Overview | |
---|---|
Franchise(s) | Merseyrail 19 January 1997 – 20 July 2003 |
Main region(s) | Merseyside |
Other region(s) | Lancashire Cheshire |
Fleet size | 53 |
Stations called at | 67 |
Stations operated | 66 |
Parent company | Arriva |
Reporting mark | ME |
Arriva Trains Merseyside [1] was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Merseyrail Electrics franchise from January 1997 until July 2003, when the Merseyrail railway franchise was transformed into the local Merseyrail concession, owned by the Merseyrail Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel).
The Merseyrail Electrics franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to MTL with operations commencing on 19 January 1997. [2] MTL retained the Merseyrail Electrics brand.
On 18 February 2000, MTL was purchased by Arriva, [3] [4] and on 27 April 2001, rebranded as Arriva Trains Merseyside. [5]
On 23 April 2003, Serco-Abellio were awarded the Merseyrail Electrics franchise with the services operated by Arriva Trains Merseyside transferring to Merseyrail on 20 July 2003. [6]
Arriva Trains Merseyside inherited a fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 electric multiple units from Regional Railways. It also inherited a fleet of Class 73 locomotives and Class 936 EMUs for use on infrastructure trains; these were sold in 2002.
Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mph | km/h | ||||||
73 | Loco | 80 | 129 | 4 | Northern Line Wirral Line | 1962 | |
507 | EMU | 75 | 120 | 32 | Northern Line Wirral Line | 1978–1980 | |
508/1 | EMU | 75 | 120 | 21 | Northern Line Wirral Line | 1979–1980 | |
936 | EMU | 60 | 97 | 3 | Northern Line Wirral Line | 1955–1956 |
Arriva Trains Merseyside's fleet was maintained at Birkenhead North Depot.
Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. Arriva resumed operating Northern train services again on 1 April 2016 under the Northern brand but ceased again on 29 February 2020.
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Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lines – the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The network uses 750 V DC third rail electrified lines having 75.0 miles (120.7 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) are underground. Since January 2023, Merseyrail commenced replacing its train fleet, withdrawing the Class 507 and 508 trains and introducing 53 new Class 777 trains. The network carried 25.5 million passengers in the 2022/2023 statistical period.
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MTL Trust Holdings was an English bus, coach and train operator based in Liverpool, Merseyside. MTL was originally part of the MPTE. To comply with the Transport Act 1985, the bus operations were divested into a new independent company, Merseyside Transport Limited (MTL). Merseyside PTA retained shareholding, but the company was purchased by its management and staff in a £5.9 million Employee Share Ownership Plan in 1993. On 17 February 2000, MTL was purchased by Arriva for £85 million, with MTL's shareholding workers each receiving £13,500 in windfall gains from the sale.
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