Commuters traveling to the Aintree Festival and Grand National will be able to experience Liverpool City Region’s brand new publicly owned Merseyrail trains on the Ormskirk line, already in use since the 10th of April on this particular line. A phased rollout started by introducing the new trains on the Kirkby line across the Merseyrail network, having the new high-tech Class 777 trains up and running on the morning of the 23rd of January 2023, counting their first passenger service. The first phase of the rollout started with seven Class 777 IPEMU (Independent Powered Electrical Multiple Unit) trains, the first of their kind in the UK, having batteries fitted that enabled them to operate on tracks without a third electrified rail and able to run 135 km on battery power alone and with 80 km/h maximum speed. The IPEMU can be charged via the third rail in less than 15 min, backed up by an energy recovery system that can harvest energy from braking and send it back into the batteries. The rest of the metro trains will operate on a 750V DC third rail network with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. The new Class 777 trains haven’t had the greatest start on the Kirkby line, there were problems soon after the rollout began and all vehicles had to be withdrawn because of a software issue, but everything was soon fixed and back on track.
Drivers are still training to learn how to control the new train and master the new features, while a small number of services had to be canceled during the process. The same thing is expected to happen for other parts of the Merseyrail network once the phased rollout advances, for now, the entire timetable will return to normal for Ormskirk and Southport lines.
“The phased introduction of the new trains onto the Merseyrail network is progressing well. As with any new train entering service for the first time, it’s not unusual to have to make some adjustments,” Suzanne Grant, commercial director at Merseyrail previously said.
Following the GBP 500 million (EUR 571 million) public investment, based on the local passengers’ feedback, their demands were fulfilled to expectations. Purchased in 2016 from the Swiss manufacturer Stadler and encountering difficulties during testing for reasons such as COVID-19, flooding in the Spanish factory where the trains were built and disagreements with the RMT union, Class 777 is now a new train in the Liverpool region, ready to build up its reputation by achieving the honour to be called „the state-of-the-art”. The rail fleet consists of 53 hi-tech Class 777 trains and is set to replace the existing Merseyrail fleet of 507 trains, a step forward towards a faster, cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable rail network in the region. Currently, once the rollout on the Ormskirk line is completed, Wirral and Hunts Cross lines will follow.
The new Merseyrail metro trains have been “designed in consultation with the local people. They’re some of the most accessible and sophisticated in the entire country, with great new features like level access with sliding step technology, more room for bikes and wheelchairs, phone charging and Wi-Fi onboard and real-time journey information”, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said.
By David Holmes
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