Merseyrail has thanked customers and partners after successfully delivering rail services for the 2026 Grand National Festival, with more than 111,000 journeys made over the three day event.
This year marked a huge milestone for the network, with Tap & Go used for the first time during the Grand National, giving racegoers a quicker and more convenient way to pay as they travelled to and from Aintree station.
Working alongside the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Network Rail, Stadler, British Transport Police and The Jockey Club, Merseyrail delivered a dedicated event train plan to manage exceptionally high demand. Careful planning and close partnership working helped keep queues, delays and cancellations to a minimum throughout the festival.
Music and entertainment across key stations helped create a positive and welcoming atmosphere for customers. Merseyrail’s much loved free flip flops once again proved popular, helping to save tired racegoers’ feet at the end of long days and adding to the overall customer experience during the busy festival.
Neil Grabham, Managing Director at Merseyrail, said: “The Grand National is one of the biggest and most complex events we support each year, and transporting over 111,000 customer journeys safely and smoothly is a real achievement.
Introducing Tap & Go at such a high profile event is a significant step forward for the network and shows how we continue to make travel easier and more flexible for our customers. I’d like to thank our colleagues, partners and customers for helping make this year’s festival such a success.”
Image credit: Merseyrail