Merseyrail

Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with the operationally separate City Line using diesel trains. The network has 67 stations spread across 75 miles of track, running underground and overground, carrying over 100,000 passengers each day. It is one of the most heavily used railway systems in the United Kingdom, outside of London.

Merseyrail was established in the 1970s, when new tunnel sections were constructed under Liverpool's city centre and Birkenhead, connecting previously unconnected urban railway routes creating one large comprehensive urban railway network. Some of the earlier plans were not completed, due to financial constraints, although some extensions of the 1970s Merseyrail have been added, with other new works proposed.

The Merseyrail name became the official brand for the network in the days of British Rail, and has survived through several franchise holders, although it was not used by Arriva when it held the franchise. Despite this, Merseytravel continued the Merseyrail branding at stations, allowing the name to stick colloquially. Merseyrail is referred to as "Merseyrail Electrics" by National Rail Enquiries, and as "Serco/Ned Railways Merseyrail" by Merseytravel.

The Merseyrail Network
The system is one of the busiest British commuter systems outside London, transporting over 100,000 passengers a day. Train services run on two lines, the Northern Line and Wirral Line, and cover the Liverpool suburban area and greater Merseyside. The total track length is 75 mi, and there are 67 stations.

The Northern Line links Liverpool city centre with Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby to the north, and Hunts Cross. 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 City Line is not part of the dedicated Merseyrail electrified system, but the term covers local services that run through Merseyside and receive funding from Merseytravel, and on which ticketing arrangements are integrated within Merseyrail. Trains on the City Line are less frequent than those on the Northern or Wirral Lines.

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.

Collection of separate railways
Four old railways were merged to form Merseyrail:
 * Liverpool to Southport and Ormskirk sections of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
 * Mersey Railway
 * Wirral Railway.
 * Liverpool to Hunts Cross section of the Cheshire Lines Committee railway.

The underground sections in the centre of Liverpool and under the River Mersey to Birkenhead form the nucleus of the network. The Mersey Railway Tunnel, one of the world's first underwater railway tunnels, was opened in 1886, running from Green Lane, Birkenhead and terminating at James Street in Liverpool. This route was extended to Liverpool Central 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 Birkenhead Woodside to Chester line in 1891.

Electrification
Electrification of the separate rail systems started in 1903 with the Mersey Railway. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway line from Liverpool Exchange to Southport was electrified in 1906. Further electrifications on the old Wirral Railway line took place in 1937 (New Brighton and West Kirby). These electrified sections were in the 1970s merged into the current Merseyrail we have today with the construction of the 'Loop' and the 'Link' tunnels.

After the formation of Merseyrail, electrified additions were: 1977 (Kirkby), 1978 (Garston), 1983 (Hunts Cross), 1985 (Hooton), 1993 (Chester) and 1994 (Ellesmere Port).

Creation of Merseyrail
Route closures that were part of the Beeching Axe in the 1960s entailed terminal stations, Liverpool Exchange and Liverpool Central high-level in Liverpool, and Woodside Station in Birkenhead were closed.
 * Long and Medium Distance Routes - Lime Street Station, in Liverpool city centre was to remain absorbing the long to medium distance passenger traffic of the closed terminal stations.
 * Local urban routes - The local urban services served by the terminal stations would be absorbed by the new Merseyrail urban network.

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 entailed closure in 1971. The disappearance of the liner trade entailed that no rail traffic from Riverside Station be diverted to Lime Street Station.

New tunnels were scheduled to connect all the separate rail lines:
 * Loop Tunnel - This connected the Wirral lines to the Liverpool side of the network.
 * Link Tunnel - This connected the north and south Liverpool lines together as one line.
 * Flying Junction - A flying junction tunnel was bored at the underground Hamilton Square station in Birkenhead, to increase traffic throughput. The station gained an extra platform.
 * Wapping Tunnel - The re-use of the 1929 Wapping Tunnel to create an electrified link from Liverpool's city centre to the east of the city was planned - branch tunneling work was started however abandoned, leaving diesel trains to serve the east of the city.

The creation and amendment of these tunnels, was one of the UK's largest railway infrastructure projects of the 1970s.



