Merseyrail to roll out eight-car trains on Southport Line

Merseyrail customers can expect a major upgrade on the Southport line beginning August 25, as the network introduces eight-car services in the final stages of its new train fleet rollout.

This development promises increased capacity, especially during the busy summer season, but will also bring temporary changes to certain Merseyrail services as the transition takes place.

As part of this phased approach, there will be some temporary changes to services between Southport-Hunts Cross and Ormskirk-Liverpool Central to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to carry customers during the transition process.

From Sunday 25 August, Southport line services will start and terminate at Liverpool Central. The all-day 15-minute service between Liverpool Central and Southport will remain in place.

Customers travelling on the Southport line between Southport and Hunts Cross should change trains at Liverpool Central.

Ormskirk line services will call at all stations to Hunts Cross. Trains from Hunts Cross will call at all stations to Ormskirk. All services between Ormskirk and Hunts Cross will run at a 15-minute frequency during the day, and 30-minute frequency in the evening and all day on Sundays.

Customers on the Ormskirk line will be able to travel direct to all stations between Ormskirk and Hunts Cross.

Headbolt Lane line services will be unaffected.

Train times will be slightly amended to fit in with the temporary calling pattern. Customers should check journey times at merseyrail.org or via the Merseyrail app before they travel.

An announcement about when the normal timetable and services will be resumed will be made in due course as the eight-car trains are rolled out.

Neil Grabham, Managing Director of Merseyrail, said:

“I’m pleased to say that the new fleet roll out programme is nearing completion.

“We know that the Southport line is particularly busy, especially at this time of year. So, it’s great that we can significantly increase capacity to meet the needs of our customers.

“However, these temporary changes will mean that some customers will need to make changes to their regular journeys. I’d like to apologise for the alterations and thank people for their patience.

“We would encourage all customers travelling on this part of our network over the coming weeks to familiarise themselves with the temporary arrangements and plan ahead They can do this by visiting the Merseyrail website or by using the Merseyrail app.”