Merseyrail

Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the North West of England. 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. Since January 2023, Merseyrail commenced replacing its train fleet, withdrawing the Class 507 and 508 trains and introducing 53 new Class 777 trains. The network carried 28.3 million passengers in the 2023/2024 statistical period.

The concession to operate Merseyrail is held by Merseyrail Electrics 2002, a joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group (formerly Abellio UK). The concession is awarded 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. Merseyrail branding and ticketing is also applied to stations on the City line, which are within the Liverpool City Region but do not form part of the Merseyrail concession.

Merseyrail 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 extended at its peripheries, primarily by electrifying existing lines and transferring the electrified sections into Merseyrail. New stations have also been opened. Seven of the Class 777 trains can operate using batteries, which has allowed the Northern line to extend beyond the electrified track at Kirkby to a new terminus at Headbolt Lane.

Merseyrail has its origins in the underground Mersey Railway of 1886, which forms the core, being the world's second underground passenger railway after the 1863 Metropolitan Railway, now a part of London Underground. The network has a number world firsts.

Network

The self-contained network is operated by Merseyrail Electrics 2002, a 50:50 joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group.

The Northern line and the Wirral line compose the electric third-rail part of the network, which has service frequencies of 15minutes in outlying areas converging to rapid transit frequencies in central sections. The lines are electrified throughout using a system, with the exception of the Headbolt Lane line past Fazakerley. Trains on the Northern line and Wirral line cover the Liverpool City Region. The total route length of the two lines is , accommodating 67 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. Frequent intermediate stops serve other sections of the urban area.

The City line, marked red on the map, is operated primarily by Northern with funding from Merseytravel. The City line is mainly electrified with one branch, the Liverpool to Manchester line via Warrington, operated by diesel trains.

Unlike similar networks in the UK, Merseyrail infrastructure is owned and maintained at a national level by Network Rail. As a self-contained system serving a single City Region, the Northern and Wirral lines are exempt from the national rail franchising structure, which is instead the responsibility of local government. The City line, which shares infrastructure with regional and high-speed services and trains with neighbouring mainline commuter services (particularly that of Manchester), is not part of this exemption.

The three lines interchange as follows:
* Northern and City line services interchange at Liverpool South Parkway and Hunts Cross in the south of the city.
* Wirral and City lines interchange at Lime Street in the city centre.
* Northern and Wirral lines interchange at Liverpool Central and Moorfields in the city centre.

Northern line

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 Everton F.C.'s Goodison Park and 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. Kirkdale station is within walking distance of Goodison Park.

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 (Monday–Sunday). 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:
* on the West Kirby branch for the Borderlands line to Wrexham, operated by Transport for Wales;
* Chester to Crewe and London Euston, Wrexham and Shrewsbury, the North Wales Coast line to Llandudno and , and to Manchester either via Warrington or via Northwich and Knutsford;
* for an infrequent service to and from Warrington;
* Liverpool Lime Street for intercity and regional trains to London Euston, Manchester, Birmingham, Wigan, Scotland, the Midlands and Wales.

City line

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 on 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, , is as follows:

Fleet

Class 777

On 28 January 2020, rolling-stock manufacturer Stadler Rail provided the first of a new fleet of 53 new train sets, designated , built at its factory in Bussnang, Switzerland. The final units were due to enter service in 2021. The trains are based on the METRO platform, Stadler's product family for underground trains also used on the Berlin U-Bahn, the Minsk Metro and the Tyne and Wear metro. The new trains are a custom-built, bespoke design specifically for the Merseyrail network, with driver only and guard capability. This differs from the previous fleet, which was built to a standard British Rail design for commuter services.

The new trains have an articulated four-car design, compared to the previous three-car units, with a significantly increased overall capacity and faster acceleration and deceleration, which gives reduced journey times. A combination of reduced weight of 99tonnes, representing a 5.5tonne weight reduction, and more efficient electrical systems will give a 20% reduction in energy use.

