Merseyrail takes musicians to London for special industry showcase

MERSEYRAIL is taking emerging musicians from the Region to London for a special industry showcase as part of their Sound Station artist development programme. Eyesore and The Jinx, Beija Flo and Podge have all been chosen to represent the project at a show, in Stoke Newington, at The Waiting Room, on Friday, 4 October 2019.

Merseyrail Sound Station has ran 3 semesters of the artist development programme since the project changed formats last year. In this time they have taken over 30 emerging artists from the Region through a series of development sessions which have connected them with music industry experts, honed their songwriting craft and provided tips from high profile musicians.

The 3 artists selected to play the showcase, in partnership with London promoter Eat Your Own Ears, represent 3 of the most exCiting artists currently plying their trade on Merseyside.

While Eyesore and The Jinx are playing a host of festivals this summer and recently visited Russia as part of a cultural exchange, Beija Flo has exCiting plans to launch a series of multi disciplinary projects later this year.

Wirral based artist Podge has recently being selected onto to the LIMF Academy programme and played the Sefton Park festival in July alongside the likes of Nile Rodgers and Chic.

Liverpool Bands Vans are also supporting the initiative with the artists travelling down in 1 of their high specification production vehicles.

Suzanne Grant, Commercial Director at Merseyrail, said:- "When we restructured Sound Station we worked with Bido Lito! to see how the project could address some of the barriers young musicians in the Region come up against.  Opportunities outside of Liverpool and connecting with the London centric industry were 2 of the priorities. This event is a great opportunity for 3 artists who have shown a lot of promise. We're proud that such amazing talent from the Merseyrail network will be representing the Region at this event."

Sam Turner, Projects Manager at Bido Lito!, said:- "All the artists who have taken part in Sound Station so far have grasped the opportunities given with 2 hands. I'm excited to see these 3 artists do their thing in London. They all embody some really exCiting elements of Liverpool's current music scene."

Merseyrail Sound Station opens for applications for the 4th semester of the project on 22 August 2019. Musicians from across the Region are encouraged to apply.

Krystian Hudson, whose band Salt The Snail took part in semester 2 earlier this year, said:- "Our time on Sound Station was very fruitful. It brought us together as a band and got us into a positive and productive way of thinking and working. Every session that we had was informative and inspiring and we came away with so much knowledge and advice. We would heartily recommend any independent band to apply for this programme."

Visit:- MerseyrailSoundStation.com for more information.

Merseyrail announces timetable for strike action on 24 August 2019

MERSEYRAIL have released its timetable for the upcoming strike action by guard members of the RMT Union, on Saturday, 24 August 2019.

A limited service will call at selected Stations across the network between approximately 7am and 7pm, with a short break in service in the middle of the day. All trains will run with 6 carriages.

There will be no services on Merseyrail's Kirkby and Hunts Cross lines and services will start and terminate at Hooton station on the Chester and Ellesmere Port lines. Passengers with a valid season ticket will be able to use selected bus routes in the City Region, details of which can be found at on the Merseyrail Website or by speaking to a member of staff at Merseyrail ticket offices.

Passengers travelling between Chester and Liverpool with a valid ticket can use the Transport for Wales service.

Managing Director of Merseyrail, Andy Heath, said:- "It's extremely disappointing that our customers have to suffer further strike action on the Merseyrail network. We have met the demands of the RMT twice and on both occasions they have moved the goalposts. We have met the aspirations of the RMT and our customers, who were clear that they wanted a second person on all trains and we had 2 jointly established deals to guarantee that. We are running the best possible service that we can on the upcoming strike day and I would like to apologise to all of our customers who will be affected. Our monthly and annual season ticket holders will be compensated for a day of travel for each strike day given the effect that the disruption may have on their journeys. We will be writing to them in due course."

Customers will find information online and can pick up a leaflet from Stations on the Merseyrail network, from Monday, 19 August 2019.

Letter to the Editor:- "Parking Signs"

"DEAR Southport Reporter, can you please discover why the signs on Lord Street and in other locations within Southport's Town Centre are not working? Parking is a major problem within Southport and working parking space signs, saying how many spaces are available in the local car parks.  Working, live information would be helpful to both locals and visitors alike! I would also like to know why are the electronic signs still not displaying any warnings about road closures and other problems within the Town? What is the point of these electric signs, that look like the emergency notice warning signs you find on the Motorway, if they don't work or only show pointless messages?"  Samuel Johnson.