Class 507/508

Services on the electrified Merseyrail network are operated by British Rail Class 507 and Class 508 electric multiple unit trains (EMUs). These replaced pre-war Class 502 (originally constructed by the LMS) and similar Class 503 EMUs. There are 57 trains in service on the network.

The fleet was refurbished between 2002 and 2005 by Alstom at a cost of £32 million, involving trainsets being transported to and from Eastleigh works. Improvements to the trains included new high-backed seating, interior panel replacement, new lighting, the installation of a Passenger Information System and a new external livery.^[20]

Class 777

On 28 January 2020, Swiss rolling-stock manufacturer Stadler Rail provided the first of a new fleet of 53 new train sets, designated Class 777, built at Stadler's factory in Bussnang, Switzerland. The final units were due to enter service in 2021.^[21] The trains are based on the METRO platform, Stadler's product family for underground trains also used on the Berlin U-Bahn and the Minsk Metro. The new trains are a custom-built, bespoke design specifically for the Merseyrail network, with driver only and guard capability.^[22] This differs from the previous fleet, which was built to a standard British Rail design for commuter services.

The new trains have an articulated four-car design, compared to the previous three-car units, with a significantly increased overall capacity and faster acceleration and deceleration, which gives reduced journey times. A combination of reduced weight of 99 tonnes, representing a 5.5 tonne weight reduction, and more efficient electrical systems will give a 20% reduction in energy use.

The trains are flexible, being capable of operating on a combination of any of 750 V DC third rail, 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead wires, or full battery operation using a five-tonne battery, provided they have the correct equipment installed, giving operation beyond the current network.^[23] As of April 2021, all trains are only equipped for 750 V DC third rail operation, along with a smaller battery for depot shunting.^[24]

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers opposed driver-only operation on the new fleet, which they said would put passenger safety and security at risk.^[25] Following a period of strike action, an agreement was reached to guarantee a guard on every train.^[26]

Merseytravel has an option for a further 60 Class 777 units as part of the contract, which if exercised would see a total of 113 trains built if services are extended to new destinations such as Helsby, Skelmersdale or Wrexham.^[21] The deal also involves the transfer of 155 of Merseyrail's maintenance workers and the operation of its maintenance depot at Kirkdale to Stadler Rail Service.^[27] The transfer of Kirkdale depot and Merseyrail engineering personnel took place in October 2017, as construction work to modernise the depot, which is the planned maintenance hub for the Class 777s, commenced.^[28]

The first Class 777 unit entered into service on the Northern Line on 23 January 2023.^[29][30] Initially they are being used on the Kirkby route, followed by the Ormskirk route.^[31] The remaining units will be deployed to the rest of the Northern Line and the Wirral Line later in 2023.^[31]

Class 777 battery trains

The Class 777 trains are capable of being propelled via onboard battery sets. The battery set per car can be up to 5 tonnes in weight. The batteries can be charged via a rail terminal charger and while operating on electrified tracks.^[21] When the Headbolt Lane extension was unveiled to the public, it was also announced that the original order of 52 units was increased to 53 to allow for some units to undergo battery trials.^[32]

Following on from the trial, it was announced in July 2021 that the units tested had been able to travel up to 20 miles (32 km) without the need for recharging. The battery-powered trains run to Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby.^[33] The technology opens up the possibility of the trains serving routes to destinations such as Wrexham, Preston, Wigan and Warrington.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes operated	Built	In service
			mph	km/h
507		EMU	75	120	22[34]	3	All Northern Line services All Wirral Line services	1978–1980	1978–present
508					9[35]	3	All Northern Line services All Wirral Line services	1979–1980	1979–Jan 2024
777 METRO		EMU BEMU			53	4	Liverpool Central to Headbolt Lane[36] Liverpool Central to Ormskirk[37] Liverpool Lime Street to West Kirby[38] Liverpool Lime Street to New Brighton[38] Liverpool Lime Street to Chester[38] Liverpool Lime Street to Ellesmere Port[38] All Northern Line services (TBA) All Wirral Line services (TBA)	2018–2021	2023–present

The Loop Line (Wirral Line)

The Loop Line is a single-track loop tunnel under Liverpool's city centre serving the Wirral Line branches. It was built to allow both greater capacity and a wider choice of destinations for Wirral Line users, which included the business and shopping districts of Liverpool city centre and the mainline Lime Street station. The loop extension offered direct mainline station access to Wirral residents after the decommissioning of the mainline Woodside terminal station in Birkenhead.

