Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the Northwest of England. 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 28.3 million passengers in the 2023/2024 statistical period.
The Wirral Railway was a railway network in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula,England. Its route was from Birkenhead Park in the east of the Wirral to West Kirby in the west. A branch off this line at Bidston went north to Secombe and New Brighton. It was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway,running from Hoylake to Birkenhead Docks. After changes of name and of ownership,it was purchased by the Wirral Railway Company Limited in 1884. The network was extended to West Kirby,New Brighton,and Seacombe,and to Birkenhead Park station where it joined the Mersey Railway,enabling through trains through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. In the 1923 grouping the Wirral company became part of the London,Midland and Scottish Railway,which electrified the line in 1938,allowing passenger services to be integrated with the Liverpool urban system. Most of the Wirral Railway network is still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail rail network.
Liverpool James Street is a railway station located in the centre of Liverpool,England;it is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. James Street is an underground station,with access to the platforms via lifts from the booking hall. At certain times,the platforms are accessed via a pedestrian tunnel from the India Buildings on Water Street. As of 2013/14,James Street was the fifth-busiest station on the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Hamilton Square railway station serves the town of Birkenhead,in Merseyside,England,on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station is close to Hamilton Square in Birkenhead.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside,England,the other being the Northern line.
West Kirby railway station serves the town of West Kirby in Merseyside,England. The station is the terminus of the West Kirby branch line,which is one of the two branches of the Wirral Line on the Merseyrail network. There is a central island platform between two terminus tracks and two parallel sidings for out-of-use electric multiple units. A second station,which was the terminus of a branch line from Hooton,lay to the east of the Wirral Line station;it was closed in 1962.
Bidston railway station serves the village of Bidston,Merseyside,England. The station is situated at a junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral line,which is part of the Merseyrail network;it also serves as the northern terminus for the Borderlands line from Wrexham Central,with services operated by Transport for Wales.
New Brighton railway station serves the suburb of New Brighton in Wallasey,Merseyside,England. It is situated at the end of the New Brighton branch of the Wirral Line 8.25 miles (13.28 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Conway Park railway station is situated in the centre of Birkenhead,Merseyside,England. It lies on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead North railway station serves the town of Birkenhead,in Merseyside,England. The station is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network,close to the junction of the New Brighton and West Kirby branches. Birkenhead North TMD,situated just to the west of the station,is the main traction maintenance depot for the Merseyrail fleet.
Hooton railway station is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula,Cheshire,England. It lies on the Wirral Line 8 miles (13 km) north of Chester and 9+1⁄2 miles (15.3 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network,and is the junction of the branch from the Chester line to Ellesmere Port. It serves the villages of Hooton and Willaston.
British Rail Class 503 passenger trains were 65 mph (105 km/h) electric multiple units. They were introduced in two batches:the first were in 1938,by the London,Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS),with a further batch in 1956 by the then nationalised British Railways (BR). When introduced by the LMS,they were known officially as Class AM3. They were designed for,and operated on,the Wirral &Mersey lines from Liverpool to West Kirby,New Brighton and Rock Ferry. There were few places on their network of closely-spaced stations to attain their maximum speed,except for the open section between Moreton and Meols. All but one set were withdrawn and scrapped by 1985. The final set was used on special Merseyrail services until 1988;it was preserved and kept at the Electric Railway Museum near Coventry,until it moved on to the Locomotive Storage Ltd warehouse at Margate.
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station located at Woodside,in Birkenhead,on the Wirral Peninsula,Cheshire. It served both local services within Cheshire and long-distance services to southern England,including London.
Leasowe railway station is a station serving the village of Leasowe,in Merseyside,England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
Moreton railway station serves the town of Moreton,in Merseyside,England. The station is on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,which is part of the Merseyrail network.
Manor Road railway station is a station in Merseyside,England that serves the towns of Hoylake and Meols. It is located on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
Hoylake railway station serves the town of Hoylake,Merseyside,England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line,part of the Merseyrail network.
Rock Ferry railway station is situated in the Rock Ferry area of Birkenhead,Merseyside,England. The station lies 4.5 miles (7 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station has an island platform with four platforms in total and four tracks.
The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in North West England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead,Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting the port of Birkenhead and the city of Chester with the manufacturing districts of Lancashire by making a junction near Warrington with the Grand Junction Railway. The BL&CJR took over the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1847,keeping its own name for the combined company until it shortened its name to the Birkenhead Railway in 1859. It was taken over jointly,on 1 January 1860,by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR). It remained a joint railway until nationalisation of the railways in 1948.
The history of Merseyrail dates back to the 19th century,with the original formation of the Mersey Railway,however,Merseyrail dates back to the 20th century,namely being set up by British Rail in 1969,it did not become a single network until 1977.
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