Merseyrail

Merseyrail is a partially underground commuter rail network and train operating company (TOC) serving Liverpool and the surrounding Liverpool City Region, England. It is a part of Serco-Abellio, and is formed of two electrified lines of the National Rail network known as the Northern Line and the Wirral Line which run underground in central Liverpool and Birkenhead, providing a metro-style service. A third line, separate from the metro-style network, is named the City Line, which is a term used by the governing body Merseytravel referring to local services it sponsors on the Liverpool to Manchester Lines and Liverpool to Wigan Line operated by Northern.

The Merseyrail network has 68 stations and 75 miles of route, of which 6.5 miles are underground. Carrying approximately 110,000 passengers each weekday, it forms the most heavily used urban railway network in the UK outside London. The network is operated by a joint venture between franchise holder Serco and Abellio, who superseded Arriva Trains Merseyside in 2003. The contract is for 25 years expiring in 2028. Serco-Abellio operate a fleet of 59 trains and as of 2015, employ 1,200 people.

The large comprehensive urban network was formed in 1977 by merging separate rail lines by the construction of new tunnels under Liverpool city centre and Birkenhead. Although financial constraints have prevented some of the 1970s plans for the network being realised, the network has been extended, with additional extensions proposed. Point-to-point or return tickets are purchased from staffed offices or ticket machines, but the system is tightly integrated with Merseytravel's City Region-wide pass system, which also encompasses the Mersey Ferries and city and regional bus networks. As of March 2019 Merseytravel ticketing is transitioning to the local Walrus smartcard system, including Merseyrail travel.

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

Current system
The network is composed of two lines known as the Northern Line and the Wirral Line which are operated by the Merseyrail train operating company and are electrified throughout using the third-rail 750 V DC system. The Power Supply to the Third Rail is monitored and controlled by the Electric Control Room at Sandhills. The City Line (marked red on the map) is operated primarily by Northern with funding from Merseytravel. The line is mainly electrified with one branch, the Liverpool to Manchester line via Warrington, operated by diesel trains.

Trains on the Northern Line and Wirral Line cover the Liverpool City Region. Their total track length is 75 mi, with 68 stations. The lines connect Liverpool city centre with cities and towns on the outer reaches of the city region, such as Southport and Chester. Frequent intermediate stops serve other sections of the urban area. Trains run at an off-peak interval of fifteen minutes on most branches, with lines converging to provide a frequency of up to every five minutes within central Liverpool, and under the Mersey to Birkenhead. Although these two lines of the system by the strictest definition only partially fulfil the requirements of a pure rapid transit network (as it uses Network Rail-owned infrastructure), its legislative isolation from the national franchise system, high frequency in the central, underground sections, and operation as a self-contained network make it practically comparable to one or, more accurately, comparable to European S-train systems. The three lines interchange as follows:
 * Northern and City Line services interchange at Liverpool South Parkway and Hunts Cross in the south of the city.
 * Wirral and City Lines interchange at Lime Street in the city centre.
 * Northern and Wirral lines interchange at Liverpool Central and Moorfields in the city centre

Northern Line
The Northern Line is shown in blue on the Merseyrail map and denoted by the above wordmark on underground stations. Services operate on three main routes: from Hunts Cross in the south of Liverpool to via the Link tunnel from Brunswick Station through central Liverpool, from Liverpool Central to Ormskirk and from Liverpool Central to Kirkby. Each route operates a train every 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday, giving a frequent interval between trains on the central section. Some additional trains run at peak hours on the Southport line.

Connections are available at Southport to Wigan Wallgate and ; at for services operated by London Midland, East Midlands Trains, TransPennine Express and Northern serving, ,  and various destinations within Yorkshire and  the West Midlands; at Hunts Cross to Warrington Central and Manchester Oxford Road; at Ormskirk to Preston and at Kirkby to Wigan Wallgate and Manchester Victoria.

On matchdays at the stadiums of Liverpool F.C.'s Anfield and Everton F.C.'s Goodison Park, Northern Line services connect with the SoccerBus service at Sandhills to transport fans to the stadiums. The buses depart at frequent intervals from Sandhills station and a ticket combining both methods of travel is available. Kirkdale station is within walking distance of Goodison Park.

Wirral Line


The Wirral Line is shown in green on the Merseyrail map and denoted by the above wordmark on underground stations. Services operate from the three terminus stations of: Ellesmere Port, New Brighton and West Kirby. Chester was a former terminus on the line until 2021. Each line from the terminus stations runs to Hamilton Square underground station in Birkenhead and through the Mersey Railway Tunnel, continuing around the single track underground loop tunnel in Liverpool's city centre. Trains head back into the Mersey Railway Tunnel to return to one of the Wirral's terminus stations.

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 at least every five minutes from Birkenhead Hamilton Square and around the loop under Liverpool's city centre.

Connections are provided at Bidston on the West Kirby branch for the Borderlands Line to Wrexham, operated by Transport for Wales, and at Birkenhead Central there are services operated by Northern, Transport for Wales and CrossCountry to via Chester, Northwich and Knutsford, South Wales via Wrexham and, and Exeter,  and Leicester via Birmingham. At Ellesmere Port there is a minimal service to and from Warrington.

City Line
The City Line, shown in red on the Merseyrail map, is a term used by local transport authority Merseytravel to describe the suburban services which depart from the main line surface platforms at on the Liverpool to Wigan, Liverpool to Manchester Lines, Liverpool to Crewe line, and Blackpool–Liverpool line. It is denoted by the above wordmark on maps. The City Line is not operated by Merseyrail trains; however, the trains stop at two stations operated by Merseyrail. Services are less frequent than those on the Northern Line and Wirral Line, generally half-hourly on weekdays. The electric trains are branded Northern Electrics on the services using the Class 319s.

The line consists of a number of services departing Liverpool Lime Street station, namely the line to Wigan North Western, both routes to Manchester, via Warrington or Newton-le-Willows, and services to Crewe via Runcorn. Of these, only the service to Manchester via Warrington Central is not currently electrified. Services are provided by the Northern and London Northwestern Railway train operating companies. Stopping services running through Merseyside are sponsored by Merseytravel and stations are given Merseyrail branding.

Work on the electrification of the two remaining branches of the City Line on the 25 kV overhead system was completed in 2015. Earlier, in February 2010 Network Rail announced that four electrified tracks will be provided from Broad Green Station to Huyton Station. This is to enable segregation of the longer distance limited stop train services to Manchester and beyond from the stopping services of the City Line.

In 2015, Class 319 electric multiple units were transferred from the Thameslink route, refurbished, repainted in Northern livery and following the removal of the third rail collector shoes, are operating on the newly electrified lines between Liverpool, Wigan and Manchester, which incorporates the City Line.

Services
Typical weekday off-peak service on the Merseyrail-run Northern and Wirral lines is as follows:

City Line services are not operated by Merseyrail, but have timetables produced by Merseytravel and are included here for completeness. Typical off-peak weekday service is as follows:

Financial performance
(Figures shown are attributable to Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Ltd, (who operate the Northern and Wirral Line sections of the "Merseyrail" branded network).