New and improved Merseyrail trains are launching in Merseyside in 2020 after Liverpool City Region leaders gave the £460 million project the green light.
The new vehicles are said to be capable of carrying 60% more passengers than current trains on the network and will cut journey times by 10%.
Swiss manufacturer Stadler will build and maintain the trains which will eventually run beyond the current Merseyrail boundaries to destinations including Skelmersdale, Wrexham and Warrington.
Key features of the vehicles include more space for bikes, buggies, disabled customers and luggage, as well as wider aisles and improvements to boost passenger safety during boarding.
However, the new trains will not have guards on board, with Merseyrail replacing these roles with customer service roles based in the train saloons.
The new trains are on track to launch in 2020
Mayor of Liverpool and chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Joe Anderson, says: “The people of our city region need and deserve new trains. Merseyrail is one of the top performing networks in the country and we want to keep it that way. This is a once in a generation opportunity for custom built trains that will be safer and carry more people, more quickly.
“A better rail service will bring a boost to the regional economy of £70m every year, plus 1,000 new jobs. It’s also one our first Devo Deal successes for the city region as we’ve got commitment for funding that will help make this project happen.
“Unusually, these trains will be owned by us locally, meaning we can make sure the trains are exactly what passengers want and that they are ready for our future plans.”
The trains will replace the near 40-year-old fleet which currently runs on Mersyrail’s network – the oldest in the UK – when they come into operation at the end of 2020.
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These trains will be the best in the UK without a doubt.
It’ll be nice to have new trains for Merseyside to replace the ones that were secondhand cast offs to us from London 25 years ago! Be even better if they could speed up production and get them here sooner.