Trains from Wirral arriving via the original Mersey Railway tunnel enter the loop beneath Mann Island in Liverpool continuing in a clockwise direction through James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street and Central, returning to the Wirral via James Street station. The loop tunnel gave interchanges for passengers of the Wirral Line to the Northern Line at Moorfields and Central stations.^[63]

The Link Line (Northern Line)

The original Mersey Railway tunnel from James Street to Central station, in red, still exists. The Link line is shown in blue with the Loop line in green.

The purpose of the Link Tunnel was to link the separate urban lines north and south of the city creating a continuous north–south crossrail, called the Northern Line. A substantial section of the Northern Line had an additional function in completing the western section of a planned double-track electrified suburban orbital line, circling the city's outer suburbs, known as the 'Outer Rail Loop'. However, the eastern section of the Outer Rail Loop was never built due to budget cuts.^[61]

The Link Line tunnel is a double-track tunnel that links two lines: One line running south from the city centre to Hunts Cross; another running north from the city centre to Southport, with branches to Ormskirk and Kirkby. One continuous line would be created, the Northern Line. The line provides direct access from the north and south of Liverpool to the shopping and business districts in the city centre via two underground stations, Liverpool Central and Moorfields, both of which also interchange with the Loop Line, which is an extension of the Wirral Line. The Northern Line effectively creates a north–south crossrail enabling passengers to travel from the south to the north of the city, and vice versa, via Liverpool city centre.

The present Northern Line underground station at Liverpool Central was originally the Mersey Railway terminus at Liverpool Central Low Level. A section of the original 1880s tunnel between James Street and Central stations was used to form the Link Tunnel. The remainder, between Paradise Street Junction and Derby Square Junction, was retained for use as a rolling stock interchange line between the Northern and Wirral Lines and also for a reversing siding for Wirral Line trains terminating at James Street when the Loop Tunnel is inoperative. The rolling stock interchange section of the tunnel is not used for passenger traffic.^[64]

Hamilton Square Burrowing Junction

A burrowing junction was constructed at Birkenhead Hamilton Square station, to increase traffic capacity on the Wirral Line by eliminating the flat junction to the west of the station. This included a new station tunnel at Hamilton Square to serve the lines to New Brighton and West Kirby.

Liverpool Central South Junction

To the south of Liverpool Central Low Level Station, a new track layout was constructed as part of the Link Line project. This layout permitted the former Mersey Railway route from the north to be connected to the former Cheshire Lines Committee route running south from the closed Central High Level Station, allowing the Northern Line to be extended in a southerly direction to Garston and, later, Hunts Cross. It was accomplished by excavating the trackbed of the high-level tunnel to connect to the lower level tunnel of the two routes by means of a tunnelled gradient. As it was still necessary to accommodate a reversing siding to serve Central Low Level, and as the width of the high-level tunnel did not permit a three-track alignment, a new section of single-track tunnel was built for the Central to Garston line. This tunnel starts to the south of the station and rises to join the high-level tunnel.

At the time of construction, the opportunity was taken to construct two short header tunnels for the proposed Edge Hill Spur project (see below). Should the project go ahead, the connecting tunnels could be constructed without the need to obstruct rail services on the existing route. The junction arrangement would be a burrowing junction, as at Hamilton Square (see above), with the grade separation of tracks increasing capacity.^[61]

Walton to Kirkby

On 30 April 1977, Liverpool Exchange terminus station was closed as a part of the Link tunnel project to create the electrified Merseyrail north-south crossrail line named the Northern Line. Liverpool Exchange was the terminus of the northern Liverpool to Manchester route to Manchester Victoria via Wigan Wallgate station.

