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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 44 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Many people expressed significant dissatisfaction with the service, frequently encountering unreliable trains, delays, and cancellations that left them stranded or late for important appointments. Customers widely reported negative interactions with staff, describing them as rude, intimidating, and unhelpful. Furthermore, numerous individuals faced issues with fines, reporting unfair penalties or problems with payment systems. Conversely, a small portion of people felt satisfied with the assistance received from staff members, highlighting instances of friendly and helpful employees. Some reviewers also noted positive experiences with trains running on time and being clean.

What people talk about most

Service

Users describe negative interactions with service, citing poor service, incompetence, and a lack of... See more

Staff

Consumers find staff to be unhelpful and often rude, with many reporting experiences of staff giving vague... See more

Price

Customers consistently note negative experiences with price, often feeling that services are overpriced and... See more

Payment

Reviewers highlight negative aspects of payment, with many customers reporting being fined for various... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Penalty Services employees, used by Merseyrail - Create a mountain from a mole hill Understanding logic doesn't exist No customer service at all Try to maximise fines for nothing Serve fin... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Fined for being sold a incorrect ticket !!! From email threats to lack of empathy, on the day of the fine and beyond!! This company is the most horrible nasty arrogant rude an unprofes... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Your Revenue Inspectors are vile. Majority of them are grown, middle aged intimidating men. Hats off to them, they don't discriminate, whether you're a young girl, old man or teenager they will treat... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

What's the excuse today!? Merseyrail are now so bad they can't be relied upon. Perhaps if they invested more money into the service instead of paying out large wads of cash to their share holders, we... See more


1.4

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

298 reviews

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No history of asking for reviews

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1.4

All reviews

(298)

41 reviews in the last 12 months

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Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

9:50 to Chester from Liverpool

9:50 to Chester from Liverpool. CANCELLED. Obviously no explanation, not even informed when purchasing ticket! Be warned, if you own a car I’d say just driver to wherever you want to get too. Don’t rely on these CLOWNS who don’t care about there customers.

16 March 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Beware of this company

Used this awful company for the 1st time this week and it will be the last time I ever do.
The ticket booth said ‘window closed pay at destination’ boarded the train and got asked for our tickets , explained the window was closed, the ticket man rang the station and they said the window was open .Tried to explain it wasn’t but he would not listen .We got fined £50 each and had to pay the full fair not the day saver rate.So a £12 journey cost me and my husband £118 plus the embaressment on the train.We were treated like criminals 3 guards altogether explaining we had been recorded and shown a badge that was like a police badge.Why have a sign on a ticket window saying closed if it was open for gods sake then lie about it.Think they just out to make extra money.Please BEWARE of this train company.

11 March 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I would rather crawl 5 miles through broken glass

I would rather crawl 5 miles through broken glass than ever use this abomination of a service ever again. Trains are cancelled more often than running and prices are continuously increasing, it now costs almost £7 for me to get to work and back every day so looks I'll be getting up 3 hours earlier and walking because I'd rather throw £7 out the window than fund your dog shit any further.

6 March 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Why you should not use merseytravel

The trains are low quality, probably made in china, the train driver litterally waits for you to get down at the station and speeds off just to be annoying, the ticket inspectors harrass people, i am not even joking by the way, i do not reccomend using merseytravel at all. worst form of public transport I have ever used in my life.

6 August 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

New trains 🚆 but it's just a scene

New trains 🚆 but it's just a scene
One of the worse train company in this country.
Numerous untold cancellation
No possibility to ticket refund or better not clarity in procedures how to get a refund.
Full of ticket checkers however all this discomfort for passengers; shameless

18 February 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

An absolute disgrace of a company

An absolute disgrace of a company. The ticket off was closed where I got on, asked two members of their team could I purchase a ticket on the train. Was then pointed in the wrong direction and fined £125 for actively trying to leave without a ticket when I had gone out of my way to purchase a ticket by asking two different members of staff.

18 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I have just retired and not too soon!

I have just retired and not too soon. I have travelled on Merseyrail trains since 1978. The trains and service have noticeably gone down in the last five years. The new trains are appalling, they are so unreliable and very uncomfortable (seats far too hard). Things at Moorfields station seem to take for ever to get resolved such as the escalators which have been out for months.
I will only travel on these trains now if I can't find a suitable alternative.

2 February 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AWFUL SERVICES - 2Months

The last 2 months using merseyrail trains have been absolutely appalling. They are never on time, they don't turn up when it shows on the tracker in station and on the app. Not only that, it has made me late for work 7 times in one month considering you pay 5.60 per day for a day saver is a joke. They tend to stop off as when they want without notifying the customers on the train and whilst be stuck in there you have missed your second train to work. These new trains have caused nothing but problems and have wasted my time. Absolute joke of a service.

