Which Merseyside underground railway opened for public traffic in 1886?

The Mersey Railway opened for public traffic in 1886. It connected Liverpool and Birkenhead beneath the River Mersey through the first tunnel under the river, creating a vital cross-river route in north-west England.

The railway opened with four stations and steam locomotives hauling unheated wooden carriages. The tunnel’s smoke and poor atmosphere became a serious problem, however, and the company struggled financially. Passenger numbers peaked at about 10 million in 1890 before many travelers returned to river ferries.

The line recovered after electrification in 1903, making it one of Britain’s pioneering electric railways. It later became closely linked with services on the Wirral and is now part of the Merseyrail network. The Liverpool Overhead Railway is the main distractor: it was another Merseyside railway, but it opened later, in 1893, and ran on an elevated structure rather than through the Mersey Railway tunnel.