Train operator Merseyrail hands out vouchers worth up to £150 to passengers on its Liverpool city region network as an apology for recent disruptions. Tony McDonough reports

Merseyrail passengers are being handed vouchers worth up to £150 each over the coming days as an apology for recent disruptions to services.

Since Saturday, August 6, Merseyrail staff have started handing out 7,500 envelopes to passengers at 16 stations on its network. Each envelope contains a voucher offering anything from a free coffee to £150 worth of shopping.

This give-away, which is taking place at the morning and evening peak times, will continue until Saturday, August 13.

During recent weeks, train maintenance issues and infrastructure problems created by the heatwave, severely affected Merseyrail services. Passengers suffered cancellations and late running of services.

The giveaways are to acknowledge the disruption faced by passengers, and will be distributed at the stations that have been most affected. Suzanne Grant, commercial director at Merseyrail, said: “Since 2003, we have taken great pride in delivering the most reliable and punctual rail service in the UK. 

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“However, in recent weeks we have not met the high standards we have set for ourselves and that our passengers have rightly come to expect from us. I want to apologise for the disruption on our network. As a way of thanking passengers for their patience and loyalty Merseyrail is giving away a range of gifts across the network.

“We know that some journeys have been difficult recently and that affects passengers’ plans, so we hope this gesture will make their next journey, or even their day, just a little bit better.”