1:46 THAT F-KIN KID IS MY FRIEND NO LIE

Pack of lies.

Interesting

An interesting fact, well I think it is, is the reason for there being two long escalators between the Northern and Wirral Lines at Moorfields. It's because of the Queensway (Birkenhead) road tunnel under the river, the Northern line tunnels cross above the road tunnel, and the Wirral Line loop tunnel runs underneath the road tunnel, hence the difference in the depth.

Moorfields wirral line is very deep underground 😂

grazie😊

the problem at Central is the Wirral Line is a lot deeper than the Northern Line that's why you had to get a lift or escalator. the Wirral line has to go under a mile wide river. love your video by the way but it's no use comparing with London all the time. totally different concepts and needs. now just to finish is it an underground. well it goes underground entirely through Liverpool and part of wirral (NOT the wirral by the way) that to you is like calling Kilburn THE kilburn. big mistake that even merseysiders make. so yes it is an underground system (in parts) but so is the London and Newcastle system. therefor i conclude that we have an underground train in Merseyside (i haven't got a clue what a metro is. sounds like a shop in Gateshesd? and the only true underground then is Glasgow. a continuos loop in both directions totally under ..ground, i rest my case.

The Merseyrail network is not a metro system because it's not a self-contained network and is not contained within one single region. The network spans parts of 3 different counties (Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire) and shares small sections of its network with other rail networks and 3 other train companies (Northern Rail, Transport for Wales, and East Midlands Railway). For all those reasons, the Merseyrail Network is officially classed as being part of the National Rail Network and, therefore, is not a metro system. This will be further the case if proposed future plans to expand the network further into Lancashire and Cheshire, as well as into North Wales, are realised. Only 9% of the network is underground at only its central convergence under Birkenhead Town Centre, the River Mersey and Liverpool City Centre, where all 8 of its individual routes (Southport, Kirkby Headbolt Lane, Ormskirk, Hunts Cross, New Brighton, West Kirby, Ellesmere port, and Chester) meet at Moorfields and Liverpool Central. 91% of the network is above ground. So, it's not really an underground network. However, the underground sections contain the world's first deep-level railway tunnel to transverse under a body of water (the River Mersey) and the world's first deep-level underground railway stations (Hamilton Square and James Street).

I lived in Liverpool for 4 years in the 90s, and didn't use this nearly enough.

Given that with the exception of Glasgow most of our “underground” systems spend most of their time overground then yes.

The connection between the Northern and Wirral Lines at Liverpool Central is more awkward for historical reasons. Liverpool Central was historically “High Level” with surface rail connections to Manchester, London etc, and “Low Level” (today’s Northern Line station but historically the terminus station of the Mersey Railway i.e., today’s Wirral Line). Moorfields was a (then) brand new station opened in 1977 to replace the mainline Liverpool Exchange Station, and was built from scratch. Whereas Liverpool Central was the original underground Mersey Railway with a new underground section added on to which today’s Wirral Line passes through. The old terminal platforms now being the Northern Line station. There is a non-public tunnel between James Street and Liverpool Central called the “Exchange” that facilitates trains being transferred between the Wirral and Northern Lines. Finally, the historic platform at Liverpool James Street does still get used from time to time as a terminus platform when the loop is out of action for engineering works etc.

Currently 6 underground stations on the network soon to be 7 when Baltic station open! It’s the best metro system in the uk apart from the London Underground!

The underground stations felt a lot more underground-y before they were refurbished a few years ago.

In my opinion an underground system is always underground! Glasgow has the subway which is always underground but we also have what we call low level which is simmilar to liverpool! our lower level is a normal commuter train that is above ground but when it reaches city centre it goes underground! I believe only Glasgow and London has a true subway !