The Loop Tunnel
The single-track Loop tunnel was to enable the Wirral lines to give direct access the business and shopping districts of Liverpool city centre and Lime Street Station.

The Loop was constructed as a single track tunnel route. Trains from Wirral terminals cross under the River Mersey, run round the Loop in Liverpool city centre in a clockwise direction, crossing back under the Mersey to the Wirral once more. Trains enter from the Mersey river tunnel to James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street, Central, back to James Street and back through the Mersey river tunnel again.

The Link Tunnel
The Link tunnel gave direct access from the north and south of Liverpool to the shopping and business districts in the city centre, although no direct access to Lime Street Station, as a change at Moorfields station is needed. The Link tunnel creates one continuous line from the south of Liverpool through the city centre and out to the north, named the Northern Line.

The Link is a twin-track tunnel, connecting the former three track Cheshire Lines Committee tunnel in the south of Liverpool to the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway lines in the north. Two stations are on the Link tunnel: Liverpool Central and Moorfields. Moorfields replaces the former terminus at Liverpool Exchange.

The present twin island Northern Line platform at Liverpool Central was originally the terminus of the Wirral lines. The original 1880s tunnel between James St and Central stations has been retained to connect the Link and the Loop lines at James Street. The tunnel is also used for transfers of rolling stock, but not for passenger services.

Diesel trains serve the east of Liverpool
The 1970s plan was to use the 1929 Wapping Tunnel to connect electrified Merseyrail from Liverpool city centre to the east of the city was abandoned. The east of the city centre is served by diesel trains run by Northern Rail running under a badged Merseyrail logo under the name City Line. The City Line is not operationally an integrated part of the electrified Merseyrail system, terminating at Lime Street station.

Northern Line
Services on the Northern Line operate from Hunts Cross in the south of Liverpool, via a tunnel from Brunswick Station through Liverpool Central and Moorfields, to Southport. Services also run from Liverpool Central to Ormskirk and Kirkby. 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 Southport to Wigan Wallgate, at Hunts Cross to Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly, at Ormskirk to Preston and at Kirkby to Wigan Wallgate and Manchester Victoria.

Wirral Line


Services on the Wirral Line operate from the Loop described above through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Hamilton Square station in Birkenhead. From there, they run either south to Hooton, where they continue to either Chester or Ellesmere Port, or west to Birkenhead North, where the line bifurcates to New Brighton and West Kirby. Connections are available at Bidston on the West Kirby branch, for the Borderlands Line to Wrexham operated by Arriva Trains Wales, at Chester to Crewe and London Euston, Wrexham and Shrewsbury, the North Wales Coast line to Llandudno and Holyhead, and Manchester via Warrington or Northwich, and at Ellesmere Port 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.

City Line
This line is not part of the Merseyrail franchise and neither is it operated by electric trains. Nevertheless, the lines that form this line are sponsored by Merseytravel and - with the exception of long distance services - are branded as if they were Merseyrail services, despite being operated by Northern Rail. Broadly speaking, it 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. In February 2010 Networkrail'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.

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).

The franchise
Following the privatisation of the Great Britain rail network, the Merseyrail service was run first by MTL under the name Merseyrail Electrics, then Arriva Trains Merseyside, before its award to a consortium of Serco and NedRailways (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.

Performance
Operating as a self-contained network there are relatively few problems because of less conflict with other train operating companies. 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 report that Merseyrail's PPM is 96.7% and the MAA is 96.4%. This makes Merseyrail the second best performing operator of the fourth quarter of the financial year 2009/10 - one of three train operating companies to achieve over 95% PPM for the quarter.

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.

Current fleet
Services on the Merseyrail network are operated exclusively by the Class 507 and Class 508 electric multiple units. 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 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.

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.

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. Three more have followed, named 'Bob Paisley', 'Dixie Dean' and 'John Peel'.

Former fleet
A number of Northern Rail Class 142 Diesel Multiple Units and Class 150 sets wore the Merseytravel yellow livery for several years, 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.