A tunnel under Liverpool's city centre, the Link tunnel, created the through crossrail Northern Line. The nearby Moorfields underground through station located on the new Link tunnel, serving the Northern and Wirral Lines, replaced Liverpool Exchange terminus station. Since diesel trains could not operate in the underground stations and tunnels for safety reasons, trains that had terminated at Liverpool Exchange terminus from Wigan Wallgate were terminated at Sandhills station as a temporary measure, which is the last surface station before the tunnel.

A year later in 1978, the short line electrification from Walton to Kirkby extended the Merseyrail network, creating a Northern Line branch terminus and interchange station at Kirkby. The line was electrified using the standard 750 V DC third rail Merseyrail system. The northern Liverpool to Manchester route was cut into two with differing modes of traction, electric and diesel. The diesel Wigan service terminating at Sandhills station was cut back to Kirkby. The Merseyrail electric and the Northern Rail diesel services use opposite ends of the same platform at Kirkby. Merseyrail and Northern Rail trains are generally timed to meet for ease of interchange.

Liverpool Central to Garston

In 1978 the Northern Line was extended south from Liverpool Central to Garston. This was made possible by inclining the tunnel into Central High Level from Garston to run down into the lower level tunnel entering Central Low Level from the opposite end of the station forming one continuous tunnel. The linking of the two tunnels had been envisaged when the Mersey Railway was extended to Central from James Street in the 1890s, with the Mersey Railway ensuring the two tunnels were on the same alignment.

The diesel-hauled line from Liverpool Central High Level to Gateacre in the south of the city had been abandoned in 1972. On reopening under the Merseyrail brand, the electrified line never reached Gateacre as it once did, terminating three stations towards the city centre at Garston.

Garston to Hunts Cross

This short extension of electrified Merseyrail line at the southern end of the Northern Line opened in 1983. It facilitated passenger interchanging between the Merseyrail Northern Line services with the Merseyrail City Line and main line services from Lime Street. The reopened line passed under the West Coast Main Line Liverpool branch at Allerton but needed to cross the southern Manchester line via Warrington on the flat, which affected capacity.

Rock Ferry to Hooton, Chester and Ellesmere Port

Rock Ferry railway station had been a terminus for Wirral Line services since the Mersey Railway was extended there from Green Lane in 1891. Passengers for the lines to Chester and Helsby would change trains at this station from the electric service on to mainline services operated by steam and diesel. Rock Ferry became one of the terminals for the Merseyrail Wirral Line. In 1985 the line from Rock Ferry to Hooton was electrified and incorporated in the Wirral Line of Merseyrail, Hooton thus becoming a new terminus.

Hooton is a junction station where the line to Helsby via Ellesmere Port branches off the main Chester line. The line from Hooton to Chester was electrified in 1993, Chester thus becoming a terminus station of the Wirral Line. The line from Hooton to Ellesmere Port was electrified in 1994 and incorporated into the Wirral Line, Ellesmere Port thus also becoming a terminus and interchange station.

Kirkby to Headbolt Lane

In 2023, Headbolt Lane replaced Kirkby as the terminus of the Kirkby/Headbolt Lane Line. This expansion to the network became the first BEMU fleet in use for passenger services in the UK,^[65] as there is no electrification past Kirkby, and instead relies completely on batteries.^[66]

New stations

The former Holly Park Football ground, where Liverpool South Parkway Station now stands

A programme of new stations on the Merseyrail network expanded the coverage of the system. They are:

• Bache (1983), Bromborough Rake (1985), Overpool (1988), Eastham Rake (1995), Brunswick (1998), Conway Park (1998), Maghull North (2017), Headbolt Lane (2023)^[67]

Liverpool South Parkway opened in 2006 on the site of Holly Park football ground of South Liverpool F.C. in South Liverpool. It is an interchange station between the Merseyrail Northern Line from Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross and the City Line from Liverpool Lime Street to Runcorn and Warrington Central and also mainline services. The station also includes a bus terminal and large car park and has frequent bus services to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The station was formed from an amalgamation of the four-track Allerton station and the relocation of the Merseyrail Garston Station. Garston station was closed on the opening of the new facility, the first station closure on the Merseyrail network since Liverpool Exchange station in 1977.^[61]

