MERSEYRAIL has announced it will run trains on Boxing Day for the first time in its history, enabling customers to get in and out of Liverpool for the post-Christmas sales. 

The transport operator says the decision will buck the national trend, with Merseyside leading the way on a day that traditionally sees only a handful of rail services operating across Britain.

As more people are keen to hit the sales early, this initiative is in response to passenger demand.

It is part of wider initiative between Merseytravel and transport operators to provide more choice in how and when they travel during the Christmas period, boosting the local economy and supporting jobs.

Boxing day services will be every 30 minutes and call at select stations on the network.

First trains will start from 9am and the last ones from the centre of town will be around 6.30pm.

All trains will be full length, six carriages, enabling as many people as possible to travel.

Trains will call at the following stations:

  • Southport: Birkdale, Formby, Waterloo, Sandhills, Liverpool Central and Liverpool South Parkway
  • Ormskirk: Maghull, Aintree, Kirkdale, Sandhills and Liverpool Central
  • Kirkby: Kirkdale, Sandhills and Liverpool Central
  • New Brighton: Birkenhead North, Conway Park, James Street and Liverpool Central
  • West Kirby: Leasowe, Birkenhead North, Conway Park, James Street and Liverpool Central
  • Hooton: Bromborough, Rock Ferry, Birkenhead Central, James Street and Liverpool Central

For full timetable information, visit merseyrail.org

There will also be late night trains on the last two Fridays and Saturdays before Christmas. Likewise, see the website for details.

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Merseyrail’s managing director, said: "Boxing day trains are still not widespread across the country, and we are delighted to offer this service to our passengers. With the city increasingly open for business on this day, it was the right thing to see what we could do to support local people and local businesses."

Councillor Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel, added: "This is the Liverpool city region really doing something differently. Traditionally, only a handful of services run nationally, but we’ve listened to our customers and what they want. This is another example of the benefits our local management of the Merseyrail network, which gives us the flexibility to respond to customer need.  

"Working with operators, we’ve been keen to take a holistic approach to transport in the lead-up to and during the Christmas period, and these Boxing day and late night services are a key element of that."