Arriva Trains Merseyside
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchises | Merseyrail 19 January 1997 – 20 July 2003 |
| Main region | Merseyside |
| Other regions | Lancashire Cheshire |
| Fleet | 53 |
| Stations called at | 67 |
| Stations operated | 66 |
| Parent company | Arriva |
| Reporting mark | ME |
| Predecessor | British Rail |
| Successor | Merseyrail |
Arriva Trains Merseyside was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Merseyrail Electrics franchise between January 1997 and July 2003. The company served the Northern Line and Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network, covering Merseyside and parts of Cheshire and Lancashire. It inherited a fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 electric multiple units from British Rail, along with a small number of locomotives and departmental units.
The franchise was originally awarded to MTL in 1997, with operations commencing on 19 January that year. In February 2000, Arriva purchased MTL and rebranded the operation as Arriva Trains Merseyside in April 2001. On 23 April 2003, the franchise was awarded to a joint venture between Serco and Abellio (now known as Transport UK Group), with operations transferring to the new Merseyrail concession on 20 July 2003 under the oversight of the Merseytravel Passenger Transport Executive.