People travelling to, from and within the Liverpool City Region are being urged to plan their journeys and check before they travel ahead of planned strike action by members the RMT union on Merseyrail and Northern rail services on Saturday 3rd March 2018.
To help keep passengers moving and minimise disruption, a reduced Merseyrail service will be in place between 07:00-19:00.
Merseyrail will be running a service every 30 minutes on most lines, with the exception of the New Brighton to Liverpool service, which will be every hour.
Services will run from around 07:00 to 19:00, with a break between approximately 11:30 and 13:30. All trains will be six cars long. Please note Wirral services will start and terminate from James Street station.
For more detailed information, please visit the Merseyrail website.
Trains will run as follows:
Southport – Liverpool Central
Not calling at Freshfield, Hall Road, Bootle Oriel Road, Bank Hall and Sandhills
Hooton – Liverpool James Street
Not calling at Eastham Rake, Bromborough Rake, Moorfields, Lime Street and Liverpool Central
West Kirby – Liverpool James Street
Not calling at Manor Road, Bidston, Birkenhead Park, Conway Park, Moorfields, Lime Street and Liverpool Central
Maghull – Liverpool Central
Not calling at Sandhills
New Brighton – Liverpool James Street
Not calling at Moorfields, Lime Street and Liverpool Central
There will be no service on the following lines:
Hunts Cross – Liverpool Central
Ellesmere Port – Hooton
Chester – Hooton
Ormskirk – Maghull
Kirkby – Liverpool Central
If you use the Wrexham to Bidston line please note that there will be no rail connections at Bidston onto the Merseyrail services.
Passengers travelling to Birkenhead and Liverpool via the Borderlands service are advised to leave the train at Upton and pick up an Arriva cross river bus service to complete their journey.
Cyclists that use the train are asked to consider leaving their bike at home or at stations as rail services will be a lot busier. Cycle hire facilities are available at some stations and within the city centre to support passengers that require bicycles for their onward journey.
As always, passengers who need assistance getting on and off the train are reminded to contact the station 24 hours in advance.
Merseyrail season (weekly, monthly and annual) tickets will be accepted on all Arriva services on Saturday 3rd March only.
Northern rail services
Strike action will also be taking place on Northern rail services on Saturday 3rd March. Northern will be running a reduced service on all routes, some stations will have no service and all services will finish early. Full details will be available on the Northern website from Monday 26th February 2018.
As Northern is part of the Arriva group, customers may be able to use their rail tickets on Arriva Bus services during strike days to make journeys they would otherwise have made by rail. Please check the Northern website for more details.
Mainline rail services
Planned engineering work will affect TransPennine Express services in and out of Liverpool on Saturday 3rd March and Sunday 4th March. To see all planned works for the year, please visit the TransPennine Express website.
Other train operating companies such as East Midlands Trains, London Northwestern and Virgin will continue to operate their existing train services in and out of the City Region.
ADVICE: Passengers are strongly advised to check with their train operator or National Rail before travelling as it is possible that timetables will change prior to, as well as during, strike action. All services are likely to be busier than normal. Consider your options, plan ahead and adapt your plans, taking into account longer journey times. Don’t aim for the last scheduled train, get there early.
Bus services
All bus services in the City Region are due to run as normal.
Merseyrail season (weekly, monthly and annual) tickets will be accepted on Arriva bus services on Saturday 3rd March only.
As Northern is part of the Arriva group, customers may be able to use their rail tickets on Arriva Bus services during strike days to make journeys they would otherwise have made by rail. Please check the Northern website for more details.
ADVICE: Keep an eye on social media channels, @StagecoachMCSL and @Arrivanorthwest, for up to the minute service information. Buses are likely to be very busy, so plan ahead, taking into account longer journey times. Don’t aim for the last scheduled bus, get there early.
Mersey Ferries
The Mersey Ferries may be a good alternative if you’re travelling cross river, services are planned to run as normal. There is free parking at Seacombe for 370 cars.
Cross river rail tickets will not be accepted on Mersey Ferries on Saturday 3rd March 2018.
A full timetable of all cross river journeys is available at Mersey Ferries.
Current works to replace the old ‘four bridge’ – the ‘A’ bridges – along the A554 Tower Road in Wirral means there is no currently no through-route along this road. However Seacombe Ferry Terminal can still be accessed by following the well-marked diversion routes.
ADVICE: Plan your journey and check before you travel. Be prepared to allow longer for your journey due to the Wirral Dock bridge closure.
Planning your journey
If you are travelling to Liverpool FC vs Newcastle
There will be no Soccerbus from Sandhills as Merseyrail services are not stopping at Sandhills Station on Saturday 3rd March. Stagecoach will have extra capacity on the 917 match day service, which will be running to and from Liverpool city centre.
Supporters of both teams are encouraged to use local bus services to travel to and from Anfield Stadium. To find out which buses run to Anfield stadium please visit Liverpool F.C.Please note there will no Merseyrail services after 19:00.
ADVICE: Consider your options, plan ahead and adapt your plans, taking into account longer journey times. Don’t aim for the last scheduled bus, services will be busy so get there early.
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