The Sandhills station upgrade project involved improving access and capacity for the closest railway station to Everton FC’s new Hill Dickenson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

The project, which provides a new footbridge and second station entrance, was completed to a tight deadline to support increased matchday travel demand for the new Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, Everton FC’s high-profile new home.

A new footbridge and staircases have been installed connecting the already delivered crowd management zone at the station to the southern end of Sandhills’ island platform.

The new footbridge is founded below the existing brick arch structure that the station is built upon. To enable this, the team had to locally strengthen and then break through the brick archway between the island platforms. The debris was all removed through the resulting hole, and concrete was pumped up from below to form the support for the structural steelwork of the bridge. This allowed construction to continue safely and efficiently during the operational day without impacting train services.

Six flights of staircases will be installed in total, one from the island platform leading up to the bridge span and the remaining five providing access down to the crowd management zone. All work was completed while the station remained fully operational, with the bridge span installed during the rules of the route rail possessions.

The added infrastructure will aid the flow of people from the station platforms once attendance is at or close to capacity, heading to and from football matches at Bramley-Moore Dock from August.

Sandhills station is the closest Merseyrail stop to the stadium, and it will serve as the main hub for matchday travel. A new second entrance and pedestrian footbridge at the station have been constructed and are open, supporting event days and helping manage the expected large crowds.