Merseyrail


Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves the Liverpool City Region, and the surrounding areas, in the North West of England. Since 2003, the network has been run as a concession, held by Serco and Transport UK Group.
It was established in 1977, when existing railway lines were connected by constructing new tunnels under Liverpool City Centre and Birkenhead. The network has since been expanded, with new stations built, and electrification of existing lines. Today, Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lines – the Northern line and the Wirral line. The network uses electrified lines having of routes, of which are underground. The network uses the Class 777 trains based on the Stadler METRO platform. The network carried 28.3 million passengers in 2023/2024.

Network

The Merseyrail Network is a, primarily, self-contained network, and is operated by Merseyrail Electrics 2002, a Merseytravel concession, currently held as a 50:50 joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group. The concession was awarded to the venture by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and is overseen by Merseytravel, the passenger transport executive which co-ordinates public transport across the Liverpool City Region. Prior to the concession starting in July 2003, the network was ran as Arriva Trains Merseyside.
Merseyrail manages 67 stations on the network.
The network consists of two halves, the Northern line and the Wirral line, both of which are mainly third-rail, powered by system, with a small portion from Fazakerley to Headbolt Lane being ran with BEMUs. Each service on both lines, with the exception of the Ellesmere Port Branch, has service frequencies of 15minutes, with the Ellesmere Port branch having a 30-minute frequency. Trains on the Northern line and Wirral line cover the Liverpool City Region. The total route length of the two lines is, accommodating 69 stations. The lines connect Liverpool city centre with cities and towns on the outer reaches of the city region, such as Southport, Chester and Ormskirk.
The City line, marked red on the network map, is operated by several other operators, such as Northern Trains, London Northwestern Railway, TransPennine Express, and others, with funding from Merseytravel. The City line is made up of several branches, which are mainly electrified with OHLE, with one branch, the Liverpool to Manchester line via Warrington, being operated by diesel trains.
The three lines interchange as follows:
The Northern line is shown in blue on the Merseyrail and Merseytravel maps and denoted by the above wordmark on underground stations. Services operate on three main routes: from Hunts Cross in the south of Liverpool to via the Link tunnel from Brunswick station through central Liverpool, from Liverpool Central to, and from Liverpool Central to Headbolt lane via Kirkby. Each route operates a train every 15minutes from Monday to Saturday, giving a frequent interval between trains on the central section. Some additional trains run at peak hours on the Southport line.
On matchdays at Liverpool F.C.'s Anfield, Northern line services connect with the SoccerBus service at Sandhills station to transport fans to the stadia. Bus departures are at frequent intervals from Sandhills station with ticketing to combine both modes of travel. Sandhills station is within walking distance of Everton FC's Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Connections to non-Merseyrail services are available at:
  • to and ;
  • Liverpool South Parkway for services operated by London Northwestern Railway, East Midlands Railway, TransPennine Express and Northern serving,, and various destinations within Yorkshire and the West Midlands;
  • Hunts Cross to and ;
  • Ormskirk to ;
  • to Blackburn via Wigan Wallgate and.

    Wirral line

The Wirral line is shown in green on the Merseyrail and Merseytravel maps and denoted by the above wordmark on underground stations. Services operate from the four terminus stations of:,, and. Each service from one of these the terminus stations runs through underground station in Birkenhead, then through the Mersey Railway Tunnel, continuing around the single track underground loop tunnel under Liverpool's city centre. Trains head back into the Mersey Railway Tunnel to return to one of the four terminus stations.
Monday-Saturday services are every 15minutes to/from Liverpool to Chester, New Brighton and West Kirby, and every 30minutes to/from Ellesmere Port. These combine to give a service at least every five minutes from Birkenhead Hamilton Square and around the loop under Liverpool's city centre.
Connections to non-Merseyrail services are available at:
The City line is the brand name used by Merseytravel on services out of the mainline platforms of Liverpool Lime Street railway station to 26 stations on its sponsored network, and cross-boundary destinations outside of the Liverpool City Region. Merseytravel has policies in place to improve the service frequency, new services and to invest in the City line. Despite the City line being operated by other train operators than Merseyrail, it is marketed and branded as Merseyrail to meet the passenger transport executive's aims to provide the network with a local identity and shared fare and ticketing structures. The line is depicted on signage and maps using the colour red and the above word mark.
Unlike the Northern and Wirral lines, the City line is not operated by the Serco-Transport UK Group joint venture.
The City line covers the Liverpool City Region sections of the Crewe–Liverpool line, the two Liverpool–Manchester lines, and the Liverpool–Wigan line. Two services are not electrified, the Manchester via Warrington Central and Chester via Runcorn.
Northern mainly operate the City line with additional services operated by TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Transport for Wales, and West Midlands Trains.

