Media centre

Monday 14 Sep 2026

One month until £3.5m Merseyrail tunnel upgrades in Liverpool

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

Rail passengers in Liverpool are being reminded of £3.5m upgrades to waterproof and strengthen four underground tunnels on the Merseyrail network in one month’s time.

Network Rail is carrying out the major project over 26 days this October and November to secure future journeys for years to come.

The multi-million-pound investment will see:

• Strengthening the four tunnels
• Waterproofing tunnel walls
• Renewing the systems which isolate and control the electrified ‘third rail’

The scale of the work means the Northern Line between Hunts Cross and Liverpool Central will be closed from Sunday 11 October to Friday 6 November.

Network Rail will also modernise power control systems across both the Northern and Wirral lines.

On Sundays during the closure, the disruption will be extended to Sandhills station on the Northern line and to parts of the Wirral line.

Rail replacement buses will be provided to get passengers to where they need to be*.

Today (Monday 14 September), a campaign has been unveiled warning people not to ‘get spooked this autumn’ while the work is taking place.

It also advises passengers to visit nationalrail.co.uk so they know what they can expect from their journey.

Paul Owen, Network Rail Liverpool area director, said: "This is a significant £3.5m investment into the underground section of the Merseyrail network to maintain four Victorian-built tunnels for 21st-century passengers.

“We understand that this work will be disruptive, so we’re working with Merseyrail to minimise the impact of the upgrades as much as possible. We’re also giving people advance notice so they can forward plan their journeys by visiting National Rail Enquiries or Merseyrail’s websites during our work.”

Stephen Dodd, Merseyrail chief operating officer, said: “We'd like to thank our passengers for their patience while this important work is carried out. These upgrades will help improve the long-term reliability of the Northern Line and reduce the risk of future disruption. We encourage customers to plan ahead and check before they travel during the closure."

The major investment will mean more reliable journeys for the millions of passengers who use the Merseyrail network each year.**

Once work is complete, trains will run again from the morning of Saturday 7 November.

Passengers are encouraged to plan their journeys in advance at nationalrail.co.uk.