Merseyrail

Merseyrail
A Class 777 at Hooton on the Wirral line
Overview
Owner	Merseytravel, Network Rail
Area served	Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas
Locale	Liverpool City Region (Merseyside and Halton) Cheshire Lancashire
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	2
Number of stations	69 (67 managed)
Annual ridership	29.9 million (2024/2025)
Chief executive	Neil Grabham
Headquarters	Rail House, Liverpool
Website	www.merseyrail.org
Operation
Began operation	1886 as the Mersey Railway, 1977 as expanded Merseyrail
Operators	Merseyrail Electrics 2002 (50:50 joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group)
Infrastructure manager	Network Rail
Character	Commuter rail, Concession
Rolling stock	Class 777
Number of vehicles	53
Train length	4 cars, 8 cars during peak times
Headway	15 minutes (general), 5 minutes (central sections), 30 minutes (Ellesmere Port branch, general in evenings and on Sundays)
Technical
System length	122 km (76 miles)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
System map

Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Lancashire and Cheshire in North West England. The network consists of two lines, the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which together serve 69 stations along 76 miles (122 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) are underground. It uses Class 777 trains based on the Stadler METRO platform, which primarily operate on 750 V DC third rail electrified track. The network carried 29.9 million passengers in 2024/2025. Since 2003 the network has been run as a concession, held by a 50:50 joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group (previously Abellio UK).

Merseyrail was established in 1977, when existing railway lines were connected by constructing new tunnels under Liverpool city centre and Birkenhead. The network has since been expanded through the creation of new stations, the electrification of existing lines, and the use of trains capable of running on battery power; the last allow trains to reach Headbolt Lane despite the line leading to the station not being electrified.