Wirral Line

The Wirral Line is one of two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line. A third line of the Merseyrail network, the City Line, is not operated by the Merseyrail train operating company, though it also receives funding from Merseytravel, the passenger transport executive for Merseyside.

The Wirral Line connects Liverpool to the Wirral Peninsula via the Mersey Railway Tunnel, with branches to New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port. Beneath Liverpool, the line follows a clockwise circular route in a single-track tunnel called the Loop, built in the early 1970s.

The line was created by the amalgamation of several historic railways, and has carried its present name since the opening of the Merseyrail network by Queen Elizabeth II on 25 October 1978 during the British Rail period. The Wirral Line is fully electrified with a DC third rail, and has existed in its current form since May 1994 with the start of electric services to Ellesmere Port. A total of 34 stations are served, with connections available to mainline services at Liverpool Lime Street and Chester. The line also connects with the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network at Liverpool Central and Moorfields.

Birkenhead Railway

The Birkenhead Railway was formed on 1 August 1859 as a result of the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Railway merging with the Chester and Birkenhead Railway. The new company was originally called the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway, but in 1859 shortened its name to The Birkenhead Railway. It was taken over, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR), becoming a joint railway. It remained a Joint Railway until Nationalisation of the railways in 1948.

Part of the railway is now known as the Wirral Line, one of the two urban electric commuter lines operated by Merseyrail on Merseyside.

Routes

The original main routes were those created by the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Railway's Chester Loop and the main line from Chester to a junction with the London and North Western Railway at Walton Junction, near Warrington; and the Chester and Birkenhead Railway's main line from Chester to Birkenhead. Further branches were created: