Merseyrail
Encyclopedia
Merseyrail is a train operating company
and commuter rail
network in the United Kingdom
, centred on Liverpool
, Merseyside
. The network is predominantly electric
with diesel trains running on the City Line
. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with completion planned for 2016, which will almost complete electrification of the network. The third-rail electrified DC section of the network has 67 stations spread across 75 miles of route of which 6.5 miles is underground. Carrying over 100,000 passengers each day, it is one the most heavily used railway networks in the United Kingdom
outside London
,. Although a part of the National Rail
network organistion, Merseyrail is a separate network.
Merseyrail was established in 1969, however the separate rail lines were physically integrated into one network in 1977 when new tunnels were constructed under Liverpool's city centre
and Birkenhead, connecting previously separate railway routes. This created a large, comprehensive urban railway network. Although financial constraints prevented some of the earlier plans being realised, the original 1970s network has been extended with more extensions proposed.
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 it held the franchise. Despite this, Merseytravel
continued the Merseyrail branding at stations, allowing the name to be adopted colloquially. Merseyrail is referred to as "Merseyrail Electrics" by National Rail Enquiries, and as "Serco/Abellio Merseyrail" by Merseytravel
.
and Wirral Line
, covering the Liverpool suburban area and Merseyside. The total track length is 75 miles (120.7 km), and there are 67 stations. The system's lines connect Liverpool city centre with cities and towns on the outer reaches of the city region (such as Southport and Chester), on their way passing through the intermediate urban areas with frequent stops. Trains run typically every fifteen minutes to most destinations, with lines converging in the central areas to provide a frequency of five minutes or less.
The Northern Line links Liverpool city centre with , and to the north, and to the south. The Wirral Line, extending under the River Mersey
, links Liverpool with New Brighton
, West Kirby
, Chester
and Ellesmere Port
. The two lines are entirely electrified
, using a 750 V DC third-rail.
The currently diesel hauled City Line
is not an integral part of the dedicated Merseyrail electrified system. Parts of regional lines, operated by other rail companies, that run through Merseyside are branded the City Line, receiving funding from Merseytravel, with integrated ticketing arrangements within Merseyrail. The diesel trains on the City Line are less frequent than the trains on the electric Northern and Wirral Lines. The whole of the City Line line is scheduled to be electrified with completion due in 2013.
Frequent train services on Merseyrail lines provide for cross-city connections:
to and at to and .
Services on the Wirral Line operate from the Loop described above through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to station in Birkenhead
. From there, they run either south to , where they continue to either or , or west to , where the line bifurcates to and . Connections are available at on the West Kirby branch, for the Borderlands Line
to Wrexham
operated by Arriva Trains Wales
, at to Crewe and London Euston, Wrexham and Shrewsbury, the North Wales Coast line to Llandudno and , and Manchester via Warrington or Northwich, and at a minimal service to Warrington
.
Monday-Saturday services are every 15 minutes from Liverpool to Chester, New Brighton and West Kirby, and every 30 minutes to Ellesmere Port (Monday - Sunday). These combine to give a service less than every five minutes around the Loop.
running through Merseyside are sponsored by Merseytravel
and - with the exception of long distance routes - are branded as Merseyrail services. Broadly speaking, the line includes the Liverpool to Wigan Line
and the two alternative branches making up the northern and southern Liverpool to Manchester Lines.
In 2009 the government announced that the northerly route would be electrified. Work is due to be completed by 2013 In February 2010 Network Rail's Northern Hub Plan, on page 26, announced that 4 electrified lines will be operative from Broad Green Station to Huyton Station. This is to allow a fast uninterrupted service from Liverpool to Manchester and slower electric urban trains to operate on segregated tracks from Liverpool to Wigan. Merseyrail City Line trains run on this section of track. Whether Merseyrail electric trains, operated by either Merseyrail or Northern Rail
will run on this electrified section remains to be clarified.
and Class 508
electric multiple unit
s. These replaced pre-war Class 502
(originally constructed by the LMS
) and almost identical Class 503
electric multiple units. There are a total of 59 trains in service on the network. This is down from an initial 76: twelve 508s were transferred to Connex South Eastern
in 1996, a further three were transferred to Silverlink
to supplement their fleet of Class 313
electric multiple units in North London
. These train sets had been left in storage from the early 1990s due to recessionary conditions.
Two sets have been written-off and subsequently scrapped. These are unit 507022 in 1991 after a collision and unit 508118 which had been gutted by fire in an arson
attack in Birkenhead during 2001.
The electric fleet is maintained and stabled at Kirkdale TMD
and Birkenhead North TMD
, the two depots on the network. Minor repair work and stock cleaning takes place at Kirkdale, while overhauls are completed at Birkenhead. Other depots at Hall Road
and Birkenhead Central
were closed in 1997, and the former was demolished in April 2009.
The fleet was refurbished during 2003-05, a process involving trainsets being transported to and from Eastleigh
works behind Class 67
locomotives.
Depots: An assessment is currently taking place as to whether it would be viable to reopen the Birkenhead Central depot, which would increase the efficiency of Merseyrail services and allow additional train sets to be transferred back to Merseyside. The Merseyrail fleet is due for renewal in 2013.
To celebrate Liverpool's successful 2008 European Capital of Culture
bid, Merseyrail named one of their train sets (508136) 'Capital of Culture'. A press ceremony took place at Kirkdale TMD where Cherie Blair
, the wife of then-Prime Minister
Tony Blair
, named 508143 Capital of Culture
. This nameplate was removed during mid-2009. In February 2008 the first of four sets in a special Capital of Culture promotional livery was released. Set no. 508134 was emblazoned in a purple livery showcasing the "creative" element of the city. Three more followed in blue "maritime", green "heritage" and red "sport" colours, however were removed in November 2009. On 11 October 2011, set 508111 was unveiled in a blue advertising livery for The Beatles Story
, a museum for The Beatles
in Liverpool.
From July 2008, four trains were named after true Merseyside icons following a poll in local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo
. The first, named Red Rum
, was unveiled at Southport on 14 July 2008 by Ginger McCain
. Four more have followed, named Bob Paisley
, Dixie Dean
, John Peel
. A further train was named Councillor Jack Spriggs on 26 October 2011.
Class 142
Diesel Multiple Unit
s and Class 150
sets wore the Merseytravel yellow livery for several years operating on the City Line, although they were not directly operated by Merseyrail. These have since been repainted into other liveries.
Merseyrail formerly had four Class 73
electro-diesel locomotives for shunting, sandite
trains, engineering works and other departmental duties; two of these had been repainted in the yellow livery of the previous franchise holder. These locomotives were sold to a preservation company in 2002.
, Heathrow Connect
and the London Underground
Piccadilly line
. A catalogue of announcements may be played by the driver or guard. Announcements in the same style are also activated automatically by the emergency systems on the train, playing on a continuous loop until deactivated. There is also a series of automated station announcements, voiced by Brian Coby, which announce when trains are terminating at a particular station outside of the regular timetable (for example in the case of severe delay). The only other pre-recorded station announcements are in the case of emergency, and all other announcements are made live by the duty station announcer.
, the Merseyrail service was run first by MTL under the name Merseyrail Electrics
, then Arriva
Trains Merseyside, before its award to a Serco-Abellio consortium of Serco
and Abellio
(a division of Nederlandse Spoorwegen
) in 2003. The current franchise is contracted to the consortium for an initial 25-year period. The Merseyrail franchise, referred to officially as a "contract", is awarded by the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
rather than the Department for Transport
which issues all other franchises. The only other exception is the franchise for the London Overground
network, awarded by Transport for London
in 2007. Merseyrail is given such exception because the tracks concerned are self-contained and separate from the rest of the British railway network – no other services normally run over the third-rail network. As a result of this isolation, the franchise-holder is keen to adopt vertical integration – taking responsibility for maintenance of the track from Network Rail
. The current Franchise Manager is Dave Davenport.
. Merseyrail has publicly committed to aiming to be the best train operating company in the UK. The latest figures released by the Office of Rail Regulation (as of the fourth quarter of 2010-11) report that Merseyrail's PPM slipped to 94.8% and the MAA dropped to 94.9%.
In February 2010, Merseyrail were named the most reliable operator of trains in the UK, with a reliability average of 96.33% during 2009-2010, the highest ever achieved by any UK train operator.
The enforcement of this bye-law by Merseyrail was judged to be "draconian" in September 2007; however, Merseyrail stated that they did not want to take offenders to court, but were not allowed to fine offenders otherwise (unlike people who smoke on trains or station platforms).
The nucleus of the system was the Mersey Railway, which opened from Liverpool James Street to , Birkenhead
running through the Mersey Railway Tunnel, one of the world's first underwater railway tunnels in 1886. This route was extended to in 1890. A branch to Birkenhead Park
was added in 1888 to connect with the Wirral Railway
and the original line extended to Rock Ferry
to connect with the to Chester
line in 1891.
The Mersey Railway was electrified in 1903 (the first full electrification of a steam railway in the world). This was followed by the separate Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
line from Liverpool Exchange
to Southport
, which was electrified in 1906. The electrification of the former Wirral Railway lines to (New Brighton
and West Kirby
) took place in 1937 and allowed through running into Liverpool via the Mersey Railway tunnel.
, included the closure of two of Liverpool's main line terminal stations, and high-level in Liverpool, and also Woodside Station
in Birkenhead.
Riverside terminal station
at the Pier Head was the fourth terminal station to close. However, this station was not a part of the Beeching cuts, the demise of the trans-Atlantic liner trade forced closure in 1971.
The Beeching Report recommended that the suburban and outer suburban commuter rail services into both Exchange and Central High-level stations be terminated and that long and medium distance routes be concentrated on Lime Street Station. Liverpool City Council, took an alternative view and proposed the retention of the suburban services and their integration into a regional rapid-transit network. This approach was backed up by the Merseyside Area Land Use and Transportation Study, the MALTS report. Liverpool City Council's proposal was adopted and Merseyrail was born.
