According to a Merseyrail executive, there may still be delays because an investigation “still to get to the bottom” of why so many of the company’s trains required maintenance in June.
After 28 trains had wheel-bearing issues, some services were canceled.
After implementing shortened schedules and bus replacements, Merseyrail apologized to its customers.
Dave Jones, the manager of rail development, claimed it was “ahead of the curve” for bearing maintenance.
But he said that the operator was still looking at what had gone wrong.
“In a typical month, you could have two issues with a unit,” said Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, “but there was a spate of 28 in a very short length.”
He emphasized the need to get the new £500 million fleet of trains on the track “as fast as possible” and claimed that the interruption demonstrated that the present stock was “several decades old” and needed additional maintenance.
By the end of the year, according to Mr. Rotheram, they will be “rolled out across the network,” and he is awaiting the findings of an inquiry into the interruption in June.
He said that he was “delighted” that a protracted disagreement between Merseyrail and the RMT union had finally been settled. As a result, guards and a train manager would continue to work on services.
