Unique concession

Merseyrail is a unique concession in the UK as the role of the Strategic Rail Authority has been delegated by Parliament to the Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel) and the concession agreement is between the operator and Merseytravel. Also, the length of the concession is 25 years from 20 July 2003 with review dates along the way, allowing both Merseytravel and ourselves to take the long view.

Urban network

Merseyrail is an urban network of vital importance to the transport infrastructure of Liverpool and Merseyside. In view of the ongoing regeneration of the city and the anticipated developments related to the Cultural Capital of Europe award for 2008, rail will play a major role in the economic life of the region and be a vital part in the urban transport network that, thanks to the efforts of Merseytravel, is already “multi-modal”.

Train services

Merseyrail offers one of the country’s most reliable train services and since the takeover, Serco-NedRailways has made a further contribution to performance by an improved availability of the rolling stock. This has been achieved through better maintenance, which is entirely carried out “in-house”, attention to operational detail and a pro-active approach in eliminating structural causes of delays.

Open relationship

Merseytravel and Merseyrail have established an open relationship and are able to communicate quickly and effectively to discuss issues before they become adversarial. It is Merseyrail’s genuine belief that in the rail industry no single partner can perform without the involvement of others. It is worth investing time, money and effort in helping partners to achieve their goals to help Merseyrail to improve in the longer term.

Key facts
 

• 75 route miles, outer termini at Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby,
   Hunts Cross on the Northern Line, and New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port on the Wirral Line
• 3rd rail electrification (750 v dc)
• Core city centre underground network, including 6,5 miles in tunnels and 5 underground stations
• Underground section includes the original Mersey railway tunnel opened in 1886
• Approximately 100,000 passenger journeys per weekday or 30 million passenger journeys per annum
• Nearly 50% of passengers are daily users
• 67 stations of which 66 are managed by Merseyrail
• One of the most intensively used networks in the UK with over
  780 train services daily (Mon-Fri)
• Clock face, regular interval timetable (15 minute frequencies, increasing to 5 minute on city centre sections)
• Approximately 1,100 staff
• 59 electric multiple units leased from Angel Trains
• Major refurbishment of entire rolling stock fleet in progress, financed and initiated by the PTE Merseytravel were completed in 2004

In July 2003, Serco-
NedRailways was awarded the Merseyrail concession for 25 years.
This marked the entry of Serco and NedRailways into the UK heavy rail market.
The contract has a total value of £3.6 billion.