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority, later named Merseytravel, was formed in 1969 with representatives from all Merseyside local authorities taking responsibility for the local rail network, henceforth known as 'Merseyrail'. At that time, the lines out of Liverpool Exchange, Liverpool Central Low Level and Liverpool Lime Street stations were totally independent and were given the names of 'Northern Line', 'Wirral Line' and 'City Line' respectively.
The Strategic Plan for the North West, the SPNW, in 1973 envisaged that the Outer Loop, the Edge Hill Spur connecting the east of the city to the central underground sections and the lines to St.Helens, Wigan and Warrington would be electrified and all integrated into Merseyrail by 1991.
Trains from Wirral arriving via the original Mersey Railway tunnel enter the loop beneath Mann Island and continue in a clockwise direction through James Street, , Lime Street
, Central
, and return to the Wirral via James Street station.
The present Northern Line station at Liverpool Central (Low Level) was originally the Mersey Railway terminus. The original 1880s tunnel between James St and Central stations was partially used to form part of the Link Tunnel, the remainder between Paradise Street Junction and Derby Square, has been retained for use as a rolling stock interchange line between the Northern and Wirral lines containing a reversing siding for use by Wirral Line trains when the Loop Tunnel is inoperative. The rolling stock interchange section of the tunnel is not presently used for passenger traffic.
The Link Tunnel was intended to link the urban lines north and south of the city completing the western section of a planned double track electrified suburban circle line, circling the city, known as the 'Outer Rail Loop'. However, the eastern section of the Outer Loop was never constructed.
diesel service use different ends of the same platform.
line from Liverpool Central to Garston was made possible by the excavation of the invert of the tunnel into Central High Level station to form a link into the southern end of Central Low Level station. This link had been envisaged when the Mersey Railway
was extended to Central in the 1890s. The CLC line had been abandoned since the termination of the Liverpool Central to Gateacre service in 1972. On reopening, the line was electrified using the Merseyrail 750v DC third rail system and allowed through running via the Link Line tunnel to the Northern Line branches to Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby. The line was opened in 1978.
. The reopened line passed under the West Coast Main Line Liverpool branch at Allerton but needed to cross the old Cheshire Lines Committee
line to Manchester on the flat, which affected capacity.
had been a terminus for Wirral Line services since the Mersey Railway
was extended there from Green Lane in 1891. Passengers for the lines to Chester and Helsby would change trains at this station from the electric service onto mainline services, operated by steam and diesel. Rock Ferry became one of the terminals for the Merseyrail Wirral Line. In 1985 the line from Rock Ferry to Hooton
was electrified and incorporated in the Wirral Line of Merseyrail becoming a new terminus.
Hooton is a junction station where the line to Helsby
via Ellesmere Port
branches off the main Liverpool to Chester line. The line from Hooton to Chester was electrified in 1993, with Chester becoming a terminus station of the Wirral Line. The line from Hooton to Ellesmere Port was incorporated into the Wirral Line with Ellesmere Port also becoming a terminus and interchange station.
: Opened in 2006 on the site of Holly Park football ground of South Liverpool FC in South Liverpool. It is an interchange station between the Merseyrail Northern Line from Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross and the City Line from Liverpool Lime Street to Runcorn and Warrington Central and also main line services. The station also includes a bus terminal and large car park and has frequent bus services to Liverpool John Lennon Airport
. The station was formed from an amalgamation of the four track Allerton Station and the relocation of the Merseyrail Garston Station. Garston station was closed on the opening of the new facility being the first station closure on the Merseyrail network since Liverpool Exchange station in 1977.
s. In approximately 2013 the current Merseyrail fleet is scheduled to be replaced, if trains capable of use beyond the third rail
DC
network are selected as replacements then various expansions can be achieved without electrification of the entire new route.
and London Overground
have withdrawn their fleets of Class 508
multiple units. It would be possible to transfer these units back to Merseyside to supplement the current Merseyrail fleet. In November 2009, the Liverpool Daily Post
reported that Merseyrail is in talks to add three further trains to its fleet to boost rush-hour capacity, with rolling stock that is currently part of London Overground
. Although the trains would have to be refurbished, they could be in service by mid-2010. However, no additional units have been taken on by Merseyrail as of July 2010, despite the suggestions of both passengers and the Merseyside RUS to improve capacity.
On 30th April 2011, it was the last day for train manufacturers from around the world to put bids in to build the new fleet for the Merseyrail network. Merseytravel and Merseyrail have announced that the new fleet should be operational by 2017. This means the lease for the fleet right now will have to be extended 2yrs from the leasing company, Angel Trains
, from 2015-2017. This information is supported by Liverpool Echo article dated 22 Mar 2011.
have suggested that tram-trains could offer an opportunity to connect more areas of Merseyside to the rail network. Operating tram-trains would allow street running, providing an alternative route through Liverpool city centre. This could potentially relieve pressure on the busy underground section of the network. This is a long-term aspiration suggested for around 2024 and would be dependant on successful trials of the technology elsewhere on the UK rail network.
In August 2009, the Liverpool Daily Post
reported that a new tram-train link to Liverpool John Lennon Airport
and a link to Kings Dock from the east of the city, had been proposed.
In 2007 Merseytravel announced that funding had been secured to extend the electrification beyond Kirkby to a new station at to serve the extensive Tower Hill housing estate, however no work has commenced.
Extension of the electrification extending Merseyrail through to Wigan Wallgate
is a long-term aspiration of Merseytravel.
from to is operated by Arriva Trains Wales
using diesel trains. Various proposals to electrify some or all of the line exist. The most recent study, conducted by Network Rail in 2008, investigated the costs of extending the Merseyrail network third rail electrification to Wrexham. However, when the cost was estimated at £207 million, Merseytravel announced that cheaper overhead line electrification would be considered instead. This would require the replacements for the Class 507 and 508 Electric Multiple Units
to be equipped with dual-voltage equipment to operate on both overhead and third rail electrification.
with the Manchester to Southport Line. The last regular passenger trains ran over the curves in 1962; the tracks were subsequently lifted. The reinstatement of the Burscough Curves would allow direct Preston-Southport and Ormskirk-Southport services and provide an alternative Liverpool-Southport route. Network Rail have recommended that a strategy for the Burscough Curves be developed further.
In a parliamentary debate on 27 April 2011, the Burscough Curves were a prime point of the debate. The transport minister wished to meet Southport MP John Pugh regarding the reinstatement of the curves.
line is a line running from Edge Hill Junction in the east of the city in a long curve to Canada Dock in the north of the city. It meets Merseyrail's Northern Line at a junction between and stations. The line's last remaining passenger services were withdrawn in 1977, but the line remains busy with freight to Seaforth Container Terminal.
The line could be reopened to passengers, allowing the reopening of stations along its length: , , , Tuebrook
, and . The line from Edge Lane would continue through to Edge Hill station and terminate at Lime Street
.
Network Rail have investigated options for the Canada Dock Branch in their Route Utilisation Strategy for Merseyside and have concluded that the expected benefits do not justify the investment in new infrastructure. However, it has been suggested that Liverpool FC could assist in funding the reopening of this line to provide a direct link to their proposed new Stanley Park Stadium
.
The Department for Transport's Rail electrification document of July 2009, states that the route to Liverpool Docks will be electrified. The Canada Dock Branch Line is the only line into the docks. From the document:
The electrification of this line would greatly assist in recommissioning passenger trains, as costs would be reduced.
from Bootle to Aintree is currently used only by engineering trains to gain access to Merseyrail tracks, however Merseytravel have long-term goals to reopen and electrify the line. The line was considered in the Merseyside Route Utilisation Strategy document, concluding that reopening could not yet be recommended. However the Route Utilisation Strategy document went on to state:
from Upholland to Skelmersdale
town centre has been proposed. This would give Skelmersdale, the second largest town in North West England without a railway service, direct access to Liverpool city centre's shopping and business districts. Network Rail have recommended that a further feasibility study into this possibility be carried out.
In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies
, in its Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
report, called for funding for the reopening of the line from Ormskirk to Skelmersdale as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe
, including seven new parkway stations.
, a short section of track from Frodsham
to Runcorn
which currently operates one passenger train per week. It is only possible for trains to use the curve in the northbound direction because of signalling and permanent way restrictions. The curve was threatened with closure in 2004, however was reprieved and there is a hope that one day a passenger service will return
Proposals for the route were included in Network Rail's Route Utilisation Strategy for Wales. An hourly service between Liverpool and Chester via the curve would be feasible if the line was upgraded.
This would improve railway connections from Chester and North Wales to Liverpool South Parkway, the nearest station for Liverpool John Lennon Airport
. Whether the Liverpool Lime Street to Chester line via Runcorn railway bridge and Liverpool South Parkway station will be on the Merseyrail network using dual-voltage trains remains to be seen.
The idea of using the former Cheshire Lines Committee
's North Liverpool Extension Line
route through the eastern suburbs of Liverpool as a rapid transit rail route serving the city centre was developed in the 1960s into the Outer Rail Loop scheme. This would be an electric passenger railway circling the city by using a combination of newly electrified existing lines and a new link tunnel under the city centre. This was similar to a 1940s proposal for a 'belt' line using the Liverpool Overhead Railway
as its western section. The proposal advanced into one large outer loop with two sub loops. One for the northern section of the city and one for the south.
A part of the proposal was that passengers on the mainline radial routes into Lime Street entering from the east and south, could transfer onto the electric urban rapid-transit network at interchange stations on the Loop to access outer suburbs and avoid the need to travel into the city centre. Liverpool South Parkway is an example of such a station although completed in 2006, long after the Outer Rail Loop scheme had ceased to be a live Merseytravel project. Another interchange station was to have been at Broad Green. This would have been a six track underground station called Rocket located near to the M62 and Queens Drive junction.