On-train announcements
All Merseyrail trains have automated on-board announcements voiced by Julie Berry, who also voices for Southern, Heathrow Connect and the London Underground Piccadilly line. Announcements are displayed in the following format:


 * "Welcome to this Merseyrail service to D, calling at A, B, C and D."
 * "This train is for D. The next station is A."
 * "We are now approaching B. Please change here for stations to E."
 * "This is D, where this train terminates. Please make sure you have all your personal belongings with you when leaving the train. Thank you for travelling with us."

A catalogue of other announcements may be played by the driver or guard, such as, "Customers are reminded that they should keep their feet off the seats." and "Due to engineering work, this train will terminate at the next station, where a rail replacement bus service will be provided for your onward journey. We apologise for the inconvenience."

Announcements in the same style are also activated automatically by the emergency systems on the train. For example "Due to an emergency, it is necessary to evacuate this train now. Do not panic. Emergency exits are located within each carriage, as well as at the front and rear of the train". Emergency announcements play on a continuous loop until unactivated.

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.

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 beds. 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.

Future fleet
The Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for Merseyside has called for additional units to ease overcrowding on peak-time services. Southeastern 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.

Dual-voltage trains
Merseyrail's fleet is due for replacement in 2013 (according to Network Rail's 2008 business plan), while the lease on the Class 507/508 fleet ends in 2014. 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 Rail 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.
 * 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 near the city centre is also being considered. The disused, 1829, 1.26 mile Wapping Tunnel 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.

Kirkby to Wigan
In 1977, the Liverpool to Kirkby section of the Liverpool to Bolton route was electrified and merged into Merseyrail. Kirkby 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 Kirkby 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 Headbolt Lane to serve the extensive Tower Hill housing estate.

Extension of the electrification extending Merseyrail through to Wigan Wallgate is a long-term aspiration of Merseytravel.

Ormskirk to Preston
Electrification from Ormskirk to Preston 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 Line from Bidston to Wrexham Central 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 EMUs to be equipped with dual-voltage equipment to operate on both overhead and third rail electrification.

The City Line
The entire City Line is to be electrified from Liverpool to Wigan and the Manchester branches. Whether Merseyrail operates the trains, incorporating the City Line fully into the Merseyrail electric network or Northern Rail continues to operate on behalf of Merseytravel has not been announced.

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.
 * Hunts Cross to Warrington Central
 * Ellesmere Port to Helsby

Burscough Curves
The Burscough Curves were short chords linking the Ormskirk to Preston Line 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.

Edge Hill to Bootle
The Canada Dock Branch 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 Bank Hall and Bootle Oriel Road 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: Spellow, Walton & Anfield, Breck Road, Tuebrook, Stanley and Edge Lane. 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:


 * 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 Branch 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 Branch 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.

Halton Curve
Merseytravel have shown interest in the Halton Curve, 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 restrictions. The curve was threatened with closure in 2004, however was reprieved and it is now proposed to upgrade the line to allow a full service to operate.

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.

Abandoned works
In the 1970s, during planning work for the Merseyrail underground in Liverpool city centre, there were proposals to use parts of the Wapping Tunnel to connect Liverpool Central and Edge Hill junction, via a new station near Liverpool University. The branching of the Northern Line tunnel into the Wapping Tunnel would have given Merseyrail electric access to Liverpool city centre from the east of the city.

Proposals also existed to reopen and electrify the line from Hunts Cross to Gateacre and extend along the Outer Loop line north onto Broad Green to create a new circular service.

Parliamentary approval for the plans was obtained in 1975. During the construction of the Link tunnel south of Liverpool Central, some additional short lengths of tunnel were dug with a view to them being used to join up with the Wapping Tunnel (to allow the planned second phase to proceed without disrupting the existing train services). However, the plans were cancelled due to funding cutbacks at Merseyside County Council, who were concerned at the costs of the Loop and Link scheme which has run significantly over budget.

Following the collapse of the Merseytram scheme in 2006 proposals are being considered to reuse both tunnels. The Waterloo Tunnel is over 2 miles long and the Wapping Tunnel is 1.25 miles long, both running under Liverpool city centre.