Merseyrail (MR) is Abellio’s longest franchise. Let by Merseytravel (MT, regional transport provider), MR operates metropolitan services in and around the Liverpool region for a period of 25 years from 2003. Abellio operates MR as part of a 50/50 joint venture with Serco. Now in the second half of the franchise, MR is focusing on delivering 4 transformational projects:

1. introducing a new fleet of rolling stock

2. continuing the roll out of smart ticketing

3. taking more asset management from Network Rail in-house

4. revenue growth

The new fleet has been procured publicly by MT and will be delivered by Stadler, coming into operation from 2020. MR continues to be among the top UK operators for passenger satisfaction and operational performance, and was awarded the Passenger Operator of the Year at the 2018 National Rail Awards.