• Mayor: ‘We’ve done everything we can to ensure late-night travel for fans in the city region’
• Merseyrail ‘ticket to ride’ with late night services following the Grand Final on Saturday 13 May
• Extra Merseyrail trains until after midnight for Big Eurovision Welcome event on 7 May
• City region buses to run until the early hours on key event dates on 7 and 13 May

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram with Eurovision-branded bus and train

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced extra late-night trains and buses for Eurovision fans travelling in and around the Liverpool City Region.

With Eurovision attracting an estimated 100,000 extra visitors, Mayor Rotheram has worked with the city region’s public transport operators to ensure extra services are in place to help fans get home or to their accommodation.

Final discussions are taking place to assess the impact of the national industrial action on mainline services to and from Liverpool Lime Street, that was announced last week.

People are being advised to check direct with their operator for the latest information and consider their options which include national coach services plus park and ride facilities.

As Merseyrail staff are not involved in the dispute, its services are not affected.

Merseyrail services will run into the early hours after the Grand Final, which finishes at 12.30am on Saturday, May 13. Services will also run until after midnight on the night of the Big Eurovision Welcome on 7 May.

Liverpool City Region buses will also continue on key routes until the early hours following the events on 7 and 13 May.

Announcing the transport plan, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“The chance to host a global spectacle like the Eurovision Song Contest is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often – especially for a city in the UK – that’s why so many others tried but were unsuccessful in bidding to host it.

“We’re expecting tens of thousands of visitors to descend on the Liverpool City Region for a week-long celebration of music, dance, fun and frivolity. A world class spectacular deserves world class transport, and visitors will be able to enjoy the best that our region has to offer.

“I’m enormously proud of the investments we’ve made to deliver a publicly-owned, public transport network run in the interests of the public, including our £500m trains and fleet of new hydrogen buses.

“By organising these additional late-night services in our region, we’re ensuring ­­­that Eurovision fans and locals will get the service they deserve and won’t have to cut the party short!”

With the Mersey Ferries set to help people cross the river in late night services on 7 and 13 May, a park and ride scheme on 7 and 13 May and shuttle buses to help travel between fan zones throughout the two weeks, the city region’s transport network is gearing up for the global event which is expected to attract around 160 million TV viewers.

Fans and travellers alike are being urged to plan their journeys and keep checking timetables regularly including on their day of travel as services are subject to change at short notice.

For rail services beyond the Liverpool City Region, passengers are advised to refer to the advertised timetables.

Key information top travel tips can be found on the Merseytravel website www.merseytravel.gov.uk