Merseyrail could have been so much more. The underground was planned to connect with the Liverpool Overhead Railway (Docker's Umbrella) at Dingle. I expect there was a connection back to the underground section at or around Seaford (the present Merseyrail maintains a station at Seaforth & Litherland). Unfortunately the elevated railway was dismantled in the 1950s because the cost of repair was not deemed as viable at the time. Liverpool had all the markings of a great city, and indeed it was through the 19th and early 20th century, but with changes in shipping technology and an unofficial governmental policy of 'managed decline' in the 1980s, the momentum the city had was restricted. The designation of Liverpool as European Capital of Culture in 2008 marks a turning point in the city's history and sixteen years later the city continues to build upon the strengths of its past glories and present possibilities. The idea of expanding the underground sections of Merseyrail is a recurring feature of local press, but the complexity of undertaking such a project makes it a difficult prospect to realise. It would be nice to see a more developed transit system in the city.

A few subterranean stations does not make an UnderGROUND metro System. A few railway lines into, out of a city centre to suburbs = a metro. It could even be just a single railway line. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th... irrelevant when China builds Metro Networks on the Scale of or Larger than TfL ... with an average of 3 to 4 years.

One reason you might consider it not a metro is that it connects seamlessly with the mainline railway stations elsewhere, whereas London Underground, the Glasgow Subway and the Tyne and Wear Metro are self-contained local systems (with interchanges to other transport modes). Also, while Glasgow has the Subway, it also, like Liverpool, has mainline trains travelling underground in the centre, using sub-surface stations similar to those on London's Circle line. Like Liverpool, this includes all-underground (or at least sub-surface) stations such as Charing Cross and Anderston, as well as low-level stations at Central and Queen Street.

Its in the UK, it goes underground and its a railway

The only parts of the Merseyrail network that is underground is the link tunnels between Leeds Street Junction, Liverpool Central Low Level and Brunswick for the Northern Line. The tunnels of the Wirral Line consists parts of the former Mersey Railway from James Street to Birkenhead Park (West Kirby & New Brighton lines) and Birkenhead Central (Chester & Ellesmere Port via Hooton).Also, including the Loop via Moorfields Deep Level, Lime Street Low Level and Liverpool Central Deep Level.

If they had built the merseytram project, they could have had them take over the lines that currently terminate in the middle of town at Central and Lime Street like a Stadtbahn. It would also be great if they opened another station in the tunnel under Chinatown and another one above ground stop at Vauxhall as those are rather large gaps for such a central part of town.

How often do trains arrive?

James Street Platform 2 is now used as the stock transfer line as further up the tunnel the Wiirral line and Northern lines are joined to transfer rolling stock between the 2 lines.

That arcade is epic heheh

There is a special place in hell for people that throw away dust jackets. Not saying they’ll be walking over hot coals, just Lego or something

At 8:17 when you mention northern line, you need to go up the main escalator, go to the top and then walk forwards to see the sign for northern line and go down the escalator

these are no different than the London Overground, which i doubt people would call a metro as it’s more commuter but also acts like a metro in frequency and style of carriage if this was a US system, it would be called an interurban: a hybrid of metro and railway

Yes it should be included, the Birkenhead (Hamilton Square station), was one of the first underground stations - originally connecting under the River Mersey to Liverpool (James Street and Liverpool Central), the system was extended to include Liverpool Moorfields and Lime Street, when the 'Loop' was introduced about eighty years after it opened), well before Newcastles Metro........ and the 'half size' Glasgow circular system.

yes . asteroids from 1979 is still alive. Lots of memories when I visited London back in 1981 or so for 14 days . Had one of these in the hotel and I had put in many many coins. I can remember that the busses were cheap 10 pence for us, but the asteroids thing was a lot more.

Us scousers are a very laid back, take it easy bunch. Standing 2 abreast on the escaltor isnt uncommon and people will usually stand behing you rather than say excuse me to get past. I dont understand the hustle & bustle of any London unground stations.

Well cleaner hen the London underground.