The Outer Rail Loop, as proposed in the 1960s would use the following sections of line:
The east section of line: the former Cheshire Lines Committee North Liverpool Extension Line from Hunts Cross to Walton which ran through the city's eastern suburbs. This line was originally built as a freight line to Huskisson Dock to allow the Cheshire Lines Committee to have a share of the lucrative North Liverpool Docks trade. Passenger services were also run on this line with the last service ending in 1972 with the closing of the Liverpool Central to Gateacre service. The line crosses the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Broad Green.
The north section would use the curve that forms the southern side of the Walton Rail Triangle, skirting Walton Hall Park, and via the Rice Lane and Breeze Hill tunnels to Kirkdale station to join the western section at the old Liverpool Exchange to Ormskirk branch, which would be the new Northern Line. A later version of the project was to extend the eastern section to Aintree and then used the North Mersey Branch as the northern section. The North Mersey Branch branched directly south of Aintree station joining the western section at the old Liverpool Exchange to Southport line, north of Bootle New Strand Station.
The west section would link the former Lanchashire and Yorkshire lines out of Exchange Station with the Cheshire Lines Committee line out of Central by means of a new tunnel under Liverpool city centre. This tunnel, known as the Liverpool Link Line, utilised part of the former Liverpool Central to James Street Mersey Railway tunnel plus some new single track tunnels. Two underground stations, Central Low Level and Moorfields, provided interchange with the Wirral Line, allowing their high level counterparts at Central High-Level and Liverpool Exchange stations to be closed. The Link Line was opened in 1977 forming the most expensive part of the Outer Rail Loop.
The southern section would be formed from the short stretch of line from Allerton Junction to Halewood Junction, linking the Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross Cheshire Lines Committee route with the eastern section, the North Liverpool Extension Line.
The main drawback of the Outer Rail Loop was the indirect route offered from the eastern suburbs to Liverpool City Centre, the main destination for passenger journeys in the conurbation. For example, a journey from West Derby would involve travelling either via Aintree to the North or Gateacre to the south. As such, it was uncompetitive with slower, but more direct, bus services.
To resolve this problem, the Edge Hill Spur scheme was proposed, which would cut the Loop into two smaller loops, a northern loop and a southern loop, thereby reducing distances. It would involve a complex tunnelled junction with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
at Broad Green, with a six platform underground interchange station under the Rocket pub near the M62 to Queens Drive junction.
The demise of the project was compounded by cost overruns on the Loop and Link tunnel projects and the financial stringency of the late 1970s and by delays to the parliamentary bill required to authorise the works caused by the objection of the MP for Broad Green on the grounds of the disruption to local residents.
Since the postponement of the project, a number of Route Utilisation Strategy documents have mentioned re-opening the North Mersey Branch line to form a passenger link between Bootle and Aintree with stations to serve Ford and Girobank. This would have formed the northern section of the loop. The remaining section of the loop, the line from Hunts Cross to Aintree, is now the Liverpool Loop Country Park, a popular walking and cycling route.
The earlier proposed route for the northern section of the loop via the southern side of the Walton Rail Triangle, skirting Walton Hall Park, and via Rice Lane and Breeze Hill tunnels to Kirkdale station, is now disused and built upon. The later northern alignment using the North Mersey Branch via Aintree and Bootle is still in use but single tracked and used only by maintenance trains.
For several decades, Merseytravel safeguarded the route against development. .
Despite the Outer Rail Loop project never having been realised, the project has left an important legacy. The Link Line tunnel beneath Liverpool City Centre, which integrates the Northern and Wirral lines and links the northern and southern rail networks is the most obvious. However the establishment of the Liverpool Loop Country Park owes its existence to the safeguarding of the line, which meant that its bridges and tunnels were left in place and a through route was maintained.
In the 1960s/early 1970s the Edge Hill Spur scheme was proposed to extend the Merseyrail underground network from Liverpool Central Station to Edge Hill Station
using existing freight and passenger tunnels. The original proposal was extended to widen the benefits of the proposal. The scheme has not been actively pursued since the 1980s but a junction to facilitate future construction was built as part of the Link Line works in the 1970s.
The construction of the Spur would have served two main functions:
The initial and cheaper proposal was to re-use the 1829 Wapping freight tunnel
, by means of two new single track tunnels from a new junction, Liverpool Central South Junction, on the tunnel approach to Central Station. The Wapping Tunnel would give access to Edge Hill via the historic Cavendish Cutting built for the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Access to the City Line would be obtained via a flyover to the east of Edge Hill Station over the main lines from Lime Street
. This flyover has since been demolished. A new station would be needed at Edge Hill, if Edge Hill was to be served, as the existing station is at the head of the Lime Street cutting and Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel
.
In the early 1970s, Liverpool City Council planners proposed an alternative scheme, which was subsequently adopted. This revised route would permit a new underground station to be constructed to serve Liverpool University, which would be located behind the Student's Union building in Mount Pleasant. This scheme would extend the tunnels in a large radius curve to the north, passing beneath the mainline Lime Street station approach cutting accessing Edge Hill via the Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel
. The tunnel served the former Waterloo Goods depot opposite Waterloo Dock and the Riverside passenger station serving trans-Atlantic liners at the Pier Head. On emerging from this tunnel at the existing Edge Hill Station, the route would be on the right side of the main lines to serve the City Line branches without the need for a flyover.
Although powers were obtained to construct the line under the Merseyside Metropolitan Railway Act (1975), construction was postponed due to the financial cutbacks and political opposition that also halted the Outer Rail Loop. An attempt was made to revive the project in the mid 80s however it was found not to be financially viable, as the city was experiencing a financial collapse.
The only part of the scheme to be realised was Liverpool Central South Junction south of the underground station, which was constructed as part of the Link Tunnel project on the Northern Line. This is a burrowing junction
, similar to that at Hamilton Square station in Birkenhead, which would allow trains from Edge Hill to pass beneath trains from Central station on the Northern Line increasing throughput. Two short header branch tunnels were cut into the rock, which would allow construction to proceed on the Spur without disrupting existing services if the project was revived. The two header tunnels can be used for branching into either the Wapping or Victoria/Waterloo tunnels.
Following the collapse of the Merseytram
scheme in 2006, proposals were considered to revive the scheme. The route of the tunnels is being protected. Merseyrail required revisions to the Central Village
scheme commenced in 2010 to prevent obstruction of the proposed tunnel route. The electrification of the 1830 Liverpool to
Manchester line and the Merseyrail City Line, due for completion in 2013, which both run through Edge Hill gives impetus to revive the tunnelled spur into Liverpool's city centre.
The 1849 Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel is over 2 miles long with the 1829 Wapping Tunnel 1.24 miles long. Both run from Edge Hill, under Liverpool city centre to former goods stations on the Dock Road, serving the north and south Liverpool Docks. The Waterloo Tunnel also served the Riverside passenger station at Liverpool's Pier Head, serving the trans-Atlantic liner trade. The tunnels are protected for future use.
Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
and commuter rail
Commuter rail in the United Kingdom
Urban rail, commuter rail, regional rail, or suburban rail, plays a key role in the public transport system of many of the United Kingdom's major cities. Urban rail is defined as a rail service between a central business district and suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a...
network in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, centred on Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
. The network is predominantly electric
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
with diesel trains running on the City Line
City Line (Merseyrail)
The City Line is the name given to local rail routes out of Liverpool Lime Street station, Liverpool, Merseyside. It appears on maps of the Merseyrail network as red, and covers the Liverpool-Wigan Line as well as the two routes of the Liverpool-Manchester Line...
. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with completion planned for 2016, which will almost complete electrification of the network. The third-rail electrified DC section of the network has 67 stations spread across 75 miles of route of which 6.5 miles is underground. Carrying over 100,000 passengers each day, it is one the most heavily used railway networks in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
outside London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
,. Although a part of the National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
network organistion, Merseyrail is a separate network.
Merseyrail was established in 1969, however the separate rail lines were physically integrated into one network in 1977 when new tunnels were constructed under Liverpool's city centre
Liverpool City Centre
Liverpool city centre is the commercial, cultural, financial and historical heart of Liverpool, England.Unlike many other cities in the United Kingdom, a ring road doesn't distinguish the city centre from the remainder of Liverpool, although an inner ring road of sorts does exist, with the recent...
and Birkenhead, connecting previously separate railway routes. This created a large, comprehensive urban railway network. Although financial constraints prevented some of the earlier plans being realised, the original 1970s network has been extended with more extensions proposed.
The Merseyrail name became the official brand for the network in the days of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, surviving several franchise
Rail franchising in Great Britain
Rail franchising in Great Britain was created by the Railways Act 1993. Passenger services are franchised, for a limited period, to train operating companies...
holders, although the name was not used by Arriva
Arriva Trains Merseyside
Arriva Trains Merseyside was a train operating company operating passenger trains in Merseyside . The previous franchise holder was Merseyrail Electrics. Arriva bought the parent company MTL following bankruptcy in 1999, upon which the franchise was renamed Arriva Trains Merseyside...
when it held the franchise. Despite this, Merseytravel
Merseytravel
Merseytravel Merseytravel Merseytravel (MPTE, or Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
continued the Merseyrail branding at stations, allowing the name to be adopted colloquially. Merseyrail is referred to as "Merseyrail Electrics" by National Rail Enquiries, and as "Serco/Abellio Merseyrail" by Merseytravel
Merseytravel
Merseytravel Merseytravel Merseytravel (MPTE, or Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
.
The Merseyrail Network
The two lines operated by Merseyrail which form part of the Merseyrail Network are the busiest British urban commuter networks outside London, transporting over 100,000 passengers a day. Train services run on the Northern LineNorthern Line (Merseyrail)
The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...
and Wirral Line
Wirral Line
The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line...