Liverpool Baltic station

The former St James railway station, now disused, is located on the corner of St.James' Place and Parliament Street in the Baltic Triangle district, having been closed in 1917. The station is in a deep cutting on the operational Northern Line tunnel section between Liverpool Central Station and Brunswick Station.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced in August 2019 that it was planning to use part of a £172 million funding package to reopen St James Station in Liverpool City Centre.^[81]

In 2020, a series of investments and land purchases advanced the case for a station at the site of St James in the Baltic Triangle.^[82][83][84] Part of the Spatial Regeneration Framework for the area includes a new Baltic Triangle railway station.^[85][86]

In April 2022, following a public vote, the new station was official confirmed as Liverpool Baltic station.^[87]

Vauxhall station

In its 30-year plan of 2014, Merseytravel mentions the possibility of a new station between Moorfields and Sandhills in the Vauxhall area on the Northern Line.^[88] A station at this location would serve the under construction Everton F.C. stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which is near to the Northern Line.

Headbolt Lane to Wigan

Wigan Wallgate station

In 1977, the Liverpool to Kirkby section of the Liverpool-to-Bolton route was electrified being merged into Merseyrail. Kirkby became the terminus of the Northern Line Kirkby branch. The former through service to Bolton was split into two, with passengers making through journeys having to change at Kirkby from the Merseyrail electric network to the Northern Rail diesel network onwards to Wigan and Bolton.

The line from Kirkby to the Headbolt Lane station is operated by Class 777 hybrid electric/battery trains, running on battery only from Kirkby to Headbolt Lane.^[94]

Electrifying track from Kirkby and extending the Northern Line to Wigan Wallgate was a long-term aspiration of Merseytravel in 2014. The extension was identified by Network Rail as a route where electrification would enable new patterns of passenger services to operate.^[77][95][96] The aspiration was accelerated in March 2015 with the Electrification Task force placing electrification of the line from Kirkby to Salford Crescent in a Tier 1 priority category.^[97][98] The operation of hybrid battery trains makes the extension to Wigan an easier proposition eliminiating expensive electrification, using battery operation from Headbolt Lane to Wigan.

Ormskirk to Preston

Preston station

Electrification from Ormskirk to the interchange station at Preston has been considered in conjunction with the Burscough Curves reopening, detailed below. It would re-establish the most direct Liverpool-Preston route which is one of Merseytravel's long-term aspirations.^[95] However, in 2008 Network Rail said the benefit-to-cost ratio of the scheme was insufficient to justify this scheme in the near future^[99] though the scheme continued to be mentioned by Network Rail.^[96] Third rail battery electric train trials were undertaken in 2020 by Merseyrail on this section of track to provide a Liverpool to Preston service.^[91]

Bidston to Wrexham

The north–south aligned Borderlands Line from Bidston south to Wrexham Central is operated by Transport for Wales using diesel trains on unelectrified track.^[100] There have been various proposals to electrify some or all of the line over the years, all have been rejected. The current view is to operate battery-electric trains on the line. In March 2015, the introduction of battery powered trains was proposed for the Borderlands line by Network Rail.^[101] The Network Rail document proposes using battery powered trains precluding full electrification of the line, also providing a cheaper method of increasing connectivity into the electrified Birkenhead and Liverpool sections of the Wirral Line. From the document:

"In the longer term, potential deployment of rolling stock with the ability to operate on battery power for part of their journey may provide the ability in an affordable manner to improve the service offering between the Wrexham – Bidston route and Liverpool."^[101]

KeolisAmey Wales, the former operator of the Wales and Borders franchise, Transport for Wales, announced in 2018 that it was planning to use refurbished Class 230 metro trains using electric motor traction supplied with power by on-board batteries.^[102] An on-board diesel generator charges the batteries, with regenerative braking extending the battery's charge. The Vivarail built trains were planned to serve the line between Wrexham and Bidston.^[103][104] These planned new trains have put the full electrification of the line on hold. Welsh Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, stated that the Welsh government were in an advanced stage of talks with Merseytravel about running a direct service from Wrexham to Liverpool.^[105] This intent was reinforced in July 2021.^[106] Steve Rotheram, the Liverpool City Region metro-mayor, has expressed desires to operate Merseyrail Class 777 battery-electric trains on the Borderlands Line.^[107]