The London underground does have timetables, bu they are so frequent that the timetable becomes irrelevant and thus is not easily findable (or adhered to)

And you miss one underground station, Conway Park :)

Merseyrail has always been counted as one of the 4 underground systems in the uk

Hi, I enjoyed this video, some thoughts from me as a regular Merseyrail user: When the railway tunnel under the Mersey was originally built, going in the Liverpool direction the trains would first stop at James Street, and then stop at Liverpool Central. Platform 2 at James Street is the original platform for those trains, and is no longer regularly used, although it can be seen from the Wirral-bound platform. The platforms for the Northern Line at Liverpool Central are the original platforms for that railway, and the tunnel connecting them is now the Stock Interchange Line to move rolling stock between the Wirral Line and Northern Line. All of the other underground track and stations were built in the 1970s. To switch from the Wirral Line to Northern Line at Liverpool Central, one must take both flights of escalators up and walk straight across the concourse. The Northern Line under the city centre is only a few feet below ground level, whereas the Wirral Line under the city centre is at a very deep level. The Northern Line platforms are adjacent to the concourse anyway so it wouldn’t make sense to have a separate platform-to-platform passageway and escalators connecting them. There are some diagrams online showing the whole system, if one searches “Merseyrail loop diagram” the website LocalWiki shows a diagram of the current system, and an accompanying diagram of the pre-1970s layout. The terminus stations of Exchange and Central were closed when the Northern Line was connected under Liverpool, Exchange still stands but Central was demolished. Exchange was replaced by Moorfields, and Central is self-explanatory. I would consider Merseyrail to be a normal surface Railway, which happens to go below ground in the city centre and Birkenhead for convenience, similar to the Elizabeth Line in London. The underground section of Merseyrail is certainly up there with the likes of Glasgow and London.

Nah, they use actual main line trains

There is a better connection at Liverpool Central between the lines than using the tiny lift. You use the escalators to the surface, then its a short walk and a short escalator down to the sub surface Northern line platforms. There are two other stations that are almost underground Green Lane is in a cutting and Conway Park was meant to be underground but they dug down and opened the tunnel out. Both are in Birkenhead. One further complication on Merseyside is that suburban lines out of Lime Street are not part of the Merseyrail franchise but are branded "Merseyrail City Line" and coloured red on the map. The trains are run by Northern!

Another point about the Mersey Railway (Merseyrail) is that the River Mersey is 90 foot deep at low tide between the narrows. The river has 30 foot tides. This means the under river tunnel has the steepest inclines of any heavy rail track in the UK.

I'd say the closest comparison is probably Thameslink. Is that considered an underground railway to you?

I consider Merseyrail to be more like Thameslink or Crossrail than the tube, it's a bunch of commuter lines with tunnels through the city centre. Stations like Liverpool Central and James Street feel a lot like Moorgate, Old Street and Essex Road on the Northern City Line. I wish other cities had something like Merseyrail, I love the new trains.

Tokyo Metro lines have scheduled services. 😗

One word. No! It's more like Thameslink than an underground railway.

Hello! Great video! What music did you use at the start and throughout the video because I've been trying to find that music for ages

They don’t have northbound southbound signs at central because some trains terminate there so you’d a see a train going north from a platform it would be going south from if it went through.