, covering the Liverpool suburban area and Merseyside. The total track length is 75 miles (120.7 km), and there are 67 stations. The system's lines connect Liverpool city centre with cities and towns on the outer reaches of the city region (such as Southport and Chester), on their way passing through the intermediate urban areas with frequent stops. Trains run typically every fifteen minutes to most destinations, with lines converging in the central areas to provide a frequency of five minutes or less.
The Northern Line links Liverpool city centre with , and to the north, and to the south. The Wirral Line, extending under the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, links Liverpool with New Brighton
New Brighton, Merseyside
New Brighton is a seaside resort forming part of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England. It is located at the northeastern tip of the Wirral Peninsula, within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and has sandy beaches...
, West Kirby
West Kirby
West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...
, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
. The two lines are entirely electrified
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
, using a 750 V DC third-rail.
The currently diesel hauled City Line
City Line (Merseyrail)
The City Line is the name given to local rail routes out of Liverpool Lime Street station, Liverpool, Merseyside. It appears on maps of the Merseyrail network as red, and covers the Liverpool-Wigan Line as well as the two routes of the Liverpool-Manchester Line...
is not an integral part of the dedicated Merseyrail electrified system. Parts of regional lines, operated by other rail companies, that run through Merseyside are branded the City Line, receiving funding from Merseytravel, with integrated ticketing arrangements within Merseyrail. The diesel trains on the City Line are less frequent than the trains on the electric Northern and Wirral Lines. The whole of the City Line line is scheduled to be electrified with completion due in 2013.
Frequent train services on Merseyrail lines provide for cross-city connections:
- 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.
Northern Line
Services on the Northern Line operate from in the south of Liverpool, via a tunnel from Brunswick Station through Liverpool Central and Moorfields, to . Services also run from Liverpool Central to and . Each route has a train every 15 minutes Monday-Saturday giving a five-minute interval between trains on the central section. Connections are available at to , at to and , at OrmskirkOrmskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
to and at to and .
Wirral Line
Services on the Wirral Line operate from the Loop described above through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to station in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
. From there, they run either south to , where they continue to either or , or west to , where the line bifurcates to and . Connections are available at on the West Kirby branch, for the Borderlands Line
Borderlands Line
The Borderlands Line is the railway line between Wrexham, Wales, and Bidston, Wirral, England.Passenger train services are operated by Arriva Trains Wales between Wrexham Central and Bidston. Trains run every hour Monday to Saturday daytime, every two hours after 18:45 and on Sundays...
to Wrexham
Wrexham Central railway station
Wrexham Central railway station is the smaller of two main railway stations serving the central area of Wrexham in Wales. The platform can accommodate a three car diesel train, but has room for platform extension...
operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
, at to Crewe and London Euston, Wrexham and Shrewsbury, the North Wales Coast line to Llandudno and , and Manchester via Warrington or Northwich, and at a minimal service to Warrington
Warrington Bank Quay railway station
Warrington Bank Quay railway station is a mainline railway station serving the UK town of Warrington. The town centre has two stations on opposite sides of the main shopping area, Warrington Central operating a more frequent service to the neighbouring cities Liverpool and Manchester...
.
Monday-Saturday services are every 15 minutes from Liverpool to Chester, New Brighton and West Kirby, and every 30 minutes to Ellesmere Port (Monday - Sunday). These combine to give a service less than every five minutes around the Loop.
City Line
The City Line currently runs diesel trains, unlike the Northern and Wirral Lines which operate electric trains. The City Line is not part of the Merseyrail franchise. The 1970s plan for Merseyrail was to electrify the City Line. Budget cuts prevented the plan from being fully realised. However a work-around was that services operated by Northern RailNorthern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
running through Merseyside are sponsored by Merseytravel
Merseytravel
Merseytravel Merseytravel Merseytravel (MPTE, or Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
and - with the exception of long distance routes - are branded as Merseyrail services. Broadly speaking, the line includes the Liverpool to Wigan Line
Liverpool to Wigan Line
The Liverpool to Wigan Line is a railway line in the north-west of England, running between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western via St Helens Central.-Description:...
and the two alternative branches making up the northern and southern Liverpool to Manchester Lines.
In 2009 the government announced that the northerly route would be electrified. Work is due to be completed by 2013 In February 2010 Network Rail's Northern Hub Plan, on page 26, announced that 4 electrified lines will be operative from Broad Green Station to Huyton Station. This is to allow a fast uninterrupted service from Liverpool to Manchester and slower electric urban trains to operate on segregated tracks from Liverpool to Wigan. Merseyrail City Line trains run on this section of track. Whether Merseyrail electric trains, operated by either Merseyrail or Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
will run on this electrified section remains to be clarified.
Current fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Unit numbers | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| Class 507 British Rail Class 507 British Rail Class 507 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in two batches from 1978 to 1980. The first thirty sets were constructed from September 1978 to mid-1979 and a further three were added during 1980... |
 |
electric multiple unit Electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages... |
507001-021, 023-033 | Northern Line Northern Line (Merseyrail) The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes... Wirral Line Wirral Line The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line... |
||||
| Class 508/1 British Rail Class 508 The British Rail Class 508 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979-80. They were the fourth variety of BR's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes... |
 |
electric multiple unit Electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages... |
508103-4, 108, 110-112, 114-5, 117, 120, 122-8, 130-1, 134, 136-141, 143 | Northern Line Northern Line (Merseyrail) The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes... Wirral Line Wirral Line The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line... |
||||
Fleet summary
Services on the electrified Merseyrail network are operated exclusively by the Class 507British Rail Class 507
British Rail Class 507 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in two batches from 1978 to 1980. The first thirty sets were constructed from September 1978 to mid-1979 and a further three were added during 1980...
and Class 508
British Rail Class 508
The British Rail Class 508 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979-80. They were the fourth variety of BR's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes...
electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s. These replaced pre-war Class 502
British Rail Class 502
The British Rail Class 502 was a type of electric multiple unit originally built by the London Midland and Scottish Railway at their Derby Works...
(originally constructed by the LMS
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
) and almost identical Class 503
British Rail Class 503
British Rail Class 503 trains were 70 mph electric multiple units. They were introduced in two batches — in 1938 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway with a further batch in 1956 by the then nationalised British Railways...
electric multiple units. There are a total of 59 trains in service on the network. This is down from an initial 76: twelve 508s were transferred to Connex South Eastern
Connex South Eastern
Connex South Eastern was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It was owned by the Connex Group and operated between 14 October 1996 and 9 November 2003. The company operated passenger services in South London and Kent...
in 1996, a further three were transferred to Silverlink
Silverlink
Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...
to supplement their fleet of Class 313
British Rail Class 313
British Rail Class 313 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York Works between February 1976 and April 1977 and were the first second-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail...
electric multiple units in North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. These train sets had been left in storage from the early 1990s due to recessionary conditions.
Two sets have been written-off and subsequently scrapped. These are unit 507022 in 1991 after a collision and unit 508118 which had been gutted by fire in an arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
attack in Birkenhead during 2001.
Kirkdale TMD
Kirkdale TMD is a Traction Maintenance Depot located beside Kirkdale railway station in north Liverpool, England. It is the largest depot on the Merseyrail network, located on the Northern Line and is used primarily for stabling units, carrying out minor repair works and cleaning units both...
and Birkenhead North TMD
Birkenhead North TMD
Birkenhead North TMD is a traction maintenance depot located opposite Birkenhead North railway station for servicing Merseyrail Class 507 and 508 multiple units and rolling stock. The depot code is BD.-History:...
, the two depots on the network. Minor repair work and stock cleaning takes place at Kirkdale, while overhauls are completed at Birkenhead. Other depots at Hall Road
Hall Road TMD
Hall Road TMD was a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated adjacent to Hall Road railway station. The depot was a facility for storage and servicing of Merseyrail multiple units and rolling stock...
and Birkenhead Central
Birkenhead Central TMD
Birkenhead Central MPD is a former Motive power depot located adjacent to Birkenhead Central railway station, built to replace that at Mollington Street. It has been disused for many years, although the depot housing still exists along with all the track...
were closed in 1997, and the former was demolished in April 2009.
The fleet was refurbished during 2003-05, a process involving trainsets being transported to and from Eastleigh
Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough which is part of Southampton Urban Area. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation...
works behind Class 67
British Rail Class 67
The Class 67 locomotives are a class of Bo'Bo' diesel electric mainline locomotives which were built for the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway between 1999 to 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with drive components from General Motors Diesel.Rail enthusiasts have nicknamed the class...
locomotives.
Depots: An assessment is currently taking place as to whether it would be viable to reopen the Birkenhead Central depot, which would increase the efficiency of Merseyrail services and allow additional train sets to be transferred back to Merseyside. The Merseyrail fleet is due for renewal in 2013.
To celebrate Liverpool's successful 2008 European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
bid, Merseyrail named one of their train sets (508136) 'Capital of Culture'. A press ceremony took place at Kirkdale TMD where Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
, the wife of then-Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, named 508143 Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
. This nameplate was removed during mid-2009. In February 2008 the first of four sets in a special Capital of Culture promotional livery was released. Set no. 508134 was emblazoned in a purple livery showcasing the "creative" element of the city. Three more followed in blue "maritime", green "heritage" and red "sport" colours, however were removed in November 2009. On 11 October 2011, set 508111 was unveiled in a blue advertising livery for The Beatles Story
The Beatles Story
The Beatles Story is a visitor attraction dedicated to the leading 1960s group The Beatles. It is based in Albert Dock, Liverpool, England.- Description :...
, a museum for The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
in Liverpool.
From July 2008, four trains were named after true Merseyside icons following a poll in local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
. The first, named Red Rum
Red Rum
Red Rum was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years...
, was unveiled at Southport on 14 July 2008 by Ginger McCain
Ginger McCain
Donald "Ginger" McCain was an English National Hunt trainer, perhaps best known for training the legendary horse Red Rum. A successful trainer who won many races, he trained Red Rum on Crosby beach near Liverpool...
