A decision on whether the Liverpool City Region will get a brand new fleet of trains is due today (16 December).

Earlier this year a shortlist of five bidders was announced to build trains for the Merseyrail project which could cost over £450 million.

The decision on whether to proceed with the plans to replace Merseyrail’s ageing fleet will be made at a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority at Merseytravel’s Mann Island headquarters.

The five shortlisted bidders are Derby-based Bombardier; Spanish company CAF; Japanese firm Mitsui; Siemens and Swiss-based company Stalder which has provided trams for the Croydon Tramlink.

If given the go ahead, the new trains could be on the Merseyrail network by the early 2020s. The multi-million project will also include significant investment in infrastructure such as depots and power supplies.

Merseytravel says it considers new trains as the best option as it looks to meet growing demand on the network and support the city region’s economic ambitions.

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