This was such an interesting video because it does ask that question as to what is a metro and I love these types of questions. To add to what I wrote earlier about a popular definition of a metro - for the vast majority they should have 15min or better frequencies, stops at all stations (express lines do that also), be segregated from other rail (e.g. freight), traffic and people, and be electric, there is also the terminology. When talking about such networks, I use the term metro as there is no implied requirement for where the rails need to be. Subway, Underground or Tube suggests it has to be underground. But elevated metro systems exist to. The key is to be segregated. Also, the discussion whether there are three or four metro systems in the UK to me is questionable, not due to Liverpool, but that I would argue they are ignoring three others... that also just happen to be in London (yes, London does get a lot!) The Overground, the DLR and the Elizebeth Line (Crossrail) all, as far as I can tell, meet the above metro criteria for the vast majority of their lines. In fact, I can't think of any parts that significantly don't. Which means technically London has four metro networks alone. I will give Glasgow's subway the nod also, but it is pushing it with the early closure on Sundays. A metro system that has no trains during daylight hours is a little cheeky. Newcastle I believe also meets the criteria to classify it as a metro, which sort of annoys me when it's described first as light rail, despite metro being in the name. The size or weight of cars shouldn't be a criteria as the length is simply as long as they need to be for the size or density of the city. So, in order of passenger numbers, these are the networks that qualify as metro in my mind in the UK. London Underground: 1.026 billion London Crossrail: 204.29 million London Overground: 189 million London DLR: 92.3 million Newcastle: Tyne Wear Metro: 29.3 million Glasgow: Subway: 8 million Manchester's Metrolink on the other hand is not a metro because despite passing three of the four above, it fails on segregation. When I travel on the fully segregated sections (Bury to city, Altrincham or Didsbury to city etc) it acts and feels like a metro, but as soon as it hits the city centre, it completely falls flat and is stuck behind traffic, drunks rolling about or police on horseback. RMTransit, a fantastic channel for... well... transit, defines Metrolink like an inverted Stadtbahn, the German "pre-metro" system where often services act a bit more like lightrail/trams in the suburbs, but go segregated (underground) in the city centre. Metrolink can be segregated in the suburbs (though not all) and then mix with traffic in the city centre. But back to Liverpool which meets three out of four and only headways fail. This though is significant. I have used it quite a bit and always marvel at how in the city centre it feels very much like the Underground. It meets all four criteria if you stay in those underground sections, but as soon as you head out into the suburbs that falls flat. I've waited 30 minutes for a train which is not a turn up and go system. In a metro system, you should never need a timetable. Some may argue that even 15 minute headways are barely good enough for this, so the worst case scenario, but anything longer and you need to consult a timetable. Whilst this is bad enough for single journeys, as soon as you need to change trains, that gets worse. e.g. if you need to get somewhere and wait 20-30 minutes for your train, then 30 minutes waiting for the next connection, you're definitely not on a metro system.

Looks like the Drayton Park to Moorgate Northern City line & the escalators & underground platforms are similar to the Baker Street to Charing Cross Jubilee line. Both built / modernised in the '70's.

The Tyne and Wear Metro and Merseyrail are both going to look similar soon too with the new Stadler Class 777's on Merseyrail and the Stadler Class 555's on the T&W Metro looking very similar. I'll miss the old Metro-Cammell Metro cars!

Whilst there’s no official definition of what constitutes a metro, a popular one is a system that is primarily segregated, electric, stops at every stop (though can also have express services) and minimum frequencies of every 15 minutes off peak (and that’s worst case, usually they are better) - basically a turn up and go system. Liverpool qualifies in the first three but fails in the final. Whilst it can be pretty good in the city center with bundled lines. You don’t have to go far before you find weekday services as bad as every 20 min and weekend every 30. If they improved frequently I would call it a metro. But at those frequencies it just doesn’t qualify. If you need to use a timetable, it’s not a metro. Lovely system though and they just need to improve frequencies

You can't claim that Merseyrail is not a Metro because it has published timetables, while the London Underground on its oldest line (albeit an extension from the very original) ie. the Metropolitan does just that. Indeed, if the city centre stretch were somewhat longer in relation to the rest, the 'main line' of Merseyrail Northern Line is very comparable to the Metropolitan line. The interchange from Wirral to Northern at Liverpool Central is admittedly confusing, but the only people who would normally use it would be those travelling from Lime Street. And they would only do that if it was pouring with rain (admittedly quite a lot recently) because it's usually quicker to walk. Northern to Wirral, conversely, is straightforward: just one escalator. Most people changing from the Wirral line would do so at Moorfields, which is very easy and well signposted.

There’s not really a need for a Wirral Line to Northern Line interchange other than via the main concourse or lift at Liverpool Central. The reason being is that if you are arriving from the Wirral line, then you are more likely to have changed at Moorfields to catch an onward Northern Line service or you want Liverpool Central as your final destination. There is however, a direct escalator from the Northern Line platform down to the Wirral line at Liverpool Central 😁 And platform 2 at James Street is on the stock interchange line between the Northern and Wirral lines, and is only used when services are terminating at James Street when there is engineering works.

just looked at the comments I am so sorry I don’t know what I was thinking…