V671DVU the Wirral Line part of the station had always been planned to be reopened before the start of the matthew street festival , but the Northern Line section of the station was always going to be a problem with Aintree Grand National , Matthew Street Festival and Christmas shopping also coming into the equation , the business community didnt want Liverpool Central's work affecting there Christmas takings , so they had to compromise thats why Liverpool Central is only partly open now.
Well I sampled the new and improved Liverpool Central last night and I have to say that on the whole I was impressed. Merseytravel promised that the station would be 'lighter and brighter' and that's certainly what they've delivered. The only downside is that the escalators are still rather squeaky and grotty.Just a shame they couldn't replace these too like they will do on the Northern Line.
I do wonder how the service is coping today with the extra passengers and considering that the Wirral and Northern do not have an interchange point today or tomorrow , this must be one of the first times since the loop was built that has happened .
Noticed quite a queue of people waiting to purchase tickets from the ticket machine at Ellesmere Port station around 12:15. No few than 20 people waiting, so most would probably of missed the 12:19 departure. 6 car train, which appeared quite well loaded too. Not bad, considering the fresh air carted around most Sundays
The only reason for seeing a 3 car working during Sunday and Monday will be if a pair of units has subsequently failed and the spare sets have already been used up , there is supposed to be one spare at Kirkdale and the other at Rock Ferry.
Still good crowds on the trains today despite the Mathew Street outdoor cancellations, especially on the Northern Line. The Ormskirk trains were having a hard time of it as you would expect given such a poor service. Surprisingly though, the Chester line trains were rather quiet during much of the afternoon.
508139 made a rare appearance on the Northern Line today, coupled with 508131 working the Southport line. Today's Northern Line spare 6 car was used, replacing an unknown pair on the Southport route. 507003 and 508123 were the pair, seen on an empty stock working Southport-bound just after lunchtime.
I think Saturday's units involved in that unfortunate incident were 507015 and 507028 as these were stabled near the front of Kirkdale depot having been taken off the Southport line. They were back in use today though, this time working Ormskirk/Kirkby trips on an alternating basis.
508111 has had the vast majority of its seats reupholstered following its overhaul at Birkenhead North. It does look the part both inside and out with its fresh underfloor parts and smartened interior. It's just a slight pity a few seats here and there have been left untouched.
I've added a couple of photo's of the re-developed Central Station to my Flickr, it's not much, but it gives the general overview of the improvements, although to me it looks somewhat clinical and lacks much needed colour.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasharri...289895648/
looks a hell of a lot better cannot wait to use it in october
Yes -looks quite smart, but I'd worry that the white pannelling may quickly accumulate dirt and deteriorate.
There seems to have been some signalling difficulties in the brunswick area which have delayed services over the last few days and its still affecting services this morning.
What it does do at certain times of the day is shorten the turnround time of services at Southport .