Broken-down train brings rush hour chaos to Merseyrail

Jun 4 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

A BROKEN-DOWN train – which had already suffered technical difficulties on its journey into Liverpool – brought chaos to Merseyrail services at the height of yesterday afternoon’s rush hour.

Some passengers said they faced delays of up to two hours on the Wirral line, after the train broke down on a set of points close to James Street station at 5.12pm.

This meant no trains could get in to or out of Wirral. Services from New Brighton and West Kirby stopped at Birkenhead North station, while those from Ellesmere Port and Chester could get no further than Birkenhead Central.

An empty train was used to push the broken down train out of the way, enabling the line to be reopened at 5.51pm.

However, the knock-on effects caused by the earlier delay meant that train services in to and out of Wirral did not fully return to normal until an hour later at 6.51pm.

No bus replacement service was provided, however large queues of people formed on St George’s plateau in the hope of finding an alternative way of getting to Wirral.

A Merseyrail spokesman said: "It couldn’t have happened at a worse time as it was right in the middle of the peak hour.

"We decided not to put on a bus replacement service to Wirral both because it was in the peak and there were not that many buses available, and because we knew it would be dealt with quickly."