Congleton railway station

Congleton railway station serves the market town of Congleton, in Cheshire, England. It lies on the Stafford-Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line.

Congleton
Congleton station in 2023
General information
Location	Congleton, Cheshire East, England
Grid reference	SJ872623
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Line(s)	Stafford-Manchester
Platforms	Formerly 3,[1][2] [3] 2 in use[1][2]
Train operators	Northern Trains[nb 1]
Construction
Architectural style	Pseude-Tudor (when built),[4] Utilitarian (rebuild)[4]
Other information
Station code	CNG[5]
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	9 October 1848; 176 years ago (1848-10-09)[6][7]
Rebuilt	1966; 59 years ago (1966)[8]
Electrified	1967; 58 years ago (1967)[2]
Original company	North Staffordshire Railway[2]
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway[9]
Key dates
1870	Signal box built[7]
1 June 1864	Biddulph Valley Line passenger services commenced[10]
1892	Footbridge erected[7]
11 July 1927	Biddulph Valley Line passenger services withdrawn[10]
1930	Third platform added[3]
1976	Closed to goods[11]
2004	Refurbished[1][12]
December 2008	Hourly service Monday-Saturday introduced[13]
2018	Booking hall refurbished[1]
6 July 2020	CrossCountry services suspended[14][15][16]
2021	Footbridge refurbished[1][17][18]
Passengers
2019/20	0.333 million
2020/21	58,250
2021/22	0.219 million
2022/23	0.256 million
2023/24	0.299 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Congleton station, c1900s

The station in 1986

Plans for a railway station in the town were first announced by the North Staffordshire Railway on 30 April 1845.^[19] Congleton was to be the terminus of a planned line to Colwich, via Burslem and Stoke-on-Trent; this route was to be called the Pottery Line.^[19]

The Stafford-Manchester line from Stoke-on-Trent to Congleton was opened on 9 October 1848 by the North Staffordshire Railway; the station opened on the same day.^[6] There was only one sets of lines that had been built between Congleton and Harecastle; this meant that approaching trains had to receive a signal from the station master before entering.^[20] Some North Staffordshire Railway through trains used the Potteries Loop Line.^[21]

The North Staffordshire Railway ran a limited number of passenger trains Monday-Saturday between Congleton and Uttoxeter, calling at stations on the Potteries Loop line.^{[nb 2]}

Congleton was the terminus for two routes:

• London, Midland and Scottish Railway passenger trains on the northern end of the Potteries Loop Line between Tunstall and Stoke-on-Trent.^[23]
• Biddulph Valley line:^[10] passenger services were withdrawn on 11 July 1927.^[10] Despite this, the London Midland and Scottish Railway ran special services along it at the beginning of August each year.^[24]

In 1930, a third platform was added by the Nestle's Anglo Condensed Milk Company due to the importance of milk to economy of Congleton.^[3]

The station buildings were demolished and rebuilt in 1966, as part of the modernisation and electrification programme of the West Coast Main Line;^[8] the signal box and level crossing were also removed.^[25]

After the closure of the goods yard at Brunswick Wharf in Buglawton on 1 April 1968,^[26][27] sand was delivered by train to the station instead.^[28]

Under British Railways, Congleton was served by many special services from Stoke-on-Trent via the Potteries Loop line.^[29] In 1972, the Royal Train stopped at Congleton as part of a visit to the town by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.^[30]

In 1976, the station was closed to goods services.^[11]

It was one of the boundary stations for the short-lived Network NorthWest sector of British Rail.^[31]

The station has, in the past, been subjected to vandalism.^[32][33][34]

Former services

The station was previously served by the following:

• Direct trains to London Euston until 1996.^[35]
• Virgin CrossCountry served the station Monday to Saturday in the early days of privatisation.^[2][36]
• Limited peak-hour services operated by CrossCountry between Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street and Bournemouth stopped here until 6 June 2020.^[14][15][16]

Accidents and incidents

• On 27 December 1864, there was a collision between a London and North Western Railway goods engine and van with a North Staffordshire Railway passenger train at Congleton junction, where the Biddulph Valley line joined the Stafford-Manchester line.^[37]
• On 17 February 1899, there was a collision of two trains.^[38]
• On 19 January 2006, a Virgin CrossCountry Voyager train caught fire at Congleton.^[39]

Facilities

Entrance to the station in 2010

The station has a staffed ticket office which is open on weekdays and Saturday mornings, with two self-service ticket machines available for ticket purchases at other times as well as modern help points on both platforms. There is a chargeable car park and bicycle storage available. Step-free access is available to both of the platforms.^[40]

There is a waiting room on the southbound platform;^[33] however, this is boarded up and closed to the public.

As part of the Congleton Transport Development Plan, Cheshire East Council has proposed improving the quality of the station buildings, and the cycling and parking facilities; the idea of a park and ride service has also been raised.^[41][42]

Services

Northern Trains operates hourly services in each direction between Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly. There are six rail replacement bus services each way on Sundays.^[43][44]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Stoke-on-Trent Limited Service		Northern Trains Stafford–Manchester line		Macclesfield
Kidsgrove
	Previous services
Stoke-on-Trent		CrossCountry Cross Country Route Peak Hours Only Monday-Saturday Only		Stockport
Preceding station		Historical railways		Following station
North Rode Line open station closed		North Staffordshire Railway Stafford–Manchester line		Mow Cop and Scