And now for a new Beatles track - sort of

MERSEYRAIL was given a “ticket to ride” today when it’s first ever advertising train took to the rails.

The decorated train, promoting The Beatles Story, will travel the network aiming to encourage passengers to head to the tourist attraction owned by Merseytravel.

If the ad-train is a success we can expect to see more advertising the U-Boat Story at Birkenhead and the attractions at Seacombe.

They even hired a Beatles tribute band, Made in Liverpool, to entertain the invited passengers on the inaugural journey. They might have sung The Long and Winding Rail, but instead picked favs such as Love Me Do.

Merseytravel’s Director General Neil Scales pressed the start button at James Street Station prior to the colourful train hitting the iron road.

Scales even hinted we could see trains given names, maybe the Sir Paul McCartney, or the Ringo Starr and of course the George Harrison and John Lennon.

Having the trains covered in vinyl advertising works out cheaper than actually having them painted, added Scales.

We’ve had all-over advertising on buses for years, so why not trains?

“I’m amazing this hasn’t caught on until now,” said one Merseytravel person at the launch.

The reality is in the week John Lennon would have turned 71 and Sir Paul tied the knot for the third time, the Beatles remain a key player in Liverpool’s tourism pitch.

Problem is so many people across Merseyside hate the constant Beatles fall-back position and dismiss them as a bookmark in Liverpool’s history. Despite this, The Beatles Story (at the Albert Dock and Pier Head) along with the U-Boat Story at Woodside and Spaceport at Seacombe earn £34m for Merseyside’s tourism industry every year, giving work to 742 people.