Originally Posted by
petromax
Great visuals ScouseYuppie!
Surely Exchange was part of a regional or even national network to Southport and the North (Lime St to the East and Central to the South). This 'three- station' demand has disappeared very unfortunately.
Merseyrail is a Collection of separate railways
The best thing that happened to Liverpool, bizarrely was the Beeching cuts. Only one mainline station was to be on Merseyside, Lime St. Central, Exchange, Riverside and Woodside were to be decommissioned and a metro system connect all of Merseyside to Lime St. It is easier for people in West Kirby to get to Lime St than Woodside. Liverpool gained a metro system, which can be extensively extended even further.
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As with London's Underground, the Merseyrail system is made up of a collection of separate railways. London created the London Underground metro system in the 1930s, while Liverpool created Merseyrail metro in the 1970s, merging the railways at Liverpool city centre. The separate railways are still not fully merged into the system as there is no electrified Merseyrail link from the city centre to the important Edge Hill rail junction. The railway to St. Helens is not merged physically into Merseyrail, as originally planned, remaining a diesel line - the City Line. This lack of an electrified link also curtails expansion onto the extensive disused Liverpool rail infrastructure. Electrification within 4 years on the line to St. Helens will make matters better, as will the Canada Dock Branch.
The three old railways that form the core of Merseyrail are the:
- Mersey Railway
- Wirral Railway
- The Liverpool to Southport and Ormskirk sections of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The underground sections in the centre of Liverpool and under the River Mersey to Birkenhead form the nucleus of the Merseyrail network. The Mersey Railway Tunnel was opened in 1886, running from Green Lane, Birkenhead terminating at James Street station in Liverpool. This route was extended to Liverpool Central Station in 1890. A branch to Birkenhead Park was added in 1888 to connect with the Wirral Railway. The original line extended to Rock Ferry to connect with Birkenhead Woodside and the Chester line in 1891. Now Merseyrail runs directly to Chester.
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