00:00For years, the idea of bringing a railway station back to this part of Liverpool has been seen as a
00:06key piece of the city's future transport plans.
00:09Liverpool Baltic stations planned for the site of the former St James station, which closed during the First World War.
00:15The proposed new stop would sit beneath the Baltic Triangle, an area which has changed significantly in recent years,
00:23with the growth of creative businesses, hospitality venues and housing.
00:26The project was announced in 2022 as part of Metro Mersey-Rotherham's Mersey Rail for All plans.
00:33The aim was to reopen the station and increase connections across the city region.
00:39But now Mr Rotherham has admitted the timetable has slipped.
00:43Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside, he said delays had become the bane of my life,
00:49and that he'd hoped construction would begin by the end of this year.
00:52The mayor said the delay is linked to the complexity of building a station alongside an operating railway line.
01:00He explained periods when trains are stopped, known as possessions,
01:04must be agreed with all rail authorities to allow safer construction work.
01:09The project has already received plowing permission, but a contractor has not yet been appointed.
01:15Mr Rotherham said the scheme will still go ahead, but the start date will be later than originally planned.
01:21The station's expected to support hundreds of jobs and could eventually provide 17,000 journeys each day once open.
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