If you think you know rail replacement buses, think again; a dedicated fleet of 30 brand new hybrid buses will be taking Merseyrail passengers cross-river during the Wirral Loop Line track renewal works, between January and June.
It comes as part of a £340m investment in the Liverpool City Region's railways, which will see Network Rail’s engineers working day and night, 40 metres underground, replacing the track and concrete.
The brand new hybrid buses have wi-fi, USB charging points and e-leather seats as standard.
Buses will meet people at Birkenhead North and Birkenhead Central and take them on a direct, express service to Moorfields and Lime Street for Liverpool Central. Keeping customers moving in 21st century style and comfort is all part of the service.
Arriva Merseyside MD Howard Farrall says: “We are very proud to be a part of the renewal project and our main aim during this time is to offer passengers a seamless travel experience.
“We appreciate this may be a frustrating time for rail travellers, which is why we will be running brand-new environmentally efficient buses to keep people on the move.”
A dedicated social media team will be keeping passengers up to date with the latest travel information and time tables.
Once the track renewal works are complete, the new buses will go into service on Arriva routes across the Liverpool City Region – joining a further 50 new ‘Eco’ buses from Arriva.
This investment by Arriva of £21m for 51 hybrid, 12 electric and 9 gas buses has been made possible through the Liverpool City Region Bus Alliance – a formal partnership between Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach to provide local people with improved, more efficient and better value services for the benefit of existing passengers and to attract new ones.
The signing of the Bus Alliance agreement in September released £5m Government (OLEV) funding for new, greener buses.
