page_title: Merseytram
section_title: 20th Century
hierarchical_section_title: Merseytram / History / 20th Century
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Tramnet Liverpool 1947
context_page_description: Merseytram was a proposed light rail system for Merseyside, England. Originally proposed in 2001, forming part of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan, it was to consist of three lines, connecting the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley with central Liverpool. The project was postponed due to funding problems before eventually being formally closed down by Merseytravel in October 2013.
context_section_description: After World War II, trams fell out of favour and Liverpool City Council voted to scrap the system in 1957. The controversial decision was made by the casting vote of the mayor – a protocol requirement in the event of a hung vote.
  During the 1960s and 1970s, public transport development in Liverpool concentrated on integration and expansion of the dispersed urban rail lines into a complete rapid transit network with bored tunnels and stations in the centre serving a large part of the city and Merseyside. The resulting metro-like network was called Merseyrail. One of the main proposals was the creation of an Outer Rail Loop by the electrification of a former passenger route through the eastern suburbs, a six platform underground interchange station at Broad Green, and using existing lines in the west of the city. This proposal was unsuccessful due to financial problems and political opposition. The eastern section of the Outer Loop was not built leaving the eastern districts of the city unserved.
  In the mid 1990s, a new proposal was formulated to serve the eastern suburbs remote from the rail network. This was known as MRT, the Mersey Rapid Transit and would have consisted of articulated electric trolley buses using an electronic guidance system. The proposed route was from the City Centre to Page Moss via Mount Pleasant.
  The scheme was rejected at public inquiry - one of the reasons given being the reopening of pedestrianised routes in the city centre to road vehicles. In response, Merseytravel proposed the Merseytram three line system.
  Unlike Greater Manchester's Metrolink network, which used heavy rail lines and stations serving the towns around Manchester and street running in Manchester city centre, Merseytram was a stand-alone 100% street running network. Unable to build an underground rail in the city centre after the cancellation of the Picc-Vic tunnel scheme, Greater Manchester designed Metrolink as a mixture of commuter rail and street running trams where because of cost constraints tunnels could not be bored. Unlike Manchester Liverpool has used and unused tunnels under its city centre. Metrolink acted as a fast commuter rail system on the outskirts and a street running tram in Manchester city centre. Merseytram did not use any Merseyrail track and branch off to disconnected parts of the city not served by rail. Neither did Merseytram use mothballed tunnels or trackbeds in the Liverpool area, of which the city has in abundance. The lack of integration with Merseyrail was criticized.
caption: Liverpool Corporation Tramways route map 1947
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