Hunts Cross to Warrington

Warrington Central

The Strategic Plan for the North West (SPNW) envisaged in 1973 that the Liverpool to Warrington line would be electrified and integrated into the Merseyrail Northern Line by 1991, making Warrington Central a terminus.^[60] In March 2015, the Electrification Task force placed electrifying the line from Liverpool to Manchester via Warrington Central in the Tier 1 priority category.^[97] The Liverpool City Region's Long Term Rail Strategy has clear aspirations to extend the network to Warrington, using the introduction of the Class 777 trains as an enabler.^[93]

Southport to Wigan

Southport to Wigan has been identified by Network Rail as a route where electrification in conjunction with extension of electrification from Ormskirk to Preston and reinstatement of the Burscough Curves would enable new patterns of passenger service to operate.^[96] In March 2015, the Electrification Task force placed the electrifying of the line from Southport to Salford Crescent via Wigan in the Tier 1 priority category.^[97][98]

Ellesmere Port to Helsby

Helsby interchange station. The line to the right is to Ellesmere Port, the line to the left is to Chester.

Helsby is an interchange station on the Chester to Warrington Bank Quay and Ellesmere Port to Helsby lines. Merging the line from Ellesmere Port to Helsby into Merseyrail would create a Liverpool to Helsby service, giving a smooth interchange from Merseyrail to all stations on the Chester to Warrington line. The Ellesmere Port to Helsby route is included in Merseytravel's rail strategy as a "long-term aspiration".^[77][95] Third rail battery electric train trials were undertaken in 2020 by Merseyrail on this section of track using the new Class 777 battery/electric trains. The results may indicate that the network can be expanded to Helsby without further electrification.^[91]

Other battery electric extensions

Runcorn East station

Liverpool City Region metro-mayor Steve Rotheram stated that the City Region is planning to extend the network "so it reaches communities right across our city region and beyond". The Liverpool City Region map displays desired extensions of Merseyrail including a Chester to Runcorn East line. This line would operate on a section of the Chester to Warrington Bank Quay line, incorporating the Helsby interchange station.^[108] The Integrated Rail Plan proposes a new station at the next station, Warrington Bank Quay low-level. The new station were planned to serve HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail expanding the interchange.^[109]

Burscough Curves

The Burscough Curves were short chords linking the Ormskirk to Preston Line with the Manchester to Southport Line. The curves allowed northbound trains from Ormskirk to run directly to Southport to the west, and southbound trains from Preston to run west to Southport. The last regular passenger trains ran over the curves in 1962; the tracks were subsequently lifted. The reinstatement of the Burscough Curves would allow direct Preston-Southport & Ormskirk-Southport services providing an option of an alternative Liverpool-Southport route via Ormskirk. Network Rail has recommended that a strategy for the Burscough Curves be developed further.^[96][99]

In a parliamentary debate on 27 April 2011, the Burscough Curves were a prime point of the debate. The transport minister wished to meet former Southport MP John Pugh regarding the reinstatement of the curves.^[110] The latest refresh of Merseytravel's Long Term Strategy puts the opening of the curves in Network Rail's CP7 period.^[111]

The new Class 777 Merseyrail trains have been tested for battery electric operation, with the prospect of using them on the Burscough Curves open to review.^[112] Battery train introduction on the Merseyrail network may improve the business case to reopen the Burscough Curves, allowing Northern Line trains to travel from Ormskirk to Southport, giving two routes from Liverpool to Southport. If realised Burscough Junction, Burscough Bridge, New Lane, Bescar Lane and Meols Cop stations may be incorporated into Merseyrail.^[91]

Edge Hill to Bootle

Liverpool2 Container terminal extension, which is served by the Bootle Branch line

