Stafford to Manchester Line

Stafford to Manchester Line
Legend
Liverpool to Manchester Lines Manchester to Preston Line Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Huddersfield Line Glossop Line Longsight A6 road Rushford Styal Line Levenshulme Fallowfield Loop Line Heaton Chapel Stockport to Stalybridge Line Heaton Norris Stockport, Timperley & Altrincham Jn Rly via Stockport Tiviot Dale Stockport Mid-Cheshire Line to Chester │ Buxton Line to Whaley Bridge Disley cutoff via Cheadle Heath Cheadle Hulme Crewe to Manchester Line Bramhall Poynton Poynton (Midway) Adlington Prestbury Tunnel 273 yd 250 m Prestbury Hibel Road Tunnel 343 yd 314 m Macclesfield Beech Bridge Macclesfield Hibel Road Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway Macclesfield North Rode Churnet Valley Line Congleton Upper Junction( closed 1864 ) Biddulph Valley Line Congleton Mow Cop and Scholar Green Crewe to Derby Line Potteries Loop Line Kidsgrove Harecastle North Tunnel 130 yd 119 m Harecastle South Tunnel 1766 yd 1615 m Chatterley Potteries Loop Line Pinnox branch Longport Potteries Loop Line Etruria Stoke to Market Drayton Line Stoke-on-Trent Stoke–Leek line to Leek Crewe to Derby Line to Derby Whieldon Road Halt Mount Pleasant Halt Sideway Halt A50 road Trentham Park Branch Line Trentham Wedgwood Barlaston Stone to Colwich Line Stone M6 motorway West Coast Main Line via Crewe Norton Bridge flyover Norton Bridge Bridgeford Great Bridgeford Stafford to Shrewsbury Line to Newport │ Stafford and Uttoxeter Rly Stafford West Coast Main Line via Trent Valley Line West Coast Main Line via Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line

The Stafford to Manchester Line is a branch of the West Coast Main Line (Network Rail Route 18) serving Stafford, Norton Bridge, Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove, Congleton, Macclesfield, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport and Manchester.

Train services

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains operate inter-city services between London Euston via the Colwich spur to Manchester Piccadilly. With only two services between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly going via Stone.

CrossCountry

CrossCountry services operate between Birmingham New Street / The South Country and Manchester Piccadilly. Between Cheadle Hulme (where it joins the Crewe to Manchester Line) and Manchester, the line forms part of Network Rail Route 20.

London Midland

Local services between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent (calling at Stone) are operated by London Midland, as part of the London-Crewe service started in December 2008. Between 2004 and 2008 there was no stopping service on the route, with a replacement bus service taking its place. However Wedgwood, Barlaston and Norton Bridge stations are still without a train service although they were never officially closed and are still served by rail-replacement bus services.

Northern Rail

Frequent local services between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester are operated by Northern Rail.

East Midland Trains

The Derby to Crewe Line operated by East Midland Trains shares the Stafford to Manchester Line between Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove.

History

The line was completed in 1848 and incorporated the main line of the North Staffordshire Railway from the junction with the London and North Western Railway at Norton Bridge via its principal station at Stoke-on-Trent to Macclesfield where it made a running junction again with the LNWR, which had its own station at Macclesfield (Hibel Road), which was closed by British Rail. The North Staffordshire Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.

Electrification

The line was electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires under the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stafford to Manchester Line.

Route map: Bing / Google

Railway lines in the West Midlands
Main lines	West Coast Main Line Cross Country Route Chiltern Main Line
Inter-regional	Birmingham to Peterborough Line Crewe to Derby Line Cotswold Line Shrewsbury to Chester Line Stafford to Manchester Line Welsh Marches Line
Local	Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line Chase Line Coventry to Leamington Line Coventry to Nuneaton Line Cross-City Line Leamington to Stratford Line North Warwickshire Line Northampton Loop Line Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line Stone to Colwich Line Stourbridge Town Branch Line Trent Valley Line Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line
Freight only	Camp Hill Line South Staffordshire Line Sutton Park Line Walsall to Wolverhampton Line
Heritage	Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Severn Valley Railway Telford Steam Railway

Railway lines in the North West
Primary to London	West Coast Main Line
Other	Inter-regional Buxton Line Calder Valley Line Chester to Manchester Line Crewe-Derby Line Glossop Line Hope Valley Line Huddersfield Line Leeds to Morecambe Line Mid-Cheshire Line Morecambe Branch Line Ribble Valley Line Stafford-Manchester Line Tyne Valley Line Intra-regional Blackpool Branch Lines Borderlands Line Crewe-Manchester Line Cumbrian Coast Line East Lancashire Line Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line Furness Line Kirkby Branch Line Liverpool to Manchester Lines Liverpool to Wigan Line Manchester to Preston Line Manchester to Southport Line Northern Line (Merseyrail) Ormskirk Branch Line Settle–Carlisle Line Stockport to Stalybridge Line Styal Line Windermere Branch Line Wirral Line
Heritage	East Lancashire Railway Eden Valley Railway Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway Ribble Steam Railway