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Merseyrail

Liverpool's suburban electric railway: the Northern and Wirral lines, joined under the city centre by tunnels opened in 1977, with third-rail trains to Southport, Ormskirk, Headbolt Lane, Hunts Cross, New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port. Serco and Transport UK have run it since 2003 under a concession from Merseytravel rather than the Department for Transport, and it is due to pass into public ownership in July 2028. Its Stadler Class 777 trains belong to the Combined Authority; seven carry batteries to run beyond the third rail to Headbolt Lane.

2003Current operator since
75.8 miles (122 km)Route miles operated
69Stations served
31.5 millionJourneys a year, ORR (2025–26)

Facts

Current operator since
20 July 2003
Main stations
Liverpool Central
Type
Suburban electric train operator
Depots
Kirkdale, Liverpool (Stadler), Birkenhead North (Stadler)
Main routes
Two lines that meet under Liverpool city centre. The Northern line: Liverpool Central to Southport via Bootle and Formby, and Hunts Cross via Liverpool South Parkway to Ormskirk and to Headbolt Lane via Kirkby, through the Link tunnel and Moorfields. The Wirral line: round a one-way loop under the city centre (James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street and Liverpool Central), under the Mersey to Birkenhead, and on to New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port.
Stations managed
67
Operating company
Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Ltd, a 50/50 joint venture of Serco and Transport UK (formerly Abellio UK). It runs the trains under a 25-year concession let by Merseytravel, the transport executive of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, from 20 July 2003 to July 2028: a local contract, not a Department for Transport franchise. The Combined Authority owns the trains. On 17 July 2026 it decided that the railway will pass into public ownership when the concession ends.

Routes 7 routes · 69 stations

Liverpool Central – Southport 17
Liverpool Central – Southport: schematic, not to scale Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central MoorfieldsMoorfields SandhillsSandhills Bank HallBank Hall Bootle Oriel RoadBootle Oriel Road Bootle New StrandBootle New Strand Seaforth & LitherlandSeaforth & Litherland Waterloo (Merseyside)Waterloo (Merseyside) Blundellsands & CrosbyBlundellsands & Crosby Hall RoadHall Road HightownHightown FormbyFormby FreshfieldFreshfield AinsdaleAinsdale HillsideHillside BirkdaleBirkdale SouthportSouthport
Ormskirk – Hunts Cross 19
Ormskirk – Hunts Cross: schematic, not to scale OrmskirkOrmskirk Aughton ParkAughton Park Town GreenTown Green Maghull NorthMaghull North MaghullMaghull Old RoanOld Roan AintreeAintree Orrell ParkOrrell Park Walton (Merseyside)Walton (Merseyside) KirkdaleKirkdale SandhillsSandhills MoorfieldsMoorfields Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central BrunswickBrunswick St MichaelsSt Michaels AigburthAigburth CressingtonCressington Liverpool South ParkwayLiverpool South Parkway Hunts CrossHunts Cross
Liverpool Central – Chester 18
Liverpool Central – Chester: schematic, not to scale Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central Liverpool Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street MoorfieldsMoorfields Liverpool James StreetLiverpool James Street Birkenhead Hamilton SquareBirkenhead Hamilton Square Birkenhead CentralBirkenhead Central Green LaneGreen Lane Rock FerryRock Ferry BebingtonBebington Port SunlightPort Sunlight SpitalSpital Bromborough RakeBromborough Rake BromboroughBromborough Eastham RakeEastham Rake HootonHooton CapenhurstCapenhurst BacheBache ChesterChester
Liverpool Central – Ellesmere Port 18
Liverpool Central – Ellesmere Port: schematic, not to scale Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central Liverpool Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street MoorfieldsMoorfields Liverpool James StreetLiverpool James Street Birkenhead Hamilton SquareBirkenhead Hamilton Square Birkenhead CentralBirkenhead Central Green LaneGreen Lane Rock FerryRock Ferry BebingtonBebington Port SunlightPort Sunlight SpitalSpital Bromborough RakeBromborough Rake BromboroughBromborough Eastham RakeEastham Rake HootonHooton Little SuttonLittle Sutton OverpoolOverpool Ellesmere PortEllesmere Port
Liverpool Central – West Kirby 15
Liverpool Central – West Kirby: schematic, not to scale Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central Liverpool Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street MoorfieldsMoorfields Liverpool James StreetLiverpool James Street Birkenhead Hamilton SquareBirkenhead Hamilton Square Conway ParkConway Park Birkenhead ParkBirkenhead Park Birkenhead NorthBirkenhead North BidstonBidston LeasoweLeasowe Moreton (Merseyside)Moreton (Merseyside) MeolsMeols Manor RoadManor Road HoylakeHoylake West KirbyWest Kirby
Headbolt Lane – Hunts Cross 14
Headbolt Lane – Hunts Cross: schematic, not to scale Headbolt LaneHeadbolt Lane KirkbyKirkby FazakerleyFazakerley Rice LaneRice Lane KirkdaleKirkdale SandhillsSandhills MoorfieldsMoorfields Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central BrunswickBrunswick St MichaelsSt Michaels AigburthAigburth CressingtonCressington Liverpool South ParkwayLiverpool South Parkway Hunts CrossHunts Cross
Liverpool Central – New Brighton 11
Liverpool Central – New Brighton: schematic, not to scale Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central Liverpool Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street MoorfieldsMoorfields Liverpool James StreetLiverpool James Street Birkenhead Hamilton SquareBirkenhead Hamilton Square Conway ParkConway Park Birkenhead ParkBirkenhead Park Birkenhead NorthBirkenhead North Wallasey VillageWallasey Village Wallasey Grove RoadWallasey Grove Road New BrightonNew Brighton