. Four more have followed, named Bob Paisley
Bob Paisley
Robert "Bob" Paisley OBE was an English football half back turned manager. His association with Liverpool was to span nearly half a century including his contribution to the club, first as a player, then as a physiotherapist and coach, and finally as manager.In nine years as manager between 1974...
, Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
, John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. A further train was named Councillor Jack Spriggs on 26 October 2011.
Former fleet
A number of Northern RailNorthern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
Class 142
British Rail Class 142
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984....
Diesel Multiple Unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s and Class 150
British Rail Class 150
The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...
sets wore the Merseytravel yellow livery for several years operating on the City Line, although they were not directly operated by Merseyrail. These have since been repainted into other liveries.
Merseyrail formerly had four Class 73
British Rail Class 73
The British Rail Class 73 is a United Kingdom model of electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from a 750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes...
electro-diesel locomotives for shunting, sandite
Sandite
Sandite is a substance used on railways in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands to combat leaves on the line, which can cause train wheels to slip and become damaged with flat spots...
trains, engineering works and other departmental duties; two of these had been repainted in the yellow livery of the previous franchise holder. These locomotives were sold to a preservation company in 2002.
On-train announcements
All Merseyrail trains have automated on-board announcements voiced by Julie Berry, who also voices for SouthernSouthern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
, Heathrow Connect
Heathrow Connect
Heathrow Connect is a train operating company in London provided jointly by Heathrow Express and First Great Western, connecting Heathrow Airport with station. The service follows the same route as the Heathrow Express service but serves intermediate stations en route, thus connecting several...
and the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
Piccadilly line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
. A catalogue of announcements may be played by the driver or guard. Announcements in the same style are also activated automatically by the emergency systems on the train, playing on a continuous loop until deactivated. There is also a series of automated station announcements, voiced by Brian Coby, which announce when trains are terminating at a particular station outside of the regular timetable (for example in the case of severe delay). The only other pre-recorded station announcements are in the case of emergency, and all other announcements are made live by the duty station announcer.
The franchise
Following the privatisation of the Great Britain rail networkRail transport in Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...
, the Merseyrail service was run first by MTL under the name Merseyrail Electrics
Merseyrail Electrics
Merseyrail Electrics was the franchise holder of the Merseyrail service from 19 January 1997. The company was owned by MTL, who were also awarded the Northern Spirit franchise. MTL became bankrupt in 1999, and the franchise was handed to Arriva Trains Merseyside.-Fleet:-External links:*...
, then Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
Trains Merseyside, before its award to a Serco-Abellio consortium of Serco
Serco Group
Serco Group plc is a government services company based in Hook, North Hampshire in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
and Abellio
Abellio
Abellio was a god worshipped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania , known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered at Comminges...
(a division of Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
) in 2003. The current franchise is contracted to the consortium for an initial 25-year period. The Merseyrail franchise, referred to officially as a "contract", is awarded by the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
rather than the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
which issues all other franchises. The only other exception is the franchise for the London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
network, awarded by Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
in 2007. Merseyrail is given such exception because the tracks concerned are self-contained and separate from the rest of the British railway network – no other services normally run over the third-rail network. As a result of this isolation, the franchise-holder is keen to adopt vertical integration – taking responsibility for maintenance of the track from Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
. The current Franchise Manager is Dave Davenport.
Performance
Operating as a self-contained network there are relatively few problems because of less conflict with other train operating companiesTrain operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
. Merseyrail has publicly committed to aiming to be the best train operating company in the UK. The latest figures released by the Office of Rail Regulation (as of the fourth quarter of 2010-11) report that Merseyrail's PPM slipped to 94.8% and the MAA dropped to 94.9%.
In February 2010, Merseyrail were named the most reliable operator of trains in the UK, with a reliability average of 96.33% during 2009-2010, the highest ever achieved by any UK train operator.
Financial performance
| Year ending | Turnover (£m) | Gross profit Gross profit In accounting, gross profit or sales profit is the difference between revenue and the cost of making a product or providing a service, before deducting overhead, payroll, taxation, and interest payments... (£m) |
Trading profit Earnings before interest and taxes In accounting and finance, earnings before interest and taxes is a measure of a firm's profit that excludes interest and income tax expenses. Operating income is the difference between operating revenues and operating expenses... (£m) |
Pre-Tax profit Net profit Net profit or net revenue is a measure of the profitability of a venture after accounting for all costs. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 91 percent responded that they found the "net profit" metric very useful... (£m) |
Retained profit Net income Net income is the residual income of a firm after adding total revenue and gains and subtracting all expenses and losses for the reporting period. Net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as an addition to retained earnings... (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2010 | 124.5 | 12.1 | 12.5 | ||
| January 2009 | 127 | 11.4 | 6.5 | ||
| January 2008 | 116 | 9.2 | |||
Enforcement of bye-laws
Merseyrail employs a team of officers who enforce railway by-laws relating to placing feet on seats, travelling without tickets, and other aspects of anti-social behaviour. Merseyrail is the only UK train operator to take such a vigorous approach, a stand which Merseyrail claims has proved popular with commuters and has reduced anti-social behaviour on the system.The enforcement of this bye-law by Merseyrail was judged to be "draconian" in September 2007; however, Merseyrail stated that they did not want to take offenders to court, but were not allowed to fine offenders otherwise (unlike people who smoke on trains or station platforms).
Collection of separate railways
The present Merseyrail system was merged from the lines of five former pre-Grouping rail systems:- The Mersey RailwayMersey RailwayThe Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. It was constructed by...
- The Cheshire Lines CommitteeCheshire Lines CommitteeThe Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
railway (Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross section). - The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Liverpool to KirkbyLiverpool and Bury RailwayThe Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed in 1845 and opened on 28 November 1848. The line ran from Liverpool Exchange first using a joint line with Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway before branching of to proceed via Kirkby then Wigan and Bolton to Bury.In 1846 the line merged with the...
, Liverpool to OrmskirkLiverpool, Ormskirk and Preston RailwayThe Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston Railway was formed in 1846. It was purchased by the East Lancashire Railway. Today the line still operates, with the section between Liverpool and Ormskirk forming part of Merseyrail's Northern Line and the section between Ormskirk and Preston forming Northern...
and Liverpool to SouthportLiverpool, Crosby and Southport RailwayThe Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway received parliamentary authorization on 2 July 1847 and opened between Southport and Liverpool Waterloo on 24 July 1848.-LC&SR later operations:...
sections. - The Wirral RailwayWirral RailwayThe Wirral Railway was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway , with powers to build lines from Birkenhead to New Brighton, and to Parkgate on the western side of the Wirral Peninsula; the latter line was not built. Between 1872 and 1882 the HR was renamed twice, and extensions of the line...
(Birkenhead Park to New Brighton and West Kirkby) - The Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
& London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western RailwayThe London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(Rock Ferry to Hooton and Chester sections).
The nucleus of the system was the Mersey Railway, which opened from Liverpool James Street to , Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
running through the Mersey Railway Tunnel, one of the world's first underwater railway tunnels in 1886. This route was extended to in 1890. A branch to Birkenhead Park
Birkenhead Park
Birkenhead Park is a public park in the centre of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847...
was added in 1888 to connect with the Wirral Railway
Wirral Railway
The Wirral Railway was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway , with powers to build lines from Birkenhead to New Brighton, and to Parkgate on the western side of the Wirral Peninsula; the latter line was not built. Between 1872 and 1882 the HR was renamed twice, and extensions of the line...
and the original line extended to Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire...
to connect with the to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
line in 1891.
The Mersey Railway was electrified in 1903 (the first full electrification of a steam railway in the world). This was followed by the separate Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
line from Liverpool Exchange
Liverpool Exchange railway station
Liverpool Exchange railway station was a railway station located in the town centre of Liverpool, England.- Station construction and opening :...
to Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, which was electrified in 1906. The electrification of the former Wirral Railway lines to (New Brighton
New Brighton, Merseyside
New Brighton is a seaside resort forming part of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England. It is located at the northeastern tip of the Wirral Peninsula, within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and has sandy beaches...
and West Kirby
West Kirby
West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...
) took place in 1937 and allowed through running into Liverpool via the Mersey Railway tunnel.
Creation of Merseyrail
The programme of route closures in the early 1960s, known as the Beeching AxeBeeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, included the closure of two of Liverpool's main line terminal stations, and high-level in Liverpool, and also Woodside Station
Birkenhead Woodside railway station
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.-Background:Birkenhead Woodside railway station was opened on 31 March 1878 to replace the increasingly inadequate passenger facilities provided at Birkenhead Monks Ferry station.It was built...
in Birkenhead.
Riverside terminal station
Liverpool Riverside railway station
Liverpool Riverside was owned by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and located at Liverpool's Pier Head ship liner terminal. The station was specifically used for ship liner traffic, opening on the June 12, 1895....
at the Pier Head was the fourth terminal station to close. However, this station was not a part of the Beeching cuts, the demise of the trans-Atlantic liner trade forced closure in 1971.
The Beeching Report recommended that the suburban and outer suburban commuter rail services into both Exchange and Central High-level stations be terminated and that long and medium distance routes be concentrated on Lime Street Station. Liverpool City Council, took an alternative view and proposed the retention of the suburban services and their integration into a regional rapid-transit network. This approach was backed up by the Merseyside Area Land Use and Transportation Study, the MALTS report. Liverpool City Council's proposal was adopted and Merseyrail was born.
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority, later named Merseytravel, was formed in 1969 with representatives from all Merseyside local authorities taking responsibility for the local rail network, henceforth known as 'Merseyrail'. At that time, the lines out of Liverpool Exchange, Liverpool Central Low Level and Liverpool Lime Street stations were totally independent and were given the names of 'Northern Line', 'Wirral Line' and 'City Line' respectively.
The Strategic Plan for the North West, the SPNW, in 1973 envisaged that the Outer Loop, the Edge Hill Spur connecting the east of the city to the central underground sections and the lines to St.Helens, Wigan and Warrington would be electrified and all integrated into Merseyrail by 1991.
