrial Park, the economic potential of it is absolutely huge."

Cllr Robinson said there had been plenty of work going on behind the scenes and how he, along with with Wrexham MP Ian Lucas, Ken Skates AM and the Growth Track 360 group, had regularly called for improvements to the line, and that although progress was clearly being made since Transport for Wales had taken over as the new operator, there was still plenty more to be done.

He said: "We are currently in the process of some very detailed work with the Department for Transport and Welsh Government, looking at how we can significantly improve the standards of service on the line.

"This includes seeing how we can increase the line speed because it takes far too long to make an end to end journey currently.

"We also want to look at how we can run more services. At the moment the current hourly service is sub-standard, though we are pleased that the new franchise have committed to delivering a half-hourly service on the line from December 2021."

Despite the improvements that have been made and those that are proposed for the future, Cllr Robinson said he wanted to see a far more ambitious plan for the line, including it eventually serving Liverpool city centre.

He said: "Working with all the partners, we genuinely want to see a metro-style service coming all the way through into the heart of Liverpool as we don’t think Bidston should be the final stop on this service.

"There’s a number of technical challenges which stop us from doing this at present which would need to be overcome, but that is the ultimate goal and I know that Transport for Wales are working hard to try and make it happen.

"The new trains that will be introduced on the Merseyrail network from next year, with potential battery power, could also offer one solution."

Cllr Robinson went on to praise the historical links between the two regions and hoped the positive work done so far would make up for the years of neglect and decline.

He added: "There has always been a strong link between Liverpool and North Wales, going back to the 1800s when Welsh workers moved to the city to work in the docks.

"For too long, the rail links between the two areas have been allowed to fall into decline, but, by working together, we are starting to turn that around."

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has said how important the future of the line is to the whole region, including Flintshire with the opportunity to create something that could make a real difference.

He said: "This is a line with huge potential and I've been working very closely with Liam, Ken Skates and other partners to develop and improve it. There are housing developments being built in Gwersyllt and to the north of Wrexham, and also in Flintshire.

"There is the chance here to create a quality commuter rail system linking Wrexham to the Wirral and Liverpool, giving people a real alternative to using our congested road networks.

"It's important to remember that such a link would bring investment into Wrexham - it would enable people to travel here for work or to visit the area for tourism purposes or for some of the many festivals we have in the town, such as Focus Wales."

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We are committed to ensuring our rail services meet the needs of passengers.

"Transport for Wales will introduce like-new, fully refurbished Class 230 trains on the Wrexham-Bidston line this year and weekday service frequency will increase to two trains per hour from the end of 2021 which is an important aspect of delivering the North East Wales Metro.

"By the end of 2023, the frequency of Sunday services will also increase to one train per hour.

"There will be investment in Shotton to integrate the high and low-level stations and we are investing in a new Deeside Parkway station which will play an important role in connecting people with jobs and services in the Deeside Enterprise Zone.

"There is also an ongoing study to determine what further improvements are possible beyond those committed by Transport for Wales Rail Services. We will continue to work with our partners, including Merseytravel, to look at ways of improving the passenger experience on this line which will encourage more people to use our rail services and reduce reliance on private transport."