Transport ramped up for Grand National crowds

Rail and bus services are being increased to help more than 150,000 people expected to attend next week’s Grand National Festival at Aintree.

The event, running from Wednesday 3 April to Friday 5 April, will see a surge in visitors travelling into the Liverpool City Region. To keep people moving smoothly, local partners including the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and transport operators are laying on extra services.

Merseyrail will run trains every seven-and-a-half minutes between Liverpool city centre and Aintree before and after each day’s racing, doubling the usual 15-minute service on the Northern Line.

Services will operate at this increased frequency from 11am to 2pm ahead of the races, and from 4:30pm to 8:30pm afterwards.

To accommodate these extra services, some changes will be made to other parts of the network. On the Ormskirk branch, there will be a reduced service, while the Southport branch will see slight timetable adjustments. Trains on the Headbolt Lane branch will terminate at Sandhills during peak times, with passengers needing to change trains to continue their journeys.

The Wirral Line will continue with its regular timetable, and travellers coming from Wirral stations are advised to change at Moorfields for Aintree-bound trains.

Chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee, Cllr Steve Foulkes, urged racegoers to think ahead.

“The Grand National is one of the highlights in the city region sporting calendar, bringing thousands of people into the area to enjoy the world’s biggest horse race,” he said.

“We will be working together with all of our partners to keep people moving during the three days of the event. We want everyone to enjoy themselves so it’s important that racegoers think ahead and plan their journeys to avoid any disappointment.

“And we also ask that people are kind, patient and respectful of each other and our transport staff who will be working so hard to get everybody to and from this year’s festival.”

Travellers are being encouraged to walk or cycle where possible, use public transport, and buy tickets in advance. Transport services will be busier than usual and subject to changes. Up-to-date travel advice is available on the Merseytravel website: www.merseytravel.gov.uk/customer-information/aintree-travel-advice/