The Loop and Link Project
The major engineering works required to integrate the Northern and Wirral lines became known as the 'Loop' and 'Link' Project. The main works were carried out between 1972 and 1977. A further project, known as the Edge Hill Spur would have integrated the City Lines into the network but was never carried out. This project was to become one of the UK's largest railway infrastructure projects of the 1970s.The Loop Line
The Loop Line is a single track loop tunnel under Liverpool's city centre serving the Wirral lines. It was built to allow both greater capacity and a wider choice of destinations for Wirral Line users, which included the business and shopping districts of Liverpool city centre and Lime Street Station.Trains from Wirral arriving via the original Mersey Railway tunnel enter the loop beneath Mann Island and continue in a clockwise direction through James Street, , Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
, Central
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
, and return to the Wirral via James Street station.
The Link Line
The Link Line is a tunnelled route that linked the south of Liverpool urban line with the north of Liverpool urban line, giving one long line through the city centre. The line was named the Northern Line. The line provides direct access from the north and south of Liverpool to the shopping and business districts in the city centre via the two stations on the Link Tunnel, Liverpool Central and Moorfields which both interchange with the Wirral Line's Loop Tunnel. There is no direct access to Lime Street Station, passengers having to change onto the Wirral Line at Moorfields. Moorfields is near to the former terminus at Liverpool Exchange.The present Northern Line station at Liverpool Central (Low Level) was originally the Mersey Railway terminus. The original 1880s tunnel between James St and Central stations was partially used to form part of the Link Tunnel, the remainder between Paradise Street Junction and Derby Square, has been retained for use as a rolling stock interchange line between the Northern and Wirral lines containing a reversing siding for use by Wirral Line trains when the Loop Tunnel is inoperative. The rolling stock interchange section of the tunnel is not presently used for passenger traffic.
The Link Tunnel was intended to link the urban lines north and south of the city completing the western section of a planned double track electrified suburban circle line, circling the city, known as the 'Outer Rail Loop'. However, the eastern section of the Outer Loop was never constructed.
The Hamilton Square Burrowing Junction
A burrowing junction was constructed at Birkenhead Hamilton Square station, to increase traffic capacity on the Wirral Line by eliminating the flat junction to the west of the station. This included a new station tunnel at Hamilton Square to serve the lines to New Brighton and West Kirby.Liverpool Central South Junction
As part of the Link Line, a junction was built for the projected Edge Hill Spur (see below). This junction, called Liverpool Central South Junction, is located to the south of Liverpool Central Low Level station. It is termed a burrowing junction with the line from Central to Hunts Cross passing over the projected line from St Helens in a single track tunnel before rejoining the main route in the old Cheshire Lines tunnel. Short header tunnels were constructed to allow work to proceed at some future date without disrupting services on the Northern Line. The Edge Hill Spur project did not proceed due to financial problems.Expanding the Network (1977 - Present)
The Loop and Link project was followed by a programme of expansion, electrification and new stations, which built on the greater integration and capacity provided by the new infrastructure.Walton to Kirkby
This short electrification maintained a Kirkby service when the Liverpool to Wigan diesel service closed on the completion of the Link Line in 1977. The diversion of Northern Line services into Moorfields underground station from meant that the diesel service could not continue. The line was electrified using the standard 750V DC Merseyrail system. The diesel service to Wigan was cut back to Kirkby; the Merseyrail electric service and the Northern RailNorthern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
diesel service use different ends of the same platform.
Liverpool Central to Garston
The reopening of the former Cheshire Lines CommitteeCheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
line from Liverpool Central to Garston was made possible by the excavation of the invert of the tunnel into Central High Level station to form a link into the southern end of Central Low Level station. This link had been envisaged when the Mersey Railway
Mersey Railway
The Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. It was constructed by...
was extended to Central in the 1890s. The CLC line had been abandoned since the termination of the Liverpool Central to Gateacre service in 1972. On reopening, the line was electrified using the Merseyrail 750v DC third rail system and allowed through running via the Link Line tunnel to the Northern Line branches to Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby. The line was opened in 1978.
Garston to Hunts Cross
This short extension at the southern end of the Northern Line opened in 1983. It allowed interchange between the Merseyrail Northern Line services with City Line and main line services from Lime StreetLime Street
Lime Street is an American action/drama series that aired on the ABC television network during the 1985 television season. The series was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who also served as executive producer alongside husband Harry Thomason and series star Robert Wagner.-Synopsis:The cast of...
. The reopened line passed under the West Coast Main Line Liverpool branch at Allerton but needed to cross the old Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
line to Manchester on the flat, which affected capacity.
Rock Ferry to Hooton, Ellesmere Port and Chester
Rock Ferry railway stationRock Ferry railway station
Rock Ferry railway station is situated in the Rock Ferry area of Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies south west of on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network...
had been a terminus for Wirral Line services since the Mersey Railway
Mersey Railway
The Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. It was constructed by...
was extended there from Green Lane in 1891. Passengers for the lines to Chester and Helsby would change trains at this station from the electric service onto mainline services, operated by steam and diesel. Rock Ferry became one of the terminals for the Merseyrail Wirral Line. In 1985 the line from Rock Ferry to Hooton
Hooton railway station
Hooton railway station is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 15 km south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network, and is near the junction of the branch line to Ellesmere Port from the Chester line.The station is...
was electrified and incorporated in the Wirral Line of Merseyrail becoming a new terminus.
Hooton is a junction station where the line to Helsby
Helsby railway station
Helsby railway station serves the village of Helsby in Cheshire. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-Adopt-a-Station:...
via Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port railway station
Ellesmere Port railway station is located in the town of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. It is the terminal station of two lines on separate rail networks.* One of the termini of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network....
branches off the main Liverpool to Chester line. The line from Hooton to Chester was electrified in 1993, with Chester becoming a terminus station of the Wirral Line. The line from Hooton to Ellesmere Port was incorporated into the Wirral Line with Ellesmere Port also becoming a terminus and interchange station.
New Stations
A programme of new stations on the Merseyrail network expanded the coverage of the system. They are as follows:- On the Hooton to Chester line, opened in 1983.: On the Rock Ferry to Hooton line, opened in 1985 with the completion of electrification to Hooton.: On the Hooton to Ellesmere Port line, opened in 1988.
-
- (Bache and Overpool are outside the PTE boundary and were funded by Cheshire County Council with some support from Merseytravel).: On the Rock Ferry to Hooton line, opened in 1995.: On the Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross line opened in 1998. This station serves the South Docks regeneration area and also the Grafton Street area of Dingle high above the station via a staircase and footbridge.: On the Hamilton Square to Birkenhead Park underground line opened in 1998. This station was originally intended to be constructed as 'cut and cover' with an office building built on top. More onerous fire protection requirements arising from the Fennel report into the Kings Cross fire of 1987 made this prohibitively expensive and so the station was constructed in an open cut with lift access to the platforms. It serves the Europa Boulevard area of Birkenhead, a regeneration area.: Opened in 2000 on the City Line route from Edge Hill to Huyton to serve the expanding Technology Park.
-
: Opened in 2006 on the site of Holly Park football ground of South Liverpool FC in South Liverpool. It is an interchange station between the Merseyrail Northern Line from Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross and the City Line from Liverpool Lime Street to Runcorn and Warrington Central and also main line services. The station also includes a bus terminal and large car park and has frequent bus services to Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...
. The station was formed from an amalgamation of the four track Allerton Station and the relocation of the Merseyrail Garston Station. Garston station was closed on the opening of the new facility being the first station closure on the Merseyrail network since Liverpool Exchange station in 1977.
Future
There have been various suggestions for ways to enlarge the Merseyrail network. Some would extend beyond the current area, whilst others would use former existing lines or track bedTrack bed
A track bed or trackbed is the term used to describe the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links....
s. In approximately 2013 the current Merseyrail fleet is scheduled to be replaced, if trains capable of use beyond the third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
network are selected as replacements then various expansions can be achieved without electrification of the entire new route.
Future fleet
The Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for Merseyside called for additional units to ease overcrowding on peak-time services. SoutheasternSoutheastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
and London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
have withdrawn their fleets of Class 508
British Rail Class 508
The British Rail Class 508 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979-80. They were the fourth variety of BR's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes...
multiple units. It would be possible to transfer these units back to Merseyside to supplement the current Merseyrail fleet. In November 2009, the Liverpool Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
reported that Merseyrail is in talks to add three further trains to its fleet to boost rush-hour capacity, with rolling stock that is currently part of London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
. Although the trains would have to be refurbished, they could be in service by mid-2010. However, no additional units have been taken on by Merseyrail as of July 2010, despite the suggestions of both passengers and the Merseyside RUS to improve capacity.
On 30th April 2011, it was the last day for train manufacturers from around the world to put bids in to build the new fleet for the Merseyrail network. Merseytravel and Merseyrail have announced that the new fleet should be operational by 2017. This means the lease for the fleet right now will have to be extended 2yrs from the leasing company, Angel Trains
Angel Trains
Angel Trains is an English Rolling Stock Operating Company created in 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. It was one of three ROSCOs...
, from 2015-2017. This information is supported by Liverpool Echo article dated 22 Mar 2011.
Dual-voltage trains
The Route Utilisation Strategy document makes note of the benefits of dual-voltage Electric multiple units, which can be utilised on both the third rail Merseyrail network and future electrified lines which are likely to use overhead wires.Tram-trains
Network RailNetwork Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
have suggested that tram-trains could offer an opportunity to connect more areas of Merseyside to the rail network. Operating tram-trains would allow street running, providing an alternative route through Liverpool city centre. This could potentially relieve pressure on the busy underground section of the network. This is a long-term aspiration suggested for around 2024 and would be dependant on successful trials of the technology elsewhere on the UK rail network.
In August 2009, the Liverpool Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
reported that a new tram-train link to Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...
and a link to Kings Dock from the east of the city, had been proposed.
