Work is progressing to get Kirkby station in Liverpool reopened for passengers after a rail incident involving a Merseyrail train.

The 18:35 Liverpool to Kirkby train ran through the buffers on Saturday 13th March, and the rear carriages of the train have already been taken away.

The front carriage is taking longer to recover as its wheels could be damaged and means it needs to be removed by a recovery locomotive, in this case, a Rail Operations Group Class 37.

Video footage released today shows the Merseyrail being pulled back onto the tracks.

Once the train is out of the station, engineers can assess damage to the track, signalling and platform and begin to make repairs.

Network Rail says that in the ‘best case’ scenario, Merseyrail trains will start running again from next week, and Northern trains from Monday 29th March 2021.

Phil James, route director for Network Rail’s north west route, said: “Following Saturday’s incident in Kirkby, we’re working with Merseyrail and Northern to reopen the station as quickly as possible to passengers.

“This is complex recovery and repair job and I’d like to thank passengers for their patience. I’d urge anyone who needs to travel to or from Kirkby to check with their train operator for the latest information.”

Andy Heath, managing director at Merseyrail, said: “We are working closely with our partners at Network Rail to reopen Kirkby station as soon as possible following Saturday evening’s incident and understand the inconvenience this has placed on our passengers.

“I would like to remind passengers that if they wish to travel to Fazakerley or Kirkby they should board Ormskirk services to Aintree where a rail replacement bus service is in operation calling at Fazakerley and Kirkby stations.”

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “We’re working closely with colleagues across the rail industry to keep our customers on the move and we’re grateful to Network Rail for their efforts in helping to reopen Kirkby as soon as possible.

“In the meantime, our customers can continue to travel between Kirkby and Wigan, though we are operating buses between Kirkby and Rainford while the repair work is carried out.”

Rail replacement buses are running from Kirkby to keep passengers on the move.

Where Next?

RAILADVENT NEWS
The latest railway news
FREE NEWSLETTERS
Signup to our daily and weekly newsletters
RAILADVENT SHOP
Railway Prints, DVD’s / Blu-Ray’s, books and more
LOCOSTOP COMMUNITY
Come and share your railway pictures
UK STEAM INFO
Upcoming mainline steam tours/loco movements
NETWORK RAIL
Visit their website