This is a city region that deserves a modern, reliable and effective public transport network. For a variety of reasons it is not getting that right now.
Merseyrail and its famous yellow branding are an iconic part of life in this region, but in recent months the service has not been what people here expect and deserve. Over the past few weeks the services have been hit by delays and cutbacks because of some unexpected faults, which have led to packed trains and people being late for work. To add to this, the entire network will shut down on three days next week as Network Rail staff walk out on strike.
All of this disruption comes with the spectre of a new fleet of state-of-the-art trains that are still yet to arrive on the Merseyrail network. This is despite the deal to purchase the 52-strong fleet being announced in 2016 and testing of the new trains has been going on since last year.
