Merseyrail - Merseyrail Outer Rail Loop - T

Merseyrail - T

Merseyrail Outer Rail 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 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.

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.

Merseyrail Overview

Owner: Merseytravel, Network Rail

Area Served: Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas

Locale:

Liverpool City Region (Merseyside and Halton)

Cheshire

Lancashire

Transit Type: Commuter rail

Number of Lines: 2 (plus main line commuter services)

Number of Stations: 68 (66 managed)

Annual Ridership:

2019: 30.6 million

2020: 9.0 million

2021: 20.0 million

Chief Executive: Neil Grabham

Headquarters: Rail House, Liverpool

Merseyrail Operation

Began Operation: 1977 - 46 years ago

Operator(s): Serco-Abellio

Infrastructure Manager(s): Network Rail

Character: Commuter rail, National Rail franchise

Number of Vehicles: 57

Train Length: 3 cars, 6 cars during peak times

Headway: 15 minutes (general), 5 minutes (central sections), 30 minutes (Ellesmere Port branch, general in evenings and on Sundays)

Technical Track Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

Electrification: 750 V DC third rail

Rail Holidays
Rail Vacations

Luxury Trains
Luxury Tours

International Trains
International Tours