Cost of extending the life of older trains revealed

Class 777 trains first began running on the Merseyrail network in January 2023

Extending the life of older Merseyrail trains has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds, a report said.

Documents released ahead of a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) meeting show a £500,000 overspend in rolling stock between April and July that was "largely due to the retention of the old fleet longer than expected".

Merseyrail's new Class 777 trains were unveiled in January 2023 and it was hoped older models would be phased out.

LCRCA leaders will be asked to sign off on Merseyrail's latest financial position later this week.

The report to the LCRCA said: "This delay attracts additional lease and maintenance costs and reduces the operational savings from the new fleet."

More than 50 state-of-the-art Class 777 trains have been introduced as part of the publicly owned fleet.