New fleet of Merseyrail trains delayed again, Liverpool mayor says

The mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, has said he is "devastated" Merseyrail's new trains will not be introduced this year.

Mr Rotheram had previously promised the first of the 52-strong fleet would be on the tracks by Christmas, after delays to the planned roll-out in 2020.

He blamed the latest hold up on a range of issues, from Brexit to recent industrial action by rail staff and the cold weather.

"I'm absolutely gutted," he said.

Mr Rotheram told BBC Radio Merseyside: "My ambition has always been to get our new trains on the tracks before the end of this year and with everything that's happening in the wider world its just not going to be possible to do that."

He cited floods in the train factory, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, "where everything stopped", along with "red tape" of getting the trains into the country and recent freezing temperatures.

The Swiss-built trains had been undergoing safety tests but the industrial action on the railways had delayed the rollout, he said, adding: "Just everything has gone wrong."

"If people are disappointed and rightly blaming me I'll have to accept that because I did say that they would be on the tracks before the end of the year, that's because I genuinely believed that they would be, but we'll have to go again next year," he added.

The new fleet of "hi-tech" trains were part of a long-running dispute between Merseyrail and the RMT union over the role of guards, which led to a series of strikes, but that was resolved in July.

The trains, which replace the current 40-year-old fleet, have space for 50% more passengers and have wider seats, plugs and USB ports.

No date has been set for when the first train will go into service.

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