Type Commuter rail Status Operational Loading gauge W6 Depot Kirkdale TMD Stations 35 | System National Rail Operator(s) Merseyrail Owner Network Rail Locale Liverpool Terminis Hunt's Cross, Southport | |
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Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) standard gauge Rolling stocks British Rail Class 507, British Rail Class 508 | ||
The Northern line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England, with Wirral line being the other. A third line, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail. All three lines are funded by Merseytravel.
Contents
The Northern line passes underground through Liverpool city centre with termini at:
Description
The line runs from Hunts Cross via the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) route towards Liverpool Central. Brunswick station between St Michaels and Liverpool Central was added in 1998 to provide a connection to the Brunswick Business Park. Just south of Liverpool Central, the line leaves the CLC route, in tunnel at that point, into a 1970s tunnel that drops to a lower level into the underground Mersey Railway Liverpool Central (Low Level) station. North of Central the line uses the Mersey Railway tunnel for about half of the route to Moorfields, an underground station built in the 1970s to replace the surface-level Liverpool Exchange. North of Moorfields the route emerges from the tunnel to join the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway lines from the former Exchange station.
After Sandhills, the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway branches off towards Southport, while the other routes continue to Kirkdale on what was a joint section of track between Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway and the Liverpool and Bury Railway. After Kirkdale, the Ormskirk and Kirkby lines diverge.
Trains from Hunts Cross continue to Southport, while trains to Ormskirk and Kirkby start at Liverpool Central. Daytime trains operate every 15 minutes on each of the three routes Monday to Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sundays, except in summer when Sunday frequencies on the Southport route are increased to every 15 minutes. In peak hours the frequency on that route is every eight minutes during peak hours, when trains on the Southport and Ormskirk routes are increased to six carriages, as are weekend services during the summer on the Southport route.
Electrification
The line is electrified using 750V DC third rail, identically to the third rail system present in southern England.
Connections
Interchange with the Wirral line is available at Liverpool Central and Moorfields. As the Northern line does not pass through Liverpool Lime Street, passengers must use the Wirral line as a connection, but given the short distance between Central and Lime Street, many with light luggage prefer to walk.
Interchange with other National Rail services can be made at Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby, Liverpool South Parkway and Hunts Cross.
Liverpool South Parkway opened on 11 June 2006, replacing Garston and providing connections to the City Line formerly available at Allerton.
Former stations
This list is incomplete. Apart from Garston, all closures were prior to the formation of the Northern line.
Passenger volume
Passengers from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2010.