Liverpool city region’s new £500m train fleet is finally being rolled out on the Merseyrail Hunts Cross to Southport line this week. Tony McDonough reports
Merseyrail is rolling out the new Liverpool city region’s £500m train fleet this week – the final line to get the Class 777 units.
In January the first trains started running on the Liverpool to Kirkby line followed a few weeks later by Liverpool to Ormskirk. The Wirral line saw the units arrive in the summer, serving spectators attending the Open Golf Championship at Hoylake.
LBN revealed in July that an issue with the platform at Southport station meant the route between the town and Hunts Cross in south Liverpool would be the last to see the trains. They started running on the line on Monday morning this week.
All 52 units of the new fleet were manufactured by Stadler and paid for by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “I know passengers up and down the Southport to Hunts Cross line have been patiently waiting for the rollout.
“We’ve invested half a billion pounds in our new fleet, which are packed with great new features such as sliding step technology, free phone charging and Wi-Fi and more room for bikes and wheelchairs.
“Designed in consultation with local people, our new trains are some of the most accessible and sophisticated in the entire country.
“This investment shows the difference devolution makes. We’re charting our own course, putting the public back into public transport and delivering the services that our 1.6m residents deserve.”
In recent weeks Merseyrail has seen multiple delays and cancellations on the Kirkby line. The new Headbolt Lane station on the route is served by battery run trains and there have been teething troubles with the technology.
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Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool City Council and Transport Portfolio Holder for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, added: “Together, we are creating a transport system that is advanced, sustainable and accessible.
“I look forward to seeing the benefits that these new trains will bring to Liverpool and the wider city region.”