Known as either the Canada Dock Branch line or the Bootle Branch line,^[113] this is an unelectrified line running from Edge Hill Junction in the east of the city in a long curve to the container terminal to the north of the city. The line's last passenger trains were withdrawn in 1977. Being the only line currently into Liverpool docks, freight to Seaforth Container Terminal ensures constant use.^[114] The line has been mooted on many occasions for electrifying and reopening to passengers, giving scope to reopen stations along its length: Spellow, Walton & Anfield, Breck Road, Tuebrook, Stanley, and Edge Lane.^[77]

Network Rail investigated options for the Canada Dock Branch in its March 2009 Route Utilisation Strategy for Merseyside^[115] and concluded that the expected benefits did not justify the investment in new infrastructure.

The Department for Transport's rail electrification document of July 2009 stated that the route to Liverpool Docks would be electrified via overhead wires. The Canada Dock Branch Line is the only line into the docks.^[114] From the document:

70. Electrification of this route will offer electric haulage options for freight.

There will be an alternative route to Liverpool docks for electrically-operated freight trains, and better opportunities of electrified access to the proposed freight terminal at Parkside near Newton-le-Willows.

The document states "route to Liverpool docks for electrically-operated freight trains", which is the Bootle Branch line being the only line into Liverpool docks. However, the initial phases of electrification scheduled until 2016 do not list this line.^[116] This delay may impede the efficiency of Liverpool docks container terminal which is being extended to accommodate the largest post-Panamax container ships increasing container throughput of the terminal by 25%, entailing increased usage of the line. Local residents are campaigning to have the majority of containers to be transported by rail easing road congestion and pollution, which may increase rail traffic even further.^[117] This delay in electrification may delay any proposed passenger use for the line.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Long Term Rail Strategy document of October 2017, page 37, states:

A long term proposal which will need to be considered alongside the developing freight strategy for the region and the expansion of the Port of Liverpool. The proposal envisages the introduction of passenger services which will operate from the Bootle Branch into Lime Street. An initial study is required to understand fully the freight requirements for the line and what the realistic potential for operating passenger services over the line is.^[91]

It was announced in December 2019 that Liverpool City Council had commissioned a feasibility study to see about reopening the Canada Dock Branch to passenger traffic.^[118]

North Mersey Branch

The North Mersey Branch from Bootle to Aintree is currently used only by engineering trains to gain access to Merseyrail tracks; however, Merseytravel has long-term goals to reopen and electrify the line.^[77][95] The line was considered in the Merseyside Route Utilisation Strategy document, concluding that reopening could not yet be recommended. However, the Route Utilisation Strategy document went on to state:

The possibility of running passenger trains along the North Mersey and Bootle branches was examined by the RUS and cannot yet be recommended. However, future development and regeneration could lead to increased demand for such services. Any such passenger services would need to be implemented in a way that ensures current and future freight demand can be accommodated. There is also a possibility in the longer term of using other infrastructure, including the disused Wapping and Waterloo tunnels, to provide new journey opportunities.^[115]

Skelmersdale Branch

The original now demolished Skelmersdale station. The track was lifted in 1963.

Skelmersdale lost its rail passenger service in 1956. The village was expanded into a new town from the 1960s. A number of proposals over the years have been put forward to connect Skelmersdale to the Merseyrail network.

In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies called for the reopening of the line from Ormskirk to Skelmersdale as part of a £500 million scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe.^[119][120] The report proposed extending the line from Ormskirk railway station by laying 3 miles (4.8 km) of new single track along the previous route towards Rainford Junction, at a cost estimated to be in the region of £31 million.^[121]

In December 2012, Merseytravel commissioned Network Rail to study route options and costs of connecting to Skelmersdale with Merseytravel contributing £50,000 and West Lancashire Council contributing £100,000.^[122] In 2014, the reopening of a section of the Skelmersdale Branch from Upholland to Skelmersdale town centre was proposed.^[77] In January 2017, Lancashire County Council announced that the preferred site for the railway terminal station was the former Glenburn Sports College and Skelmersdale College's West Bank Campus.^[123]

