The name was originally used as a brand by British Rail but the name has stuck through several franchsies. Operates in North West Cheshire and South West Lancashire. Following the privatisation of the UK rail network, the Merseyrail service was run first by MTL under the name Merseyrail Electrics, then Arriva Trains Merseyside, before its award to a consortium of Serco and NedRailways (a division of Nederlandse Spoorwegen) in 2003 and will own the franchise until 2028.