British Railways (Merseyside PTE)

British Railways Merseyside PTE refers to the BR services specified and funded by the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive — today branded as Merseytravel — from the PTE's formation in 1969 until BR's privatisation in 1997. The arrangement was one of the earliest examples of local government specifying and funding rail services in Britain, and the Merseyside network it produced became one of the most operationally distinctive urban rail systems in the country.

The Merseyrail network centred on the 650 V DC third-rail electrified lines inherited from the former Mersey Railway and the LNWR and Midland electrifications of the 1900s, extended by the Liverpool Loop and Link underground tunnels opened in 1977 and 1978 respectively to create the modern cross-city and cross-river network. The PTE's specification of rolling stock produced the Class 507 and Class 508 electric multiple units of 1978–1980, built by BREL and finished in the distinctive Merseyrail yellow-and-grey livery that gave the network its visual identity. After privatisation services passed to the Merseyrail Electrics franchise, today operated under the Merseyrail brand with a directly-awarded local franchise rather than the national franchising regime.