All services have been suspended across the rail network
Merseyrail services have been thrown into chaos today
The Merseyrail network is in chaos today with all services suspended, leaving commuters stranded and trying to find other ways to get to work or around the region.
The worst affected areas, according to Merseyrail, are Wirral and Southport – but there is nowhere on the network this morning that has been spared disruption. At around 9.30am this morning, the operator announced that all services on all lines were suspended.
A statement said: “Due to heavy snow and ice, train services across the Merseyrail network are currently suspended. We advise all customers wishing to travel to find alternative transport arrangements. We will provide regular updates throughout the day and are working hard to restore services.”
The transport operator had already activated its cold weather plan last night, meaning the first services of the morning would run without passengers – but things got much worse after what was described as a sudden dump of snow after 7am this morning.
It is not the first time the Merseyrail network has been badly affected by cold weather this winter and some passengers will be questioning why ice and snow can often lead to major disruption on the local train network.
One big problem that the Merseyrail network has when it comes to cold weather is how the power is supplied to its trains. While other rail networks receive their power supplies from overhead lines, Merseyrail is powered by a third rail on the ground.
The third rail supplies electric current to the trains. It is slightly raised and usually located to the right of the track. The fact the power supply lies on the ground can make it more susceptible to freezing conditions.
Understandably, commuters caught up in the chaos today were not happy and vented their frustrations to the transport operator on social media. Anna Carruthers said: “I’ve had to rely on Ubers this week because of how bad services have been.”
Jack added: “Genuinely appalled by the trains, we are in 2025. It’s always ‘we’re working hard to restore service’, clearly not doing enough as this keeps happening. I’ve been late to work for the past week because of this. I got a month’s rail pass for what exactly?”
Another social media user claimed his wife had been stuck on a train for nearly three hours after it lost power and the train coming to tow it away had also lost power.
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