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Merseyrail
A Class 777 in service on the Wirral Line at Chester in 2024
A Class 507 at Bidston in 2023
Overview
Owner
Merseytravel, Network Rail
Area served
Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas
Locale
Liverpool City Region (Merseyside and Halton)
Cheshire
Lancashire
Transit type
Commuter rail
Number of lines
2 (plus main line commuter services)
Number of stations
69 (67 managed[a])
Annual ridership
25.5 million (2022/2023)[3]
Chief executive
Neil Grabham[4]
Headquarters
Rail House, Liverpool
Website
www.merseyrail.org
Operation
Began operation
1886 as the Mersey Railway, 1977 as expanded Merseyrail
Operator(s)
Merseyrail Electrics 2002 (Serco and Transport UK Group)
Infrastructure manager(s)
Network Rail
Character
Commuter rail, National Rail franchise
Number of vehicles
57
Train length
3 or 4 cars, 6 or 8 cars during peak times
Headway
15 minutes (general), 5 minutes (central sections), 30 minutes (Ellesmere Port branch, general in evenings and on Sundays)
Technical
Track gauge
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification
750 V DC third rail
System map
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages,[b] across two lines – the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The network uses 750 V DC third rail electrified lines having 75.0 miles (120.7 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) 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.[5][6] The network carried 25.5 million passengers in the 2022/2023 statistical period.[7]
The concession to operate Merseyrail is held by Merseyrail Electrics 2002, a joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group (formerly Abellio UK).[8][9] The concession is awarded by 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.[5]
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.
^"Train Operating Company Key Statistics, April 2022 to March 2023: Merseyrail" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^"Headbolt Lane Station In Kirkby Opens To Merseyrail Services". www.merseyrail.org. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^"Train Operating Company Key Statistics, April 2022 to March 2023: Merseyrail" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^"New Merseyrail Managing Director Named". Merseyrail.
^ abFIMechE, Malcolm Dobell BTech CEng (23 February 2023). "Mersey Electrics Class 777 and system upgrade". Rail Engineer. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^"Train Operating Company Key Statistics: April 2021 to March 2022" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
^"Train Operating Company Key Statistics, April 2022 to March 2023: Merseyrail" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^"About". Transport UK. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^"Serco and Transport UK". www.merseyrail.org. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
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Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which...
vehicles and five classes (313/314/315/507/508). They mostly worked on the Merseyrail network from 1982 until withdrawal on 16 January 2024. The class was developed...
the Merseyrail Electrics franchise from January 1997 until July 2003, when the Merseyrail railway franchise was transformed into the local Merseyrail concession...
over five classes (313, 314, 315, 507 and 508). They have worked on the Merseyrail network from new and continue to do so, having been refurbished by Alstom's...
The two parts are linked by the two Mersey Tunnels, the Wirral line of Merseyrail, and the Mersey Ferry. Merseyside contains green belt interspersed throughout...
777 fleet, operated by Merseyrail. The current Class 507 and Class 508 fleets are owned by Angel Trains and leased to Merseyrail. A third line, the City...
the Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail, being used on the Merseyrail network in the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and...
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line. The Wirral...
six underground stations and three below ground level stations of the Merseyrail network which is centred on Liverpool, England. St James railway station...
contract to the Department for Transport Merseyrail (50% shareholding alongside Serco-Abellio), operates the Merseyrail concession under contract to Merseytravel...
2012, it was announced that Merseyrail had agreed a sponsorship deal that would see Haig Avenue renamed the "Merseyrail Community Stadium". After years...
Retrieved 8 October 2023. "Network Map". www.merseyrail.org. Retrieved 8 October 2023. "Who are Merseyrail". Merseyrail. Archived from the original on 26 June...
Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station...
and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester...
Liverpool's longer distance services and many local services; including Merseyrail's City and Wirral (via the lower level platform) lines. The station is...
underground in the centres of Liverpool and Birkenhead, is managed and run by Merseyrail and serves the whole of Merseyside, also providing links beyond. The national...
Jodie Comer was born on 11 March 1993 in Liverpool, the daughter of Merseyrail employee Donna Comer and Everton FC physical therapist James Comer. She...
various tasks, including application of sandite, and de-icing duties. Merseyrail Units Scottish Units Maund 2001, pp. 84, 86 Maund 2001, p. 88 "EZ5 ADB...
both the Northern and Wirral Lines of the Merseyrail network. It is the third-busiest station on the Merseyrail network, and the largest underground station...
of the electric Merseyrail network and the diesel-operated Manchester-Southport Line. It is the fourth busiest station on the Merseyrail network. The station...
which opened on 5 October 2023. The station is the interchange between Merseyrail's Northern Line and the unelectrified Headbolt Lane branch line, operated...
disruption. During his first term, Rotheram oversaw major upgrades to the Merseyrail network in preparation for the introduction of a 52-strong fleet of new...
On 13 March 2021, a Class 507 electric multiple unit operated by Merseyrail collided with the buffer stop at Kirkby railway station, Merseyside, United...
the coordination of public transport across the Liverpool city region. Merseyrail is an urban rail operating almost 800 trains per day carrying over 100...
Liverpool to Manchester Line route, and is the southern terminus of Merseyrail's Northern Line. Originally built by the Cheshire Lines Committee and opened...