- John Lennon Airport: the existing Northern Line and the City Line from Liverpool Lime Street station to Liverpool South Parkway station are being assessed. From South Parkway the tram-trains seamlessly transfer to a new tramway.
- Kings Dock to Edge Hill: a link from Edge Hill in the east of the city to the Arena at Kings Dock in the city centre is also being considered. The disused 1829 1.26 mi Wapping TunnelWapping TunnelWapping or Edge Hill Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis...
links the two locations. Tram-trains then could access existing and proposed electrified lines to the east and south of the city.
Electrification
Many proposals to electrify lines and add them to the existing Merseyrail service have been put forward.The City Line
The entire City Line is being electrified from Liverpool to Wigan and the Manchester branches with construction from 2011 to 2013. Much of the details of the City Line have yet to be announced:- Whether Merseyrail operates the trains, incorporating the City Line fully into the Merseyrail electric network or Northern RailNorthern RailNorthern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
continues to operate on behalf of Merseytravel. - The extent of the electrified City Line.
- The terminus stations.
- If dual-voltage, overhead wire/third rail trains will be used for use on all of the Merseyrail network.
Kirkby to Wigan
In 1977, the Liverpool to section of the Liverpool to Bolton route was electrified and merged into Merseyrail. station became the terminal of the Northern Line Kirkby branch. The former through service to Bolton was split in two, with passengers wishing to make through journeys forced to change at from the Merseyrail electric network to the Northern Rail diesel network onwards to Bolton. An added advantage was that passengers as far as Hunts Cross, in south Liverpool, could travel to Kirkby, north of Liverpool, on Merseyrail. Previously the Bolton line terminated at the old Liverpool Exchange station and the Hunts Cross line at the old high level Central station, entailing a cross city centre journey by foot or taxi, there being no direct public transport (bus) route.In 2007 Merseytravel announced that funding had been secured to extend the electrification beyond Kirkby to a new station at to serve the extensive Tower Hill housing estate, however no work has commenced.
Extension of the electrification extending Merseyrail through to Wigan Wallgate
Wigan Wallgate railway station
Wigan Wallgate railway station is one of two main railway stations serving the town of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The station is on 2 lines, the Manchester-Southport Line and the Manchester-Kirkby Line. It is north west of Manchester Victoria...
is a long-term aspiration of Merseytravel.
Ormskirk to Preston
Electrification from to has been considered in conjunction with the Burscough Curves reopening detailed below. It would re-establish the most direct Liverpool-Preston route and is one of Merseytravel's long-term aspirations. However in 2008 Network Rail identified that the benefit to cost ratio of the scheme was insufficient to justify pursuing this option in the near future.Bidston to Wrexham
The Borderlands LineBorderlands Line
The Borderlands Line is the railway line between Wrexham, Wales, and Bidston, Wirral, England.Passenger train services are operated by Arriva Trains Wales between Wrexham Central and Bidston. Trains run every hour Monday to Saturday daytime, every two hours after 18:45 and on Sundays...
from to is operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
using diesel trains. Various proposals to electrify some or all of the line exist. The most recent study, conducted by Network Rail in 2008, investigated the costs of extending the Merseyrail network third rail electrification to Wrexham. However, when the cost was estimated at £207 million, Merseytravel announced that cheaper overhead line electrification would be considered instead. This would require the replacements for the Class 507 and 508 Electric Multiple Units
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
to be equipped with dual-voltage equipment to operate on both overhead and third rail electrification.
Other electrification proposals
The following routes are included in Merseytravel's rail strategy as "long-term aspirations". No detailed analysis has been carried out into their feasibility and they are unlikely to be developed further in the near future. to toBurscough Curves
The Burscough Curves were short chords linking the Ormskirk to Preston LineOrmskirk Branch Line
The Ormskirk Branch Line is a railway line in Lancashire, England, running between Preston and Ormskirk. The train service is operated by Northern Rail. The line is the northern section of the former Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway; the line from Ormskirk to Liverpool is now part of...
with the Manchester to Southport Line. The last regular passenger trains ran over the curves in 1962; the tracks were subsequently lifted. The reinstatement of the Burscough Curves would allow direct Preston-Southport and Ormskirk-Southport services and provide an alternative Liverpool-Southport route. Network Rail have recommended that a strategy for the Burscough Curves be developed further.
In a parliamentary debate on 27 April 2011, the Burscough Curves were a prime point of the debate. The transport minister wished to meet Southport MP John Pugh regarding the reinstatement of the curves.
Edge Hill to Bootle
The Canada Dock BranchCanada Dock Branch
The Canada Dock Branch is a 4 mile 59 chain long railway line in Liverpool, England. The line runs from the large Edge Hill rail junction in the east of Liverpool to Seaforth Dock to the north. The line was originally built by the London and North Western Railway terminating at Canada Dock, with...
line is a line running from Edge Hill Junction in the east of the city in a long curve to Canada Dock in the north of the city. It meets Merseyrail's Northern Line at a junction between and stations. The line's last remaining passenger services were withdrawn in 1977, but the line remains busy with freight to Seaforth Container Terminal.
The line could be reopened to passengers, allowing the reopening of stations along its length: , , , Tuebrook
Tue Brook railway station
Tue Brook railway station was a station located on the north side of West Derby Road, Tuebrook, Liverpool, England, opposite Newsham Park on the Canada Dock Branch. It opened on the 1 July 1870; and it closed to passengers on 31 May 1948.-External links:*...
, and . The line from Edge Lane would continue through to Edge Hill station and terminate at Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
.
Network Rail have investigated options for the Canada Dock Branch in their Route Utilisation Strategy for Merseyside and have concluded that the expected benefits do not justify the investment in new infrastructure. However, it has been suggested that Liverpool FC could assist in funding the reopening of this line to provide a direct link to their proposed new Stanley Park Stadium
Stanley Park Stadium
Stanley Park is a proposed football stadium in Liverpool that if built, would become home to Liverpool Football Club. The stadium would have a capacity of 60,000 to 72,000 all-seated if built as originally planned...
.
The Department for Transport's Rail electrification document of July 2009, states that the route to Liverpool Docks will be electrified. The Canada Dock Branch Line is the only line into the docks. From the document:
- 70. Electrification of this route will offer electric haulage options for freight.
- There will be an alternative route to Liverpool docks for electrically-operated freight trains, and better opportunities of electrified access to the proposed freight terminal at Parkside near Newton-le-Willows.
The electrification of this line would greatly assist in recommissioning passenger trains, as costs would be reduced.
North Mersey Branch
The North Mersey BranchNorth Mersey Branch
The North Mersey Branch is a railway line that connected the Liverpool and Bury Railway at Fazakerley Junction with the Gladstone Dock. It was opened in 1867 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.- Usage :...
from Bootle to Aintree is currently used only by engineering trains to gain access to Merseyrail tracks, however Merseytravel have long-term goals to reopen and electrify the line. The line was considered in the Merseyside Route Utilisation Strategy document, concluding that reopening could not yet be recommended. However the Route Utilisation Strategy document went on to state:
- The possibility of running passenger trains along the North Mersey and Bootle branches was examined by the RUS and cannot yet be recommended. However, future development and regeneration could lead to increased demand for such services. Any such passenger services would need to be implemented in a way that ensures current and future freight demand can be accommodated. There is also a possibility in the longer term of using other infrastructure, including the disused Wapping and Waterloo tunnels, to provide new journey opportunities.
Skelmersdale Branch
A reopening of a section of the Skelmersdale BranchSkelmersdale Branch
The Skelmersdale Branch railway connected the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Rainford Junction . At Rainford it connected with the Liverpool and Bury Railway and the St. Helens Railway. It was built by the East Lancashire Railway, which was taken over by the Lancashire...
from Upholland to Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...
town centre has been proposed. This would give Skelmersdale, the second largest town in North West England without a railway service, direct access to Liverpool city centre's shopping and business districts. Network Rail have recommended that a further feasibility study into this possibility be carried out.
In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies
Association of Train Operating Companies
The Association of Train Operating Companies is a body which represents 24 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand. The Association is an unincorporated association owned by its members...
, in its Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network is a 2009 report by the Association of Train Operating Companies identifying potential expansion of the National Rail passenger railway network in England, primarily through the construction or re-opening of railway lines for passenger...
report, called for funding for the reopening of the line from Ormskirk to Skelmersdale as part of a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, including seven new parkway stations.
Halton Curve
Merseytravel have shown interest in the Halton CurveHalton Curve
The Halton Curve is a railway line in the borough of Halton, Cheshire. It runs from Frodsham Junction to Halton Junction , providing a link from the North Line to the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line.The line can now be used only northbound because the southbound line and the...
, a short section of track from Frodsham
Frodsham
Frodsham is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population is 8,982. It is approximately south of Runcorn, 16 miles south of Liverpool, and approximately south-west of Manchester...
to Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
which currently operates one passenger train per week. It is only possible for trains to use the curve in the northbound direction because of signalling and permanent way restrictions. The curve was threatened with closure in 2004, however was reprieved and there is a hope that one day a passenger service will return
Proposals for the route were included in Network Rail's Route Utilisation Strategy for Wales. An hourly service between Liverpool and Chester via the curve would be feasible if the line was upgraded.
This would improve railway connections from Chester and North Wales to Liverpool South Parkway, the nearest station for Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, and Liverpool Airport the airport is located within the City of Liverpool adjacent to the estuary of the River Mersey some southeast...
. Whether the Liverpool Lime Street to Chester line via Runcorn railway bridge and Liverpool South Parkway station will be on the Merseyrail network using dual-voltage trains remains to be seen.