20 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Communication - Nonsense

Communication, from trains cutting stops and announcing it verbally rather than using/duplicating on the countless new screens every train has (when most passengers use earphones), moreover local staff… it’s not news that many people in the North West England struggle with basic communication at the best of times.

13 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Great service Traveled from Chester to Liverpool on…

Traveled from Chester to Liverpool on the 10:30 this morning …. Train is on time; immaculately clean & staff were lovely & friendly 👍🏽 well done - would have been 5 stars but you do need to sort your ticket collection services out as I was unable to collect ticked at Central station on way out & unable to access ticket on app 🤷🏽‍♀️

12 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Where to start bad??

Where to start. I was warned about the tickets, warned about he crap service but not the cost. It's overpriced, crap and a total joke

11 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Train service that cannot handle the cold

Merseyrail has known that all week it has been cold and frosty. Then they have to go and cancel trains again. They raise the fares and do not provide a service that is useful at all. Last minute cancellations and no bus service to cover either.

9 January 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This is my first and last time using Merseyrail.

This is my first and last time using Mersey rail, in future I will drive. I tried to purchase a ticket at Aintree station 10.10am . The office was closed to ticket sales while the person manning the office was in the back on his tea break. There was no other way to purchase a ticket so I boarded the train. Liverpool central was closed so disembarked at Moorfields which was chaos and boarded a train to Chester expecting to buy a ticket on the train or at Chester instead 4 extremely intimidating security staff issued a fix penalty fare. Ruined my day out. When will Mersey rail make ticket purchasing at stations 21st century using vending machines or allow ticket purchases on trains then they won’t need to pay ticket office staff?
While I appreciate there are rules I did appeal and the appeal was rejected.
Conclusion if you are forced to use Merseyrail ensure to have your ticket in advance don’t risk being humiliated by the security staff on a crowded train.
Chester station staff were 100% perfect and helpful.

19 December 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Miseryrail

Writing this freezing whilst the train has been delayed for 50 minutes with no explanation (again). Merseyrail sucks the life out of it’s commuters. It’s saying something that the old trains that were 50 years old were better than these new trains which were obviously designed by people who had never used public transport in their lives. These new ones don’t have enough carriage doors which cause bottleneck crowding every single time and there just aren’t enough carriages to hold enough people at crucial peak times. Not to mention the wider problem that for the most part (except for a few rare gems) Merseyrail go out of their way to employ hostile station staff that are on crazy power trips and have no customer service or social skills at all. They are a sham of a service.

22 December 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The Stasi , the experience of getting home after a night out in Liverpool via Merseyrail stasi

This is for every hardworking person who has the audacity to go out on a night out have a drink and try and get a train home from central ! Having witnessed travelling home after having a few beers and some long haired scruffy bespectacled Merseyrail employee stopping our Uncle Dave from travelling ( there was 13 of us after having watched the World Cup ) we where a family who had had a great evening despite not winning the World Cup his actions unfortunately caused a very very angry response from us ( get a taxi ) is a common response by these guards they turned a 65 year old man with family away on his own at. 11:30 at night , me and my wife have witnessed this a few times now and the arrogance of there staff is just shocking they love the backing of there pscos who duly have to back these little bully’s Saturdays guy was a typical little fat bloke who told the guys son don’t travel then your dad gets a taxi , we told him to walk to Moorfields where the stairs are even bigger than central and you just walk on , Merseyrail your guards are complete idiot little bully boys who seem to have an agenda of l will stop one in ten from getting home , complete arsey holes

7 December 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Appalling

Appalling - paid for ticket - office unable to print - apologise and say o time to travel - so I get a fine for not producing a ticket - appealed decision to be told I’ll be taken to court - disgusting train and customer service - will drive in future

4 October 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Different day, same nonsense

Another day, another disaster with all trains on every line either cancelled or delayed. The brand new all singing and all dancing trains clearly struggling with the cold weather. Just asked a member of staff what’s happening and she replied “I have no idea” - sums up the whole service and company.
In the last 4 weeks, I am yet to catch a train which was on time with no problems either to Liverpool in the morning or the return journey home to the wirral after work.
4 people at Spital this morning ensuring that everyone had a ticket (for trains which never arrived)… none of which could give an update. No wonder everyone now drives rather than use this disgraceful service which is crumbling.

Disgrace - how are these allowed to be so bad!!

20 November 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

"Designed with you in mind"

The worst part is the advertising for the new trains, "Designed with you in mind." Do they hate everyone then? Seats on the new trains are basically wooden boards with 6th Form Common Room carpet glued on.

Honestly hate the new trains which cost a bomb and came years late

16 November 2024
Unprompted review

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