We’ll cut journey times with new trains says chief
MERSEYRAIL’S new trains will reduce journey times, and carry 60% more passengers - and prices will not increase in order to pay for it, bosses have pledged.
A £450m cash injection from Merseytravel means that new trains will be bought that will be faster and able to carry more passengers.
Mersertravel also said that its trains would be the most accessible part of the UK train network, with excellent wheelchair facilities.
But the new driver-only trains have been met with disapproval by many. The RMT union has taken industrial action on more than one occasion because the new trains will not have guards working on them.
John Fogarty, director of resources at Merseytravel, revealed the plans at Southport Area Committee.
He said: “The public ownership of the trains has meant that they have been designed with the public in mind.. The new train network will boost the economy of the city region and create up to 1,000 jobs.”
Stadler, a family-owned company based in Switzerland, is to produce the new rolling stock.
The new trains are to be more digital, leave less of a carbon footprint, and carry more passengers.
The trains will be able to carry more passengers as carriages will be connected, and offer a completely open space. Mr Fogarty described this as “light, bright, and airy.”
The trains are also to be lighter, and slightly faster, reducing rail time.
Mr Fogarty added: “The new trains will take six minutes off the journey from Chester to Liverpool.”
Safety is also planned to be increased on the trains, addressing the issues which led to 16-year-old Georgia Varley’s death at Liverpool’s James Street station in 2011.
The gap between the train and the platform will be significantly reduced, as a lip will come from the train and find the platform edge - reducing the risk of falling.
Train doors will also have sensors and will stop moving if anything is trapped in the door.
CCTV will also be in operation on all of the trains, and cameras will also enable train drivers to look down the train before setting off – giving them a view of the whole train.