Merseyside is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Liverpool.
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.
Merseytravel is the passenger transport executive, responsible for the coordination of public transport in the Liverpool City Region in North West England. Merseytravel was established on 1 December 1969 as the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive. From 1 April 2014, with the creation of the Liverpool City Region, Merseytravel expanded its area of operation from the metropolitan county of Merseyside to also include the Borough of Halton.
Liverpool City Region is a combined authority area in North West England. It has six council areas; five Merseyside metropolitan boroughs and the Cheshire unitary authority of Halton. The region had a population of 1,551,800 in 2021: it is the fourth largest combined authority area by population in England, outside of London.
The Northern line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Wirral line. The cross-city route runs from Hunts Cross in south Liverpool then branches in the north to terminate at Southport, Headbolt Lane and Ormskirk (Lancashire).
The Canada Dock Branch is a 4-mile 59 chain long railway line in Liverpool, England. The line's route is from the large Edge Hill rail junction in the east of Liverpool to Seaforth Dock to the north. The line was originally built by the London and North Western Railway terminating at Canada Dock, with a later branch extension added to Alexandra Dock and links onto the MDHC railway lines. The line is not electrified.
The Borderlands line, also known as the Bidston–Wrexham or Wrexham–Bidston line, is a railway line between Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula in England and Wrexham Central in the north-east of Wales. Passenger train services are part of the Wales & Borders franchise and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester line at Wrexham General. Parts of the line in Wales are used by freight trains, serving Deeside Industrial Park and the Hanson Cement works to the south of Buckley.
The Skelmersdale branch was a standard gauge railway (SKE) which connected the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Rainford Junction via Skelmersdale. At Rainford it connected with the Liverpool and Bury Railway and the St. Helens Railway. It was built by the East Lancashire Railway, which was taken over by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway shortly afterward. The steam railmotor which served the line was sometimes known locally as the "Skem Dodger" and other times as the "Skem Jazzer".
Burscough Bridge railway station is one of two railway stations which serves the town of Burscough in Lancashire, England. It is on the Manchester-Southport Line. It is operated and managed by Northern Trains. A bus interchange has recently been constructed next to the station, including a shop and cafe. The station has been identified by Merseytravel as a possible interchange between the Liverpool to Ormskirk line and the Southport to Wigan line in its Liverpool City Region Long Term Rail Strategy.
Woodchurch is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, in England. Administratively, Woodchurch is within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, its parliamentary constituency is Wirral West, and its local council ward is Upton. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 8,400. Woodchurch is dominated by a large housing development, known as the Woodchurch Estate. The district is served by several schools and has the major Arrowe Park Hospital just outside its boundary, which was built on 15 acres (61,000 m2) of the park itself and opened in 1982.
Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874 and carried passengers from 1858 to 1956.
The City Line is the brand name used by Merseytravel on suburban rail services in the Liverpool City Region starting eastwards from the mainline platforms of Liverpool Lime Street railway station.
Halton Curve is a short bi-directional railway line which links the Chester–Warrington line to the Weaver Junction–Liverpool line within the borough of Halton, Cheshire. The route, which is 1 mile 54 chains (2.7 km) long, is between Frodsham Junction and Halton Junction. After having no regular services for more than four decades, the line was upgraded and reopened in 2019 by Network Rail, enabling hourly passenger trains between Chester and Liverpool.
Daresbury railway station was a station in Moore, Cheshire, on the Birkenhead Joint Railway between Runcorn and Warrington. It was named after the village of Daresbury, Cheshire, about a mile away to distinguish it from Moore railway station on the West Coast Main Line. It was open to passengers between 1850 and 1952. It continued to be served by goods trains until full closure in 1965.
Carr Mill railway station was on the Lancashire Union Railway in the Carr Mill area of St Helens, England. It opened on 1 January 1896 and closed on 1 January 1917. Proposals to construct a new station to serve the expanding population have been suggested by Merseytravel but funding has yet to arrive. A new proposal to open a station was raised by Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram as part of his re-election plans in January 2020. The proposal was again raised as part of his re-election plans in 2024, with the new railway station being a priority along with new stations at Daresbury and Woodchurch.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), officially the Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral Combined Authority, is the combined authority of the Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City Region includes the City of Liverpool local authority area plus the Metropolitan Boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral and the Borough of Halton in England. It was established on 1 April 2014 by statutory instrument under the provisions of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Composition of the combined authority is made up of the leaders of the six principal membership authorities, plus several non-voting members with various vested interests in the activities of the Combined Authority.
Wirral Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Wirral is a metropolitan borough, one of five in Merseyside, and provides the majority of local government services in Wirral. The council is a constituent member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Beechwood is a proposed railway station situated between Bidston and Upton on the Borderlands Line, to serve the Beechwood area of Birkenhead.
Beechwood is a housing estate in the west of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. Administratively it is within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral as part of Bidston and St James Ward. The area is bounded by Bidston to the north, Upton to the west and Noctorum to the south. The elevation of Bidston Hill is immediately to the east.
Town Meadow is a proposed railway station to serve the west of Moreton near Meols in the Wirral, England. The station would be situated on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line.
