Plans for a train link connecting Liverpool Airport with the city centre and more services from Lime Street to London have been given a fresh boost.
John Irving, chief executive of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) has said better connectivity with the city is “top priority” - and that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, discussions over a rail service are “on hold rather than cancelled”.
While Daniel Crehan, head of commercial partnerships at Avanti West Coast - the firm that took over the Liverpool to London service from Virgin last year - said the is “very much” on course to happen by December 2022.
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The pair were speaking as members of the Liverpool BID Company’s second virtual Visitor Economy Panel last week.
In December, BusinessLive reported that transport links between Liverpool city centre and JLA were being assessed, with the combined authority similar to the failed Merseytram scheme.
Now Mr Irving has said those plans are a “top priority”.
He told the panel: “We remain an ambitious airport and because we are part of an ambitious city region, these plans are definitely on hold rather than cancelled.
“I think we all have to look at what impact [Covid-19] has had on the business and financial structures around us and the region, but we remain completely ambitious, and in my world, I look at that being a pause rather than a 'we need to reassess what that looks like'.
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“Many projects happening around the city region are critical to grow the airport in its connectivity.
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“I think having a rail link into the airport remains a top priority. Probably even more so now.
“There's an opportunity for us to do things differently here, and having an ambitious, well built airport in the North West could actually be an advantage for us.”
Also on the panel was Mr Crehan, who was asked whether Avanti still plans to introduce an extra fast service per hour on the Liverpool to London line - doubling the current frequency.
The initiative was first announced in December, when parent company First Rail said Liverpool is an “under-served” market.
“Those are still very much part of the longer-term plan,” Mr Crehan said.
“We have ordered a new fleet of trains which have been earmarked for the additional Liverpool to London service from December 2022 onwards.
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“Within the scope of that as well is for one of those services to then call at Liverpool South Parkway.
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“We need to work with the Department for Transport on this and also the Office of Rail and Road for the relevant approvals. There are activities we want to do with them over the next couple of years.
“The aspiration for us is that this will very much kick in from December 2022.”
He also said Avanti was in “early conversation” to “maximise opportunity” with JLA on a “longer-term basis”.