To make the introduction of its new fleet of trains as smooth as possible, Merseyrail has announced temporary changes to its timetabled services from Sunday, 25th August.

The changes are necessary as new eight-car trains are introduced on the Southport line.

Last March was 120 years since the line carried the world’s first inter-urban electric passenger train service on 22nd March 1904.

To ensure sufficient capacity is available during the transition process, from Sunday, 25th August, there will be temporary changes to the timetable for services between Southport and Hunts Cross and between Ormskirk and Liverpool Central.

Southport line services will start and terminate at Liverpool Central, and passengers travelling on the Southport line between Southport and Hunts Cross should change trains at Liverpool Central.

A 15-minute service between Liverpool Central and Southport will be maintained.

Services between Ormskirk and Hunts Cross will run every 15 minutes during the day, and every 30 minutes during evenings and all day on Sundays.

Services on the line to Headbolt Lane line will be unaffected.

I’m pleased to say that the new fleet roll out programme is nearing completion.

We know that the Southport line is particularly busy, especially at this time of year. So, it s great that we can significantly increase capacity to meet the needs of our customers.

However, these temporary changes will mean that some customers will need to make changes to their regular journeys. I d like to apologise for the alterations and thank people for their patience.

We would encourage all customers travelling on this part of our network over the coming weeks to familiarise themselves with the temporary arrangements and plan ahead They can do this by visiting the Merseyrail website or by using the Merseyrail app.

Neil Grabham, Managing Director of Merseyrail