Merseyrail’s reduced timetable will not be used to speed up the testing of its delayed fleet of new trains, according to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Last week the train operator announced that it was reducing services to every half an hour across the majority of the network having only returned to its pre-pandemic timetable of providing services every 15 minutes back in April. It said this was due to unexpected wear on the current train’s wheel bearings, with managing director of Merseyrail, Andy Heath, apologising for the disruption and unable to say when services will be back to normal.
While the reduced timetable will be a point of frustration for commuters, the ECHO asked the Combined Authority, who is overseeing the delivery of the new fleet, if more space on the network will now provide an opportunity to speed up the testing programme of the delayed trains.
