Important Information For Fans Of The Open

Spectators attending The Open will still be able to travel there by rail after Merseyrail confirmed that it will run a service specifically to get people to and from Royal Birkdale despite the plans of RMT guards to strike on that day.

There will be a service every 15 minutes between Liverpool Central and Hillside and Southport and Hillside from 9am to around 12.30pm and then from around 5pm to approximately 8.30pm.

To support spectators who ‘park and ride’, morning services between Liverpool Central and Hillside will call every half hour at Blundellsands and Crosby and every evening service back to Liverpool Central will call at this station.

No industrial action is planned for mainline rail operators that day, meaning that people can still travel into Liverpool and around other parts of the Liverpool City Region as normal, including on Northern services into Southport where they can also access the Merseyrail network to travel to The Open.

If you’re heading to The Open on Sunday, July 23, by rail please read the following advice:

  • You can still get to The Open by rail. There will be a service every 15 minutes from both Liverpool Central and Southport designed specifically to get people to and from Hillside for Royal Birkdale
  • Other rail services are operating as normal, meaning golf fans can get into Lime Street or Southport to make their onward journeys to Royal Birkdale by rail. For more information visit www.nationalrail.co.uk
  • If you’re travelling into Liverpool Lime Street, you can easily access Merseyrail services to The Open by taking a short walk to Liverpool Central.
  • If you were planning on using the Merseyrail network to interchange in the City Centre for Merseyrail’s Northern Line services to Hillside, consider using commercial bus services to get to and from the city centre. There is an extensive network of services that can be found on the Merseytravel websitehttps://jp.merseytravel.gov.uk/nwm/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en
  • Plan ahead and leave longer for your journey as there may be queues. Don’t aim for the last train home – be at the station in good time. To ensure golf fans get a train back to Liverpool, they should be in the queue at Hillside by 7.30pm
  • Full details of Merseyrail services are on the Merseyrail website www.merseyrail.org/strike on Twitter (@Merseyrail) and will be on posters at all stations.