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Thursday 4 May 2023

Liverpool Lime Street travel advice during ‘Big Eurovision Welcome’ event

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

Rail passengers travelling through Liverpool Lime Street for the opening ceremony of Eurovision 2023 are being advised to carefully plan their journeys.

This Sunday (May 7), 25,000 people will attend ‘The National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome’ – a ticketed event outside St George’s Hall - to mark the start of the world-renowned song contest.

With the large crowds expected, Network Rail is reiterating its three top travel tips for the opening night.

• Plan your journey in advance by checking www.nationalrail.co.uk
• Allow extra time to travel - a queueing system will be in place during busy times*
• Travel light – keep luggage and bags to a minimum as trains will be very busy

With the event finishing at 10pm, people are also being urged to know exactly how they plan to get home, and not to rely on the last mainline train services.

Kyla Thomas, Network Rail Liverpool Lime Street station manager, said: “You can feel the excitement really building in the city with Eurovision almost upon us, and we have good plans in place to make people’s journeys through Lime Street station as smooth as possible.

“On the opening night this Sunday I’d urge people to plan their route home carefully, allow extra time for journeys, and not rely on the last trains as they will be extremely busy.”

Meanwhile, Merseyrail has announced late-night services on Sunday 7 May and Saturday 13 May’s Grand Final**.

Some of its city centre stations will be entirely closed or exit only during the busiest times***.

For more details on the extended services across the Liverpool City Region visit: www.merseyrail.org/plan-your-journey/eurovision

Jane English, Merseyrail acting managing director, said: “Merseyrail will be running services until after midnight on Sunday 7 May to help get everybody home after the Eurovision Big Welcome event.

“We’ve worked closely with our partners and stakeholders to be able to provide the extra services that will be needed as this huge event gets underway in the city centre.

“We urge passengers to carefully check their journey plan, allow plenty of time, and to be patient as our stations and trains are likely to be very busy. It’s important that passengers use the correct city centre stations depending on what service they are using. Wirral line passengers must use Liverpool Central, while Northern line passengers must use Moorfields station.”

Passengers are also being asked to follow the advice of their individual train operators if they are planning to travel by rail into Liverpool on Sunday May 7.

Chris Jackson, Northern regional director, said: “We know the network is going to be extremely busy over the course of the Eurovision event – particularly so this Sunday, where demand is likely to outstrip capacity. Anyone planning to travel in or out of Liverpool Lime Street should allow extra time for their journey and have a Plan B in mind.

“We will have extra staff on duty – but customers should be aware that it is likely to be a very challenging situation.”

Simon Brooks, Avanti West Coast station manager at Liverpool Lime Street, said: “With the stage set for the Eurovision Song Contest and our plans in place, we’re excited to play our part in welcoming fans to Liverpool for what promises to be a brilliant spectacle.  

“As the week’s festivities begin, we’d like to remind anyone attending the opening ceremony to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journeys, be aware of their last train home, and check the Avanti West Coast website for the latest travel updates.”

Kathryn O’Brien, TransPennine Express customer experience and operations director, said: “As we eagerly anticipate the world’s biggest singing competition, it’s very important we keep the increased number customers travelling to Liverpool Lime Street as safe and happy as possible.

“We will have TPE staff out and about across the network over the coming week and into next weekend to provide help and advice to our customers and we will do all we can to keep people on the move.

“We urge customers to plan ahead carefully, consider their travel options and make other arrangements, where necessary, if travelling to and from Eurovision.”

Jonny Wiseman, London Northwestern Railway customer experience director, said: “Eurovision Week promises to be a fantastic celebration for the whole country and we’re looking forward to carrying thousands of passengers to and from Liverpool.

“We’re adding hundreds of extra seats to some of our most popular trains but passengers should still expect services to be very busy and allow themselves plenty of time to complete their journeys.”

Jonathan Goode, Transport for Wales special events planning manager, said: “We are excited to play our part in what we hope will be a Eurovision to remember.

“Transport for Wales staff will be on hand to support customers in Liverpool on the 7^th for the welcome event and we will be strengthening as many services as we can.

“Customers should expect services to be very busy and should plan ahead to allow as much time possible to complete their journeys.”

For more on the public transport options to get around Liverpool you can visit the dedicated Eurovision page on the Merseytravel website.