Schematic, not to scale. Ringed stations are interchanges. Each strip is one service route with its stops in order. Where fast and stopping trains share a route, the strip shows the one with most stops, and a route whose stops all lie on a longer one is left out. Station order from TfL open data.

StationZoneInterchanges
Liverpool Central
Moorfields
Sandhills
Bank Hall
Bootle Oriel Road
Bootle New Strand
Seaforth & Litherland
Waterloo (Merseyside)
Blundellsands & Crosby
Hall Road
Hightown
Formby
Freshfield
Ainsdale
Hillside
Birkdale
Southport
Ormskirk
Aughton Park
Town Green
Maghull North
Maghull
Old Roan
Aintree
Orrell Park
Walton (Merseyside)
Kirkdale
Brunswick
St Michaels
Aigburth
Cressington
Liverpool South Parkway
Hunts Cross
Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool James Street
Birkenhead Hamilton Square
Birkenhead Central
Green Lane
Rock Ferry
Bebington
Port Sunlight
Spital
Bromborough Rake
Bromborough
Eastham Rake
Hooton
Capenhurst
Bache
Chester
Little Sutton
Overpool
Ellesmere Port
Conway Park
Birkenhead Park
Birkenhead North
Bidston
Leasowe
Moreton (Merseyside)
Meols
Manor Road
Hoylake
West Kirby
Headbolt Lane
Kirkby
Fazakerley
Rice Lane
Wallasey Village
Wallasey Grove Road
New Brighton

Stations, zones and interchanges from TfL open data (2026-10-07). National Rail interchanges are listed where TfL groups the stations together.

Fleet

ClassUnitsFormation and notes
Class 77753four-car articulated units: 46 Class 777/0 and seven battery Class 777/1; up to two run together as eight cars; owned by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and maintained by Stadler

History 10

  1. The Mersey Railway opens from James Street in Liverpool to Green Lane in Birkenhead, in the first tunnel built under a tidal estuary. It runs on steam until 3 May 1903, when electric trains take over.
  2. The Link tunnel opens: trains from Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby run through Moorfields to the new Liverpool Central instead of terminating at Exchange, which closes. A week later, on 9 May, the Wirral line's one-way Loop under the city centre opens, by way of Lime Street.
  3. The Queen officially opens the Merseyrail network, riding a new Class 507 from Moorfields to Kirkby. The Class 507s carry passengers from 1 November; with the similar Class 508s, they run the network for the next 46 years.
  4. Serco and NedRailways (later Abellio, now Transport UK) take over the trains under a 25-year concession from Merseytravel worth about £3.6 billion, covering 66 stations and two depots.
  5. Merseytravel signs with Stadler for 52 new trains and their maintenance over 35 years, up to £700 million in all, with a new depot at Kirkdale. The trains are bought outright rather than leased.
  6. Maghull North station opens on the Ormskirk line.
  7. The first Class 777 carries passengers, from Liverpool Central to Kirkby.
  8. Headbolt Lane station opens beyond Kirkby, the first extension of the network in 29 years, served by Class 777s running on batteries over the 1.3 km past the end of the third rail.
  9. The last Class 507s carry passengers; regular 507 and 508 workings had ended on 25 August, when eight-car Class 777 trains took over the Southport line.
  10. The Combined Authority decides that Merseyrail's trains will pass into public ownership when the concession ends in July 2028, rather than extend it to 2031 or let a new one.

Sources 30

How we source figures →

unverified route strips: since at least October 2025 Southport trains start at Liverpool Central and the Hunts Cross trains run to Ormskirk and Headbolt Lane (Merseytravel's timetables); TfL's data still has a Hunts Cross to Southport route, so it is left out and the Southport line is drawn from Liverpool Central in TfL's station order, stations: 69 counted from TfL's route data (Merseyrail says its network reaches 69 stations, and 68 of its own); ORR counts 67 managed, which leaves out Liverpool Lime Street (Network Rail) and presumably Chester, Headbolt Lane's opening date: Merseytravel's release and Railway Gazette give 5 October 2023; RAIL (February 2024) gives 6 October, the last day of the Class 507s comes from the Class 507 Preservation Society, an enthusiast group; Merseyrail and RAIL confirm only the September 2024 farewell tour, the battery units: Stadler and Rail Engineer give seven, with 320 kWh; their unit numbers (777140 to 777152, even numbers) are from Wikipedia, depots: Merseytravel's 2021 tender names Kirkdale and Birkenhead North as Stadler's maintenance depots; which work is done at each isn't stated

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