People heading to the final of The Open on Sunday 23rd July are being reassured that they will be able to get there by rail.



Merseyrail has confirmed that – despite the plans of RMT guards to strike that day, and the expectation that train drivers will not cross picket lines – it will be able to run a frequent service specifically designed to get people to and from Royal Birkdale. It will have the capacity to get 20,000 people to and from The Open.

No industrial action is planned for any other rail operators that day, meaning that people can still travel into Liverpool and around other parts of the Liverpool City Region as normal, including on Northern services into Southport where they can also access the Merseyrail network to travel to The Open.

On the Merseyrail network there will be a service every 15 minutes between Liverpool Central and Hillside and Southport and Hillside from 9am to around 12.30pm and then from around 5pm to approximately 8.30pm.

To support spectators who ‘park and ride’, morning services between Liverpool Central and Hillside will call every half hour at Blundellsands and Crosby and every evening service back to Liverpool Central will call at this station. No other stations 'en route' will be served.

As Merseyrail is pulling out all the stops to run a frequent service to and from The Open, there will be no services able to run at all across the rest of the Merseyrail network.

Frank Rogers, Chief Executive of Merseytravel said:
“Our focus has been ensuring that people can get to and from The Open and we’re delighted that Merseyrail will be able to offer a good rail service on 23rd despite industrial action– something they also managed to achieve during the Grand National at Aintree.

“All eyes will be on Royal Birkdale in an event that’s watched by 600 million people across the globe and is worth around £100m to the Liverpool City Region economy. We want golf goers to take away the best possible impression of our area which includes being able to get to and from the event as easily as possible.”

Said Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Merseyrail’s Managing Director:
“We are acutely aware how important The Open is to the City Region, which is why we are focusing all the resources we have on Sunday 23rd July to put on a frequent, high capacity service to and from Hillside for people attending the event.

"All trains are likely to be very busy, and customers should be aware that the first one departs from Liverpool Central at 9am Leaving Royal Birkdale, we advise people to get to Hillside station by 7.30pm.”

Key advice if you’re travelling to The Open on 23rd July:

You can still get to The Open by rail. There will be a Merseyrail service every 15 minutes from both Liverpool Central and Southport designed specifically to get people to and from Hillside for Royal Birkdale. The trains will call at Blundellsands & Crosby at certain times. No other stations will be served 'en route'.
Other rail services are operating as normal, meaning golf goers can get into Lime Street or Southport to make their onward journeys to Royal Birkdale by rail. For more information visit www.nationalrail.co.uk
If you’re travelling into Liverpool Lime Street, you can easily access Merseyrail services to The Open by taking a short walk to Liverpool Central.
If you were planning on using the Merseyrail network to interchange in the City Centre for Merseyrail’s Northern Line services to Hillside, consider using commercial bus services to get to and from the city centre. There is an extensive network of services.
Plan ahead and leave longer for your journey as there may be queues. Don’t aim for the last train home – be at the station in good time. To ensure golf goers get a train back to Liverpool, they should be in the queue at Hillside by 7.30pm.
While there will be plenty of public transport available, park and ride facilities are available for The Open. For more information visit www.sefton.gov.uk/sport-leisure/golf-in-sefton
Full details of Merseyrail services are on the Merseyrail website www.merseyrail.org/strike on Twitter (@Merseyrail) and will be on posters at all stations.
For more travel options and advice visit www.merseytravel.gov.uk/railstrike or call Merseytravel if you need more help in planning your journeys on 0151 300 1000
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