It’s here. For three days in April, all eyes will be on Aintree for the most iconic event in the nation’s horseracing calendar. This year’s Randox Health Grand National will run from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April and Merseyrail has announced an amended timetable to ensure it can support its 90,000 daily commuters and additional crowds of racegoers travelling to horse racing’s biggest event.
How train timetables will change from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April
Getting to The Grand National Festival couldn’t be easier than by train, with Merseyrail’s popular 7½ minute service running between Liverpool city centre and Aintree station before and after the races. Radio City will return to Aintree station again this year to welcome race- going passengers with music and entertainment.
During the three day festival there will also be timetable changes to some other Merseyrail lines. Please find the details below and plan your journey ahead.
Trains to and from Aintree
On Thursday 4 and Friday 5 April, a 7 ½ minute service will run between Aintree and Liverpool Central and Moorfields stations at the following times:
From approximately 12:00 – 13:30 before the races
From approximately 16:20 – 20:00 after the races
On Saturday 6 April, a 7 ½ minute service will run between Aintree and Liverpool Central and Moorfields stations at the following times:
From approximately 11:30 – 13:30 before the races
From approximately 17:35 – 20:00 after the races
Buy your tickets in advance from any staffed Merseyrail station to avoid queues.
Ormskirk line timetable changes
The following timetable changes will apply from Thursday 4 April – Saturday 6 April:
Trains travelling from Liverpool towards Ormskirk will depart 8 minutes earlier than usual until 20:00.
Trains travelling from Ormskirk towards Liverpool will depart 2 minutes earlier until 20:00.
There will be a 30 minute service at Town Green and Aughton Park stations between 07:00 and 20:00.
Kirkby line timetable changes
Trains from Kirkby to Liverpool will terminate at Sandhills, where passengers can board another train to Liverpool to complete their journey. This will apply to all services between 11:28 – 13:13 and 16:28 – 19:28 on Thursday and Friday, and 10:58 – 13:13 and 17:28 – 19:28 on
Trains from Liverpool to Kirkby, will start at Sandhills. Passengers should board any train for Southport at either Liverpool Central or Moorfields and change on to a Kirkby service at Sandhills. This will apply to all services between 11:50 – 13:35 and 16:50 – 19:35 on Thursday and Friday, and 11:20 – 13:35 and 17:50 – 19:05 on
Southport line timetable changes
Between Thursday 4 April and Saturday 6 April, trains from Brunswick towards Southport will leave stations 4 minutes later than usual at all stations until 20:30.
Ellesmere Port line timetable changes
The 16:33 and 17:33 from Moorfields to Ellesmere Port will not run on Thursday and Friday. For further information please visit: merseyrail.org/aintreeraces.
Andy Heath, Managing Director at Merseyrail, says:
“Merseyrail is getting ready to carry thousands of racegoers to and from the world’s biggest horse racing event. We will be running a special train timetable so that we can continue to deliver a timely service across the Liverpool City Region for regular commuters as the racing festival gets underway at Aintree.
“Our passengers will be depending on us to get them to the starting line on time. This year sees the return of our popular 7 ½ minute service between Liverpool city centre and Aintree, and our much-loved flip flops for the return journey. We are advising passengers to get their tickets in advance where possible.
“The Grand National Festival is an iconic event for the City Region and the local economy, and we are pleased to continue our commitment to enabling tens of thousands of racegoers to travel to this fantastic occasion.
“Unfortunately due to the limited number of trains on the Merseyrail network it’s only possible for us to both meet the demand for services to Aintree station and across the rest of the network if we make these minor changes to timetables on other lines.
“I would like to thank our customers for their patience each year when we make these necessary timetable changes to support The Grand National Festival.
“We can’t wait to give the crowds travelling to Aintree a warm welcome on to our network.”