In the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Long Term Rail Strategy document of October 2017, it was stated that Merseytravel was working with Lancashire County Council and Network Rail to develop a plan to extend the Merseyrail network from Kirkby through to Skelmersdale with third rail electrification under consideration.^[91] The government gave assurances in April 2020 that the Skelemersdale link would be constructed.^[124] However, the Department for Transport announced in July 2022 that it was rejecting the Strategic Outline Business Case, throwing the scheme into doubt.^[125] The DfT instead suggested that better bus links with the Kirkby–Wigan rail line would be a cheaper way of improving connectivity for Skelmersdale.

Outer Rail Loop

West Derby station on the North Liverpool Extension Line, which was to be a part of Merseyrail's Outer Loop

The Orbital Outer Rail Loop was a part of the initial Merseyrail plans of the 1970s. The route circled the outer fringes of the city of Liverpool using primarily existing rail lines merged to create the loop. Liverpool city has a semi-circular footprint with the city centre at the western fringe against the River Mersey. The western section of the loop would parallel the river running through the city centre. The scheme was started along with the creation of Merseyrail however postponed due to cost cutting, with only the western section of the loop completed being a part of the current Northern Line.

The concept of using the former Cheshire Lines Committee's North Liverpool Extension Line^[126] route through the eastern suburbs of Liverpool as the eastern section of a rapid-transit orbital route circling the outskirts of the city first emerged before the Second World War. The proposal was for a 'belt' line using the now demolished Liverpool Overhead Railway, which ran along the river front, as its western section. In the 1960s during the planning for Merseyrail, this was developed into the Outer Rail Loop scheme – an electric rapid-transit passenger line circling the outer districts of the city by using a combination of newly electrified existing lines and a new link tunnel under the city centre merging lines to the north and south of the city centre completing the loop.

A feature was that passengers on the mainline radial routes into Lime Street from the east and south could transfer onto the Outer Loop at two parkway interchange stations completing their journey to Liverpool suburbs avoiding the need to travel into the city centre, which would also relieve pressure on Lime Street station. Liverpool South Parkway was one of these stations opening thirty years after the initial proposal. The Outer Loop would have connected the eastern suburbs of the city: Gateacre, Childwall, Broad Green, Knotty Ash, West Derby, Clubmoor, and Walton with the city centre.^[61]

As finally developed, the Outer Loop consisted of two sub-loops – a loop serving the northern suburbs and one the southern suburbs with both running through to the city centre from the east. The sub-loops allowed more direct journeys into the city centre from the eastern suburbs giving the overall scheme greater viability.

The eastern section of the Outer Rail Loop project was cancelled in the late 1970s because of delays and cost overruns on the Loop (Wirral Line) and Link (Northern Line) projects and local political opposition. Only the western section of the loop was built. The project was abandoned as a working proposal by Merseytravel in the 1980s. Much expense was incurred in constructing a large bridge taking the M62 motorway over the eastern section and the construction of header tunnels south of Liverpool Central station. The route is still largely intact, complete with bridges, although now the eastern section mainly forms the Liverpool Loop Country Park – a walking and cycling trail through the suburbs.

The key components of the Loop were as follows:

• West Section – The existing Merseyrail Electrics Northern Line from Sandhills in the north (later Aintree on the Ormskirk branch) to Hunts Cross. This section includes the most expensive part of the Outer Rail Loop – the Link Line tunnel under Liverpool city centre – and the reopened and electrified line from Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross.
• East Section – The former Cheshire Lines Committee North Liverpool Extension Line initially from Hunts Cross to Walton however amended to Aintree. This is now the Country Park.
• North Section – Originally the Cheshire Lines Committee line from Walton to Kirkdale via the Breeze Hill tunnel. In later versions of the scheme the North Mersey Branch from Aintree to Bootle was substituted. The latter is still intact although only used by maintenance trains whilst the former is now partially built over.
• Central Section – The central section from Central station to Broad Green in the east of the city, was a later addition to the plan effectively dividing the loop into two sub-loops, one north, one south. City centre access for the towns east of the Liverpool City Region was provided. This included the unrealised Edge Hill Spur scheme from Liverpool Central underground station to Edge Hill using the Waterloo Tunnel and a section of the City Line from Edge Hill to Broad Green. A major junction was to have been formed with the eastern section of the Outer Loop with a six platform underground station to be named Rocket under the car park of the Rocket pub near the M62/Queens Drive road junction.

