Merseyrail battery-powered trains 'introduced too soon'

The trains been plagued by delays especially on the battery-only leg to Headbolt Lane

Merseyrail's battery-powered trains may have been introduced too soon, a leading railway journalist has said.

There have been repeated problems with the new publicly owned fleet of Swiss-built trains which started running on the Kirkby line a year ago.

Journalist Tony Miles said some experts believed further testing was needed.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram insisted the fleet had undergone "a rigorous testing process and was approved for use by the Office of Rail and Road".

The trains, which are part of the Liverpool City Region's £500m publicly owned fleet, were first introduced in January 2023 as part of a vision to become net-zero carbon by 2040.

The service has since been plagued by delays, especially on the battery-only leg to the new £80m station at Headbolt Lane, which opened in October.

Mr Rotheram has offered ticket holders refunds in recognition of the cancellations and delays.

'Undue haste'

Mr Miles said the "excitement" of the trains being available may have caused the rollout to happen "earlier rather than later".

"There was a feeling that maybe there was a bit of undue haste from the mayor to get things in because he wanted to show his new station, he wanted to show his new bit of railway and to show the new technology which is a first in the UK for that type of design," he said.

"I'm sure that it will get resolved I'm sure that Stadler are taking it incredibly seriously their reputation is on the line as well as the journeys for the people of Liverpool."

Mr Rotheram said Mr Miles' comments were "misleading in the extreme".

"First and foremost, the proposed timetable for the rollout of the region's new trains was drawn up by train operator Merseyrail - it was not a Mayoral decision," he said.

"Second, the new station at Headbolt Lane wasn't opened until October, nine months after the introduction of the new rolling stock."

He said it was only then that the Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit trains were scheduled for that line.

Merseyrail has been contacted for comment.

Mr Rotheram added he had "particular concern" relating to the accusation the rollout "was in any way rushed for my own personal gain".

"It wasn't (as suggested) to 'show off a station' and it wasn't to 'show off the technology'. It was simply because the train operating company made an operational decision to run the new trains," Mr Rotheram said.

"The reality is that the decision to introduce the new trains was made only after the fleet had undergone a rigorous testing process and was approved for use by the Office of Rail and Road. That is why I have been pressing Stadler to improve performance."

Train company Stadler has been contacted for comment.

UPDATE - 19 January 2024: This article was originally published on 17 January 2024. It has been updated to include Mr Rotheram's response