Merseyrail
Martyn Hilbert joined us at Carnforth to deliver a presentation on 50 years of Merseyrail that celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2021. Prior to this there had always been a dedicated metropolitan rail system around Liverpool, which included the well renowned Overhead Railway, but it was somewhat fragmented. The Network as we know it today emerged from the Merseyside Area Land use Transportation Study (MALTS) that was complied in the late 1960’s.
The new Merseyrail brand was launched in 1971 and the system was completed in 1977. Part of this was the building of the underground tunnels beneath the City and River Mersey that linked the various branches and provided the integration required. However it was 1983 before Hunts Cross was reached.
In 1978 the fleet of 507 units arrived and the basic yellow livery was applied in 1990-92. There were even 5 Class 73 electro-diesel locomotives allocated for servicing purposes. Maintenance was carried out at a new depot at Kirkdale, north of the city, and in 1995 a complete refurbishment took place. In 2004 the Network was extended to Chester.
The fleet has now been completely replaced by the fleet of 53 new 777 units built by Stadler in Switzerland and after initial teething problems they are now in total service. They are bespoke trains specifically built for Merseyrail and are owned, rather than leased, by Merseytravel. All units have a pantograph space to augment the 3rd rail power should it be required and some have battery power as aspirational extensions to Preston, Wigan and Southport through a re-opening of the Burscough curve become possibilities. The battery units are already in use to service the recent extension from Kirkby to Headbolt Lane.