Arriva Trains Merseyside
Arriva Trains Merseyside[1] was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Merseyrail Electrics franchise from January 1997 until July 2003, when the Merseyrail railway franchise was transformed into the local Merseyrail concession, owned by the Merseyrail Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel).
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Merseyrail 19 January 1997 – 20 July 2003 |
| Main region(s) | Merseyside |
| Other region(s) | Lancashire Cheshire |
| Fleet size | 53 |
| Stations called at | 67 |
| Stations operated | 66 |
| Parent company | Arriva |
| Reporting mark | ME |
History
The Merseyrail Electrics franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to MTL with operations commencing on 19 January 1997.[2] MTL retained the Merseyrail Electrics brand.
On 18 February 2000, MTL was purchased by Arriva,[3][4] and on 27 April 2001, rebranded as Arriva Trains Merseyside.[5]
On 23 April 2003, Serco-Abellio were awarded the Merseyrail Electrics franchise with the services operated by Arriva Trains Merseyside transferring to Merseyrail on 20 July 2003.[6]
Routes
Northern Line
Wirral Line
Rolling stock
Arriva Trains Merseyside inherited a fleet of Class 507 and Class 508s from Regional Railways. It also inherited a fleet of Class 73 locomotives and Class 936 units for use on infrastructure trains, these were sold in 2002.
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Unit numbers | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||
| 73 | Loco | 80 | 129 | 4 | Northern Line Wirral Line |
73001–002, 73005–006 | 1962 | |
| 507 |  |
EMU | 75 | 120 | 32 | Northern Line Wirral Line |
507001–021, 507023–033 | 1978–80 |
| 508/1 |  |
EMU | 75 | 120 | 21 | Northern Line Wirral Line |
508103–104, 508111–112, 508114–115, 508117, 508124–128, 508130, 508134, 508136–141, 508143 |
1979–80 |
| 936 |  |
EMU | 60 | 97 | 3 | Northern Line Wirral Line |
936001–003 | 1955–56 |
Depot
Arriva Trains Merseyside's fleet was maintained at Birkenhead North Depot.
References
- Companies House extract company no 3007941 Arriva Trains Merseyside Limited formerly Merseyrail Electrics Limited
- "Local bus company MTL wins the Merseyrail Electrics franchise" Rail issue 296 15 January 1997 page 11
- Recommended Cash Offer for MTL Services Arriva 18 February 2000
- "Arriva buys MTL for £84m" Rail issue 378 8 March 2000 page 13
- "Name changes for Arriva TOCs" Rail issue 408 2 May 2001 page 9
- Merseyrail franchise goes Dutch The Daily Telegraph 24 April 2003
Further reading
- Hunt, John (7–20 October 1998). "Sparkies 'cross the Mersey...". RAIL. No. 341. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 28–33. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
| Preceded by Regional Railways As part of British Rail |
Operator of Merseyrail franchise 1997 - 2003 |
Succeeded by Merseyrail |