The Outer Rail Loop
Concept
The idea of using the former Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
's North Liverpool Extension Line
North Liverpool Extension Line
The North Liverpool Extension Line is a now-disused railway line in Liverpool, England. The line was to be the eastern section of the Merseyrail Outer Loop...
route through the eastern suburbs of Liverpool as a rapid transit rail route serving the city centre was developed in the 1960s into the Outer Rail Loop scheme. This would be an electric passenger railway circling the city by using a combination of newly electrified existing lines and a new link tunnel under the city centre. This was similar to a 1940s proposal for a 'belt' line using the Liverpool Overhead Railway
Liverpool Overhead Railway
The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...
as its western section. The proposal advanced into one large outer loop with two sub loops. One for the northern section of the city and one for the south.
A part of the proposal was that passengers on the mainline radial routes into Lime Street entering from the east and south, could transfer onto the electric urban rapid-transit network at interchange stations on the Loop to access outer suburbs and avoid the need to travel into the city centre. Liverpool South Parkway is an example of such a station although completed in 2006, long after the Outer Rail Loop scheme had ceased to be a live Merseytravel project. Another interchange station was to have been at Broad Green. This would have been a six track underground station called Rocket located near to the M62 and Queens Drive junction.
The Outer Rail Loop, as proposed in the 1960s would use the following sections of line:
The east section of line: the former Cheshire Lines Committee North Liverpool Extension Line from Hunts Cross to Walton which ran through the city's eastern suburbs. This line was originally built as a freight line to Huskisson Dock to allow the Cheshire Lines Committee to have a share of the lucrative North Liverpool Docks trade. Passenger services were also run on this line with the last service ending in 1972 with the closing of the Liverpool Central to Gateacre service. The line crosses the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Broad Green.
The north section would use the curve that forms the southern side of the Walton Rail Triangle, skirting Walton Hall Park, and via the Rice Lane and Breeze Hill tunnels to Kirkdale station to join the western section at the old Liverpool Exchange to Ormskirk branch, which would be the new Northern Line. A later version of the project was to extend the eastern section to Aintree and then used the North Mersey Branch as the northern section. The North Mersey Branch branched directly south of Aintree station joining the western section at the old Liverpool Exchange to Southport line, north of Bootle New Strand Station.
The west section would link the former Lanchashire and Yorkshire lines out of Exchange Station with the Cheshire Lines Committee line out of Central by means of a new tunnel under Liverpool city centre. This tunnel, known as the Liverpool Link Line, utilised part of the former Liverpool Central to James Street Mersey Railway tunnel plus some new single track tunnels. Two underground stations, Central Low Level and Moorfields, provided interchange with the Wirral Line, allowing their high level counterparts at Central High-Level and Liverpool Exchange stations to be closed. The Link Line was opened in 1977 forming the most expensive part of the Outer Rail Loop.
The southern section would be formed from the short stretch of line from Allerton Junction to Halewood Junction, linking the Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross Cheshire Lines Committee route with the eastern section, the North Liverpool Extension Line.
Two sub loops
The main drawback of the Outer Rail Loop was the indirect route offered from the eastern suburbs to Liverpool City Centre, the main destination for passenger journeys in the conurbation. For example, a journey from West Derby would involve travelling either via Aintree to the North or Gateacre to the south. As such, it was uncompetitive with slower, but more direct, bus services.
To resolve this problem, the Edge Hill Spur scheme was proposed, which would cut the Loop into two smaller loops, a northern loop and a southern loop, thereby reducing distances. It would involve a complex tunnelled junction with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
at Broad Green, with a six platform underground interchange station under the Rocket pub near the M62 to Queens Drive junction.
The demise of the project was compounded by cost overruns on the Loop and Link tunnel projects and the financial stringency of the late 1970s and by delays to the parliamentary bill required to authorise the works caused by the objection of the MP for Broad Green on the grounds of the disruption to local residents.
Since the postponement of the project, a number of Route Utilisation Strategy documents have mentioned re-opening the North Mersey Branch line to form a passenger link between Bootle and Aintree with stations to serve Ford and Girobank. This would have formed the northern section of the loop. The remaining section of the loop, the line from Hunts Cross to Aintree, is now the Liverpool Loop Country Park, a popular walking and cycling route.
The earlier proposed route for the northern section of the loop via the southern side of the Walton Rail Triangle, skirting Walton Hall Park, and via Rice Lane and Breeze Hill tunnels to Kirkdale station, is now disused and built upon. The later northern alignment using the North Mersey Branch via Aintree and Bootle is still in use but single tracked and used only by maintenance trains.
For several decades, Merseytravel safeguarded the route against development. .
Legacy
Despite the Outer Rail Loop project never having been realised, the project has left an important legacy. The Link Line tunnel beneath Liverpool City Centre, which integrates the Northern and Wirral lines and links the northern and southern rail networks is the most obvious. However the establishment of the Liverpool Loop Country Park owes its existence to the safeguarding of the line, which meant that its bridges and tunnels were left in place and a through route was maintained.
The Edge Hill Spur
Edge Hill railway station
Edge Hill railway station serves the district of Edge Hill in Liverpool, England.There have been two stations of that name. The first stood a short distance south-west of the present station and its remains are still visible, although the site is not open to the public.Edge Hill is the first...
using existing freight and passenger tunnels. The original proposal was extended to widen the benefits of the proposal. The scheme has not been actively pursued since the 1980s but a junction to facilitate future construction was built as part of the Link Line works in the 1970s.
The construction of the Spur would have served two main functions:
- The complete integration into Merseyrail of the urban lines east of Liverpool city centre. The east-west diesel City Line routes from Wigan, St. Helens and Earlestown to Lime Street mainline station were to be electrified and diverted into the north-south Link tunnel of the Northern Line. This would achieve complete integration of the three lines forming the Merseyrail network: the City, Northern and Wirral Lines. Access from stations on the City Line into Liverpool City Centre would be greatly improved.
- Giving more direct city centre access from the city's north eastern and south eastern suburbs. The proposed Outer Rail Loop would have been split into northern and southern sub loops, thereby shortening distances and journey times.
The initial and cheaper proposal was to re-use the 1829 Wapping freight tunnel
Wapping Tunnel
Wapping or Edge Hill Tunnel in Liverpool, England, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis...
, by means of two new single track tunnels from a new junction, Liverpool Central South Junction, on the tunnel approach to Central Station. The Wapping Tunnel would give access to Edge Hill via the historic Cavendish Cutting built for the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Access to the City Line would be obtained via a flyover to the east of Edge Hill Station over the main lines from Lime Street
Lime Street
Lime Street is an American action/drama series that aired on the ABC television network during the 1985 television season. The series was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who also served as executive producer alongside husband Harry Thomason and series star Robert Wagner.-Synopsis:The cast of...
. This flyover has since been demolished. A new station would be needed at Edge Hill, if Edge Hill was to be served, as the existing station is at the head of the Lime Street cutting and Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel
Waterloo Tunnel
The Waterloo Tunnel in Liverpool, England is a former railway tunnel, 862 metres long, which opened in 1849. At its western end was Waterloo Goods railway station, after 1895 continuing beyond to Liverpool Riverside railway station, and onto the dock railway system...
.
In the early 1970s, Liverpool City Council planners proposed an alternative scheme, which was subsequently adopted. This revised route would permit a new underground station to be constructed to serve Liverpool University, which would be located behind the Student's Union building in Mount Pleasant. This scheme would extend the tunnels in a large radius curve to the north, passing beneath the mainline Lime Street station approach cutting accessing Edge Hill via the Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel
Waterloo Tunnel
The Waterloo Tunnel in Liverpool, England is a former railway tunnel, 862 metres long, which opened in 1849. At its western end was Waterloo Goods railway station, after 1895 continuing beyond to Liverpool Riverside railway station, and onto the dock railway system...
. The tunnel served the former Waterloo Goods depot opposite Waterloo Dock and the Riverside passenger station serving trans-Atlantic liners at the Pier Head. On emerging from this tunnel at the existing Edge Hill Station, the route would be on the right side of the main lines to serve the City Line branches without the need for a flyover.
Although powers were obtained to construct the line under the Merseyside Metropolitan Railway Act (1975), construction was postponed due to the financial cutbacks and political opposition that also halted the Outer Rail Loop. An attempt was made to revive the project in the mid 80s however it was found not to be financially viable, as the city was experiencing a financial collapse.
The only part of the scheme to be realised was Liverpool Central South Junction south of the underground station, which was constructed as part of the Link Tunnel project on the Northern Line. This is a burrowing junction
Flying junction
A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "grade-separated junction"...
, similar to that at Hamilton Square station in Birkenhead, which would allow trains from Edge Hill to pass beneath trains from Central station on the Northern Line increasing throughput. Two short header branch tunnels were cut into the rock, which would allow construction to proceed on the Spur without disrupting existing services if the project was revived. The two header tunnels can be used for branching into either the Wapping or Victoria/Waterloo tunnels.
Following the collapse of the Merseytram
Merseytram
Merseytram is a proposed tram system for Liverpool and surrounding districts of Merseyside, England. Originally proposed in 2001, forming part of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan, it consists of three lines, connecting outlying suburbs of the city with the city centre...
scheme in 2006, proposals were considered to revive the scheme. The route of the tunnels is being protected. Merseyrail required revisions to the Central Village
Central Village, Liverpool
Central Village is shopping, leisure, commercial and residential development that is currently under-construction in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. The complex is being built over Liverpool Central railway station, the UK's second busiest underground station outside of London...
scheme commenced in 2010 to prevent obstruction of the proposed tunnel route. The electrification of the 1830 Liverpool to
Manchester line and the Merseyrail City Line, due for completion in 2013, which both run through Edge Hill gives impetus to revive the tunnelled spur into Liverpool's city centre.
The 1849 Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel is over 2 miles long with the 1829 Wapping Tunnel 1.24 miles long. Both run from Edge Hill, under Liverpool city centre to former goods stations on the Dock Road, serving the north and south Liverpool Docks. The Waterloo Tunnel also served the Riverside passenger station at Liverpool's Pier Head, serving the trans-Atlantic liner trade. The tunnels are protected for future use.