History

The history of Merseyrail dates back to the 19th century, with the original formation of the Mersey Railway and the Mersey Railway Tunnel, among the first underground railway tunnels. The modern Merseyrail network was developed in the 1970s from lines that were previously owned by several different railway companies. The Beeching axe during the early 1960s closed key routes in and around Liverpool, with the council proposing an alternate strategy and advocating the preservation of suburban services integrated into a new regional electrified rapid-transit network. The network underwent a period of electrification and expansion, becoming a single network in 1977, with a major project being the Loop and Link line, creating a continuous underground route through Liverpool city centre.
Over the years, several new stations such as in 1998 and in 2017 have been added to the network. Most recently in 2023, has opened and is served on the network by battery-electric trains. Various proposals have been suggested on how to further expand the network, including beyond the Liverpool City Region area. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced in August 2019 that it was planning to use part of a £172million funding package to reopen St James Station in Liverpool City Centre, officially confirmed as station following a public vote in April 2022.

Services

Point-to-point or return tickets are purchased from staffed offices or ticket machines, but the system is tightly integrated with Merseytravel's City Region-wide pass system, which also encompasses the Mersey Ferries and city and regional bus networks. Merseytravel's smart ticketing is via the local MetroCard smartcard system, including Merseyrail travel.
Typical weekday off-peak service on the Merseyrail-run Northern and Wirral lines, as of 2025, is as follows:

Fleet

Merseyrail took over the fleet of Class 507 and 508 units from previous operator Arriva Trains Merseyside, all of which have since been withdrawn. In 2020, rolling-stock manufacturer Stadler Rail delivered the first of a new fleet of 53 trains, designated Class 777, based on their Stadler METRO platform. Merseytravel has an option to purchase up to 60 additional units could be exercised if services are extended to new destinations such as Helsby, Skelmersdale or Wrexham.
The first Class 777 unit entered into service on the Northern line on 23 January 2023. Initially they were being used on the Kirkby route, followed by the Ormskirk route. The trains were introduced to the Wirral line, Ormskirk, Southport and Hunts Cross routes in late 2023. A small portion of the fleet are BEMUs, with these operating the services to Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby.
Merseyrail's fleet are maintained and stabled at Kirkdale TMD, which is Stadler's United Kingdom headquarters, and additionally units are stabled at Birkenhead North TMD, and Southport Carriage Holding Sidings.
During Merseyrail's history, there were several other depots, such as Hall Road TMD and Birkenhead Central TMD.

Current fleet

Past fleet

The original service on the Merseyrail lines was provided by the Class 502 on the Northern line and Class 503 on the Wirral line. The former was withdrawn by 1980 and the latter by 1985.
Introduced from 1978 and 1979 respectively were 33 Class 507 and 43 Class 508 units. Since the 1990s, 15 Class 508 units have been withdrawn as surplus and have later transferred to other operators with 12 units being transferred to Connex South Eastern and three units being transferred to Silverlink. Three additional Class 507 and 508 units, including unit 507006 after a crash at Kirkby in March 2021, were written off following their accidents. In 2023, further withdrawals of the trains began, having been replaced by the new Class 777.
In February 2024, the last Class 508 units were withdrawn, followed by the last Class 507 units in November.
File:DR98953 at James Street.jpg|alt=A blue and grey maintenance vehicle stands at James Street underground station|thumb|Modern departmental MPV at James Street – Unlike the London Underground and Tyne and Wear Metro, Merseyrail's track maintenance is the responsibility of Network Rail.