Merseyrail's Special Timetable for Randox Grand National Festival: What You Need to Know

Posted on: 05/04/2023 17:04

Merseyrail are proud to be partnering and transporting racegoers to the greatest show on earth; the Randox Grand National Festival.
Tickets

You can easily travel to Aintree with Merseyrail, passengers are strongly advised to buy tickets in advance to help reduce queuing time on the day.

Tickets can be bought in advance from any staffed Merseyrail station, or a Day Saver can be purchased online via the Merseyrail website here.

Any tickets bought via Trainline, or other train operating companies have to be printed at a Merseyrail ticket office before travel.

Seven-and-a-half-minute service

Merseyrail is running a special timetable for the Grand National Festival from 13-15 April, with a seven-and-a-half minute service running between Liverpool city centre and Aintree station.

All Northern line services will run to an amended timetable. Passengers should check the journey planner for up-to-date departure times before travelling.

Trains to and from Aintree will be as follows:

On all three days, a seven-and-a-half-minute service will run between Aintree and Liverpool Central/Moorfields stations at the following times:

From approximately 11:00 – 14:00 (before the races)
From approximately 17:00 – 20:48 (after the races)
Ormskirk line: Stations between Liverpool city centre and Ormskirk will have a special 15-minute service. However, to allow the extra trains to operate, Aughton Park station and Town Green station will have a 30-minute service. Trains to Liverpool will not call at Orrell Park station between 16:30 to 21:00.

Southport line: Trains will run to a slightly amended 15-minute timetable.

Kirkby line: Some services between 10:00 and 21:00 will start and terminate at Sandhills. Passengers for Moorfields or Liverpool Central, or those making the return journey to Rice Lane, Fazakerley or Kirkby, may have to change at Sandhills. Services operated by Northern from Kirkby to Wigan Wallgate will be a rail-replacement bus service, with the last bus leaving Kirkby station at 19:20 each evening.

Wirral line: All services to run to the normal timetable. Passengers travelling to the festival from any Wirral line stations are advised to change at Moorfields for an Aintree-bound train.

Anyone planning to travel between the 13-15 April is advised to plan their journey in advance using the journey planner on Merseyrail’s website for up to date departure times and to understand how the changes affect their journey.

Travelsafe
We take your safety seriously, and Merseyrail’s most important job is to make sure our customers get to the races safely. We work hard to stop accidents from happening on our network.

You cannot consume alcohol or carry an open container of alcohol on Merseyrail trains or at our stations.
If you’re under the influence of alcohol and unfit to travel, you will be refused access to the Merseyrail network.