City Line (Merseytravel)

City Line
City Line
	Exterior of Liverpool Lime Street railway station; the terminus for all of the City Lines
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Liverpool City Region; (Merseyside and Halton); North West England
Termini	Liverpool Lime Street; Multiple;
Service
Type	Commuter Rail/Regional rail network
System	National Rail
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line (partial)

The City Line (sometimes City Lines^[2]) is the brand name used by Merseytravel on suburban rail services in the Liverpool City Region (Merseyside and Halton) starting eastwards from the mainline platforms of Liverpool Lime Street railway station.^[2]^[3]

The term covers most of the Liverpool City Region sections of the Crewe–Liverpool line, the two Liverpool–Manchester lines and the Liverpool–Wigan line,^[3]^[4] with services continuing to Warrington, Chester via Runcorn and Blackpool and Preston via Wigan.

It is mainly operated by Northern Trains, with additional long-distance services operated by TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains. Unlike the other two Merseytravel-supervised lines, the Merseyrail Northern and Wirral lines, the City Line is not operated by Merseyrail,^[5]^[6] however most of the line's stations within the Liverpool City Region are in Merseytravel's Merseyrail branding. The line is usually depicted on Merseytravel signage and maps using the colour red.

City Line

					To Blackpool and Lancaster
					Preston
					Leyland
					Euxton Balshaw Lane
					Wigan North Western
					Limited service between Newton-le-Willows and Wigan
					Bryn
					Garswood
					St Helens Central
					Thatto Heath
					Eccleston Park
					Prescot
					To Manchester Victoria and Manchester Airport
					Limited service between Newton-le-Willows and Wigan
					Newton-le-Willows
					Limited service to Ellesmere Port
					Warrington Bank Quay
					Earlestown

					St Helens Junction
					Lea Green
					Rainhill
					Whiston

					Huyton
					Roby
					Broad Green
					Wavertree Technology Park
					To Manchester Oxford Road
					Warrington Central
					Sankey
					Widnes
					Hough Green
					Halewood
					Hunts Cross (for Northern line)
					To Birmingham and London
					Crewe
					Winsford
					Hartford
					Acton Bridge
					Runcorn

					Liverpool South Parkway (for Liverpool Airport)
					West Allerton
					Mossley Hill

					Edge Hill
					Liverpool Lime Street (for Wirral line)

^ The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in their long term rail strategy, describes the 'City Line' as a "network"."Liverpool City Region Combined Authority - Long Term Rail Strategy" (PDF). liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. May 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2022. Allow the operation of high-speed Merseyrail Electric services to operate on the City Line network.
^ ^a ^b "Liverpool City Region Strategic Rail Study" (PDF). networkrail.co.uk. Network Rail. October 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022. The 'City Lines', providing more frequent and longer-distance services from Liverpool Lime Street to the east.
^ ^a ^b Nugent, Cherie (21 August 2018). "Merseyrail". Rail Professional. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "Timetables - Merseytravel". merseytravel.gov.uk. Merseytravel. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ The bottom table of the map shows the City Line to be mainly served by Northern Trains, with the line "also served by" the other operators. The term "Merseyrail" and the operator is only applied to the Northern and Wirral Lines. All three lines are depicted under Merseytravel Customer Services. "Local Rail Network Map - Merseytravel" (PDF). merseytravel.gov.uk. March 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ Merseyrail omits the line from its network."Merseyrail Network Map". Merseyrail.org. Merseyrail. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.