Trains will resume on the Kirkby and New Brighton lines next week, but there will be further disruption to services.
Merseyrail has confirmed that from Monday, June 13, trains will run on the Kirkby and New Brighton lines, after a week of rail replacement buses running. However there will be changes to train times and frequency on a number of lines.
Trains will decrease how many trips they do, and run every 30 minutes on the Ormskirk, Kirkby, Hunts Cross, New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port lines. Trains will run every 15 minutes between Southport and Liverpool Central .
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The cancellations this week which lead to rail replacement buses were due to faults on the trains. A Merseyrail spokesperson said that they experienced an "unexpected and significant increase" in wheel bearing faults which affected the number of trains we have available.
They said while the wheel bearings on affected units are replaced, emergency changes needed to be made to timetables to prevent unplanned disruption and to maintain a reliable service. As of Monday, June 13, the following changes will be in place:
Trains will run every 30 minutes on the Ormskirk, Kirkby, Hunts Cross, New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port lines. Trains will run every 15 minutes between Southport and Liverpool Central.
A rail replacement bus service will also be in place between the following stations in case services become overcrowded:
- Spital and Moorfield stations (calling at all stations)
- Birkenhead North and Moorfields stations (calling at all stations)
- Maghull and Moorfields stations (calling at all stations)
- Waterloo and Moorfields stations (calling at all stations)
Rail replacement buses will be timed to minimise waiting time for passengers. A 30 minute service will continue to run on Sundays across all lines. This timetable will remain in place until further notice and as trains are repaired.
