Merseyrail services to partly resume after disruption

Merseyrail said it hoped to return to its normal timetable as soon as possible

Rail services will resume on the Kirkby and New Brighton lines from Monday after several Merseyrail trains were affected by wheel-bearing faults.

Bus replacements have been operating this week after 28 trains were affected, which meant quarter-hourly services could not run.

Merseyrail said there had been an "unexpected" increase in wear on train wheel bearings.

Managing director Andy Heath said he was "truly, truly sorry".

In a video, he said the trains were "categorically" safe and thanked people for their patience.

'Very frustrating'

He said the damage was "highly unusual" for Merseyrail's fleet and would usually only occur about twice per month, but "several" occurrences had been identified in the past few weeks, leading to a full fleet test being undertaken.

The disruption has affected commuters with amended schedules expected for the near future, Merseyrail said.

The operator said a reduced-capacity service will run every 30 minutes on the Ormskirk, Kirkby, Hunts Cross, New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port lines.

Trains will also run every 15 minutes between Southport and Liverpool Central.

Mr Heath said: "We know that the further changes to our timetable that we're announcing will add inconvenience and delay into the journeys for people of the city region and for that we are truly, truly sorry.

"As soon as it will be possible, we will return to our normal, reliable 15-minute timetable."

Mr Heath said that rail replacement buses next week would be "timed to minimise waiting times for passengers" and called on commuters to allow more time for their journeys.

"While we are hoping that these issues are short term, their nature means that we aren't able to say at this stage how long the changes will remain in place," he added.

Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram recently described the disruption as "very frustrating", adding: "Merseyrail are contracted to run a service, and at this moment in time they can't do that."

An investigation has been launched into the reasons behind the faults.

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