Plans for a radical overhaul Merseyside’s rail network have been approved despite the proposals including the need to remove staff guards.
Transport bosses have backed the £460 million scheme, which will see Merseyrail’s current fleet of trains replaced following four decades in operation.
Swiss engineers Stadler will manufacture the new trains, which are designed to be longer and capable of carrying a further 60 per cent of passengers.
Merseyrail anticipate that the service will also be more efficient with estimated travelling times between Southport to Hunts Cross cut by almost 10 minutes.
The Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority gave the go-ahead to the plans, which are forecast to be running on the local network by the end of 2020.
Also approved in the scheme was a pledge to improve train platforms across the region but will come at a cost of over 200 jobs due to the absence of guards.
The RMT union staged a demonstration outside the closed meeting in Liverpool city centre in protest at the plans to operate driver-only trains on the network.
Merseyrail plan to counter the shortfall left by the absence of train guards by creating 60 new on-board roles for customer service staff.
Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, said: “The people of our City Region need and deserve new trains.
“Merseyrail is one of the top performing networks in the country and we want to keep it that way.
“This is a once in a generation opportunity for custom built trains that will be safer and carry more people, more quickly.
“A better rail service will bring a boost to the regional economy of £70m every year, plus a1000 new jobs.
“It’s also one our first Devo Deal successes for the City Region as we’ve got commitment for funding that will help make this project happen.
“Unusually, these trains will be owned by us locally, meaning we can make sure the trains are exactly what passengers want and that they are ready for our future plans.”