Over the weekend, over 150,000 people attended the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse, using both Northern and Merseyrail services.

Numerous attendees travelled through Liverpool Lime Street, with thousands of football fans also using the station on the Saturday.

Northern has praised its passengers for helping them to keep delays to a minimum.

Around 98% of services ran over the three-day event, and Northern worked closely with Network Rail to ensure everyone got to their destinations safely.

The high demand saw extra services between Ormskirk and Preston and extra carriages on some routes.

“We welcomed thousands of racing fans on board last week, following weeks of planning and preparation. 

“Our services and stations were busy, however passengers were patient and polite throughout the three-day event, which makes it much easier for us to keep everything running smoothly.

“I’d like to thank all of the staff from across the industry who worked so hard to get everyone where they needed to go, right across the city region, without any significant delays or cancellations.”

Craig Harrop, Northern’s Director of Service Delivery in Liverpool