Merseyrail has announced it will begin to operate a 15-minute service across most of its network from Monday, May 2.
During the pandemic, Merseyrail services were reduced due to short staffing. Now restrictions have been removed, the rail operator has announced its return to 15-minute services.
Earlier, Merseyrail had said it was now in a "recovery phase" after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic - which saw passenger journeys fall by 90%. The rail operator has returned to the black and its turnover rose in 2021. It posted a pre-tax profit of £2.7m for the 12 months to January 8, 2022, after it fell to a loss of £2.5m during the previous year.
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The ECHO asked regular rail users their thoughts about the timetable changes. Stacey from Southport said: “It’s quite convenient and it makes things much easier getting to places quickly. Everything is very fast paced now, nobody wants to wait around for an hour for a bus or a train ride. It makes life a little bit more easier.”
Mary from Runcorn said: “15 minutes will be much better, the 20 minutes can really put you out. It’s much more convenient.”
Dave from South Liverpool said: “It’s always nice to go back to the way it was, it feels like the pandemic is over then doesn’t it.”
Andy Heath, managing director at Merseyrail, said: “I’m thrilled that we are able to announce a return to a 15-minute service across most of our network. We have worked hard throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to deliver the most reliable service possible to the people of the Liverpool City Region.
“Our customers have been incredibly patient during this time, and I thank them for that as we adapted to a very challenging set of circumstances because of the pandemic.”
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