The Outer Rail Loop would have been double track throughout, using the electrified 750 V DC third rail system of the Merseyrail Electrics network.

Although no official proposals have been made to revive the scheme in recent years, the route is effectively safeguarded with periodic calls being made by local politicians for the revival of the complete project or just the short stretch of route from Hunts Cross to Gateacre. The Gateacre service was the last to operate out of the former Liverpool Central High Level Station prior to its closure in 1972.

Since the postponement of the project, a number of Route Utilisation Strategy documents have mentioned reopening the North Mersey Branch line, the northern section of the loop, to form a passenger link between Bootle and Aintree with stations to serve Ford and Girobank.^[61][127]

Edge Hill Spur (reusing tunnels)

Victoria/Waterloo Tunnel portal at Edge Hill Station. The tunnel is an option for the Edge Hill Spur scheme.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Edge Hill Spur scheme was proposed to link the east of the city with the central underground section. It would have extended the Merseyrail underground network from Liverpool Central Station to Edge Hill Station using existing freight tunnels. The scheme was dropped, but a junction and two headers tunnels were built south of Central station to facilitate future construction of the Spur during the construction of the Northern Line tunnel.^[128]

The construction of the Spur would have connected the City Line branches to the east of Liverpool into the electrified Merseyrail network and importantly the underground section in Liverpool's city centre. An increase in integration and connectivity of the network would have been achieved. The Spur would have also formed the central section of the proposed Outer Rail Loop splitting the loop into two smaller loops (see Outer Loop section). An additional and substantial benefit was diverting local urban trains entering the city from the east underground in the city centre. This would release platform space at Lime Street mainline terminus station for the use of only mid and long-haul mainline routes.

The initial and cheaper proposal was to re-use the 1829 Wapping freight tunnel, by means of two new single-track tunnels branched off the Northern Line tunnel at a new junction named Liverpool Central South Junction, south of Central Station. The Wapping Tunnel would have given access to Edge Hill via the historic Cavendish cutting, built for the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Access to the City Line would have been obtained via a flyover to the east of Edge Hill Station over the main lines from Lime Street. This flyover has since been demolished.

In the early 1970s, Liverpool City Council planners proposed an alternative scheme, which was subsequently adopted. This revised route would permit a new underground station to be constructed to serve Liverpool University, behind the Student's Union building in Mount Pleasant. It would extend the two connecting tunnels from Central Station in a large radius curve to the north, passing beneath the mainline Lime Street station approach cutting and accessing Edge Hill via a section of the Waterloo/Victoria Tunnel. On emerging from this tunnel at the existing Edge Hill Station, the route would be on the north side of the main lines thereby removing the need for a flyover.^[61]

Although powers were obtained to build this line under the 1975 Merseyside Metropolitan Railway Act, construction was postponed due to the financial cutbacks and political opposition that also halted the Outer Rail Loop project. The east of Liverpool has suffered in many aspects ever since. An attempt was made to revive the project in the mid-1980s but it was found to be not financially viable.

Following the collapse of the Merseytram scheme in 2006, proposals were considered to revive the project, with the route of the tunnels currently safeguarded.^[129] Further references are made to the scheme, as a future option, in MerseyTravel's 30-year plan.^[77]

A further proposal to resurrect the Edge Hill spur scheme with a new station at Paddington Village was revealed in 2016 by the then Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, as part of a scheme to extend Liverpool's Knowledge Quarter onto the site of the former Archbishop Blanche School.^[130] A feasibility study to reopen the Wapping Tunnel was commissioned and delivered in May 2016. The report found that the Wapping Tunnel was in good condition though suffered from flooding in places and would require some remedial work, but that the concept of reopening the tunnel was viable.^[62]