Liverpool–Manchester lines
There once were four direct railway routes between Liverpool and Manchester in the North West of England; only two remain, the two centre routes of the four. The most northerly and the most southerly of the four routes are no longer direct lines. Of the remaining two direct routes, the northern route of the two is fully electric, while the now southern route is a diesel-only line. The most northerly of the four has been split into two routes: the western section operated by Merseyrail electric trains and the eastern section by diesel trains, requiring passengers to change trains between the two cities. The fourth route, the most southerly of the four, has been largely abandoned east of Warrington; the remaining section caters mainly for freight trains.
A Northern Trains Class 156 leaving Mossley Hill station on the southern route
Liverpool Lime Street station, the terminus for both the northern and southern routes to Manchester.
Manchester Victoria station, the terminus for the northern Liverpool to Manchester route.
Manchester Piccadilly station, the terminus of both the northern and southern Liverpool to Manchester route.
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lines – the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The network uses 750 V DC third rail electrified lines having 75.0 miles (120.7 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) are underground. Since January 2023, Merseyrail commenced replacing its train fleet, withdrawing the Class 507 and 508 trains and introducing 53 new Class 777 trains. The network carried 25.5 million passengers in the 2022/2023 statistical period.
A Class 777 in service on the Wirral Line at Chester in 2024
A Class 507 at Bidston in 2023
A typical suburban Merseyrail totem at Old Roan station, marking an interchange with rail and bus services
Thatto Heath station is branded Merseyrail with trains operated by Northern.