Passengers should brace themselves for “continued failures” that have dogged the Merseyrail network in past weeks.
Commuters were hit with travel chaos last month caused by changes to the timetables on Merseyrail lines as the operator announced an “unexpected” increase in wear on train wheel bearings. Rail replacement buses had to be used on certain lines and Merseyrail managing director Andy Heath was forced to offer an apology, but stopped short of confirming when services would fully return to normal.
Mr Heath said the issue was “unusual” for Merseyrail’s fleet and would usually only expect to experience two instances of such an issue per month, but in the last two weeks “several” occurrences have been identified, leading to a full fleet test being undertaken.
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In a video, Mr Heath said the trains were “categorically” safe, thanked people for their patience and said discussions were ongoing with provider Stadler to resolve the issues.
Addressing the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) transport committee this afternoon, Dave Jones, rail development manager, warned the delays weren’t over yet. He said that while Merseyrail was “ahead of the curve” on getting the bearings issues repaired on its fleet and was running a full service, the operator had “yet to get to the bottom” of what had actually caused the problems.
Mr Jones added that an investigation had been launched into the “continuing problem” and there would be “continued failures” on the network but Merseyrail was doing all it could to “get ahead of it.” He said it had “clearly had an impact on performance” and Merseyrail was committed to “getting back to the high standard that has been delivered in the past.”
In a tweet, Merseyrail said: "Due to the nature of wheel bearing issue, it is difficult to predict if or when we will have another issue, however all affected units that were due to be maintained have been inspected and repairs are being carried out. I hope that gives some insight into our current position."
Mr Jones said despite the challenges faced on the network, passenger levels were improving, with around 85-90% at the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic. Referencing the upturn in covid-19 cases across the country, he said he was not yet sure how that would impact Merseyrail but did say the pandemic was the reason for the delay in the new £500m fleet hitting the tracks.
Wallasey councillor Paul Hayes said that passengers were “anxious to see them on as soon as possible” and there was a “need” for the new trains. During a meeting of the LCRCA last month, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram vowed to "burn the midnight oil" to get the new rolling stock online as soon as possible.
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