About 30m passengers use Merseyrail each year

Fare rises on Merseyrail are to be pegged to the rate of inflation for 25 years, it was announced on Monday.

The special deal coincides with the takeover of the Merseyrail Electrics franchise by an Anglo-Dutch consortium.

Made up of UK transport company Serco and Dutch rail group Ned Railways, the consortium has struck the deal with Merseytravel, the passenger transport authority for Merseyside.

The pricing deal is an improvement on the one introduced for the rest of the country's regulated fares from January 2004, in which ticket prices will rise by an average of inflation plus 1%.

The 59-strong Merseyrail fleet of trains is to be completely refurbished over the next 18 months in a �32m scheme.

'Unique' scheme

Better seating plans are proposed - with more room for bicycles and wheelchair passengers.

Each carriage is being equipped with two CCTV cameras.

Merseytravel's chief executive Neil Scales said: "We are the only local transport authority in the UK to take over rail responsibilities from the Strategic Rail Authority and under the new arrangements we can make a real difference.

"The new operator has also agreed not to raise fares overall more than the retail price index for the next 25 years - a feature that is unique to Merseyrail."

Performance rewards

About 30m passengers use Merseyrail each year.

Mr Scales added: "We will ensure that the new operator is rewarded if performance exceeds targets, while poor performance will see the operator having to invest additional money into the local network.

"This means that extra money will be spent on the railway on Merseyside rather than being lost to the Treasury in fines."

The Serco/Ned Railways team has taken over from Arriva Trains as the operator of the franchise.