The devices have been installed at major bus stations

About 200 workers at Merseytravel can now use the automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and provide critical support to victims.

They can help increase survival rates for those who suffer heart failure.

The machines, provided by the British Heart Foundation, will be on ferries, rail stations and in bus stations.

Paramedics from the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service trained the employees in the resuscitation techniques.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said: "If these save just one life, they are worth having."

'Vital seconds'

Neil Scales, chief executive of Merseytravel, said it was the first passenger transport authority in the UK, outside London, to roll out defibrillators across all areas of the public transport network.

"In the past our staff would have had to carry out basic first aid and call for an ambulance," said Mr Scales.

"Now they are fully trained to save vital seconds to help resuscitate heart attacks victims - seconds that could mean the difference between life and death."

The initiative forms part of the wider National Community Defibrillator Programme (NDP) that aims to place 130 AED machines in public places in Cheshire and Merseyside, over the next 12 months.