The trains are flexible, being capable of operating on a combination of any of , overhead wires, or full battery operation using a five-tonne battery, provided they have the correct equipment installed, giving operation beyond the current network. , all trains are only equipped for operation, along with a smaller battery for depot shunting.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers opposed driver-only operation on the new fleet, which they said would put passenger safety and security at risk. Following a period of strike action, an agreement was reached to guarantee a guard on every train.

Merseytravel has an option for a further 60 Class 777 units as part of the contract, which if exercised would see a total of 113 trains built if services are extended to new destinations such as Helsby, Skelmersdale or Wrexham. The deal also involves the transfer of 155 of Merseyrail's maintenance workers and the operation of its maintenance depot at Kirkdale to Stadler Rail Service. The transfer of Kirkdale depot and Merseyrail engineering personnel took place in October 2017, as construction work to modernise the depot, which is the planned maintenance hub for the Class 777s, commenced.

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.

Class 777 battery trains

The Class 777 trains are capable of being propelled via onboard battery sets. The battery set per car can be up to 5tonnes in weight. The batteries can be charged via a rail terminal charger and while operating on electrified tracks. When the Headbolt Lane extension was unveiled to the public, it was also announced that the original order of 52 units was increased to 53 to allow for some units to undergo battery trials.

Following on from the trial, it was announced in July 2021 that the units tested had been able to travel up to without the need for recharging. The battery-powered trains run to Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby. The technology opens up the possibility of the trains serving routes to destinations such as Wrexham, Preston, Wigan and Warrington.

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 trains. Since the 1990s, fifteen Class 508s have been withdrawn as surplus and have later transferred to other operators with 12 units being transferred to Connex South Eastern and 3 units being transferred to Silverlink, with three Class 507 and 508 units, including unit 507006 after a crash at Kirkby in March 2021, written off following accidents. In 2022, further withdrawals of the trains began, having been replaced by Class 777s. In February 2024, the last of the Class 508s were withdrawn followed by the last Class 507 trains in November.

Depots

The electric fleet is maintained and stabled at Stadler's maintenance depot and United Kingdom headquarters at Kirkdale and Birkenhead North TMD. Minor repair work and train cleaning is undertaken at Kirkdale, while overhauls are completed at Birkenhead. The roles will be reversed once the Class 777 trains fully replace the existing fleet. Other depots at Hall Road and Birkenhead Central were closed in 1997, and the former was demolished in April 2009. The Birkenhead Central depot is proposed for reopening.

There are also two depots near Southport station: Southport Wall Sidings and Southport Carriage Holding Sidings.

Franchise and concession history

As a result of the privatisation of British Rail, the Northern and Wirral lines were brought together as the Mersey Rail Electrics passenger franchise, being sold on 19 January 1997. Although franchises are awarded and administered on a national level (initially through various independent bodies, and later the Department of Transport directly), under the original privatisation legislation of 1993, passenger transport executives (PTEs) were co-signatories of franchise agreements covering their areas – this role being later modified by the Railways Act 2005.

The first train operating company awarded the Mersey Rail Electrics franchise contract was MTL. MTL was originally the operating arm of Merseytravel but had been privatised in 1985. The brand name Merseyrail Electrics was adopted by MTL.

The Merseyrail name became the official brand for the network in the days of British Rail, surviving several franchise holders, although the name was not used by Arriva when holding the franchise. Despite this, Merseytravel continued the Merseyrail branding at stations, allowing the name to be adopted colloquially. With acquisition by Arriva, the train operating company was rebranded Arriva Trains Merseyside from 27 April 2001. Merseyrail is referred to as "Merseyrail Electrics" by National Rail Enquiries, and as "Serco/Abellio Merseyrail" by Merseytravel.

The City line was also privatised under the 1993 Act, but as part of a different, much larger North West Regional Railways (NWRR) franchise. Upon sale on 2 March 1997, the first train operating company awarded the NWRR franchise contract was North Western Trains (owned by Great Western Holdings). The train operating company was later bought by FirstGroup

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