Merseyrail disruption expected due to partial closure of busy line

Merseyrail’s Southport line will be disrupted this week as engineers replace an 110-year-old bridge. Network Rail will spend an estimated five days replacing the bridge crossing the River Alt in Formby with a new concrete structure that they say will be ‘safe and reliable for years to come’. Work will begin on Monday (August 19), with services expected to return to normal from Saturday (August 24).

While the £3.5m project takes place, trains will be unable to run between Hall Road and Formby and rail replacement buses will be in service, affecting journey times all the way up the line to Southport.

Journeys on the line between Southport and Liverpool city centre are expected to take an additional 30 minutes and Merseyrail is urging customers to ‘allow more time for their journeys’.

Rail replacement bus services will be in operation between Hall Road and Formby, calling at all stops, and there will also be ‘non-stop buses’ running between Southport and Hall Road from approximately 6.30am to 9.00am and 4.00pm to 6.30pm on all five days. A normal timetable should be in operation from the start of service on Saturday August 24 and more information is available via the Merseyrail website.