Services on Merseyrail Northern Line face disruption in November as final preparations for the introduction of the new £500m train fleet take place. Tony McDonough reports

Passengers on the Merseyrail Northern Line are being warned of disruption in November as final work to prepare the network for the new £500m train fleet takes place.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has invested £500m in the new 52-strong fleet. But passengers awaiting their arrival have been frustrated by delays caused by the COVID pandemic.

In April it was revealed in LBN that it was likely the trains would be in service by the end of 2022. These latest works will mean Liverpool Central station will be closed to Northern line passengers for four days in November. There will also be no services to Hunts Cross during the same period.

These works will see adjustments made to tracks and line side equipment to ensure new trains in an eight-car formation will be able to serve the station.

For the work to be completed quickly and safely, Liverpool Central station will close to Northern line services from 10pm on Sunday, November 6, until the end of service on Wednesday, November 9.  A summary of services that are affected is as follows:

• Hunts Cross line: The Hunts Cross line will not operate between 10pm on Sunday, November 6, until the end of service on Wednesday, November 9.  A rail-replacement bus service will be in operation between Moorfields station and Hunts Cross station. The bus service will not call at Liverpool Central station.
• Southport and Ormskirk line: From 10pm on Sunday, November 6, until 8pm on Wednesday, November 9, Southport and Ormskirk line services will operate every 20 minutes and start/terminate at Moorfields station. After 8pm services will operate every 30 minutes.
• Kirkby line: From 10pm on Sunday, November 6, until 8pm on Wednesday, November 9, Kirkby line services will operate every 20 minutes and start/terminate at Sandhills station. After 8pm services will operate every 30 minutes starting and terminating at Moorfields station.
• From 8pm on Wednesday, November 9, Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby line services will start/terminate at Sandhills station. A rail replacement bus service will run between Sandhills and Hunts Cross stations. The bus service will not call at Liverpool Central station.

All routes will reopen as normal for the start of services on Thursday 10 November. Wirral line services will not be affected.

Zoe Hands, chief operating officer at Merseyrail, said: “These planned works are a vital part of the modernisation of the Merseyrail network. They will enable the introduction of the new Class 777 trains.

“We would like to apologise to our passengers for the disruption that is being caused and thank them for their patience while this essential work is being carried out. You can be assured that we did not take the decision to close Liverpool Central station to Northern line services lightly. 

“The work is expected to finish as planned on Wednesday night, and all services will be fully operational on Thursday November 10.”

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First announced in 2016, the new trains were acquired by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority from Swiss manufacturer Stadler. Platform upgrades were started three years ago and the testing of the trains began in 2021.

The current 56-strong fleet of trains have now been in service for more than 40 years. As part of the testing of the trains, battery technology was trialled. This was declared a success with trains able to run up to 20 miles without recharging. This means the network can be extended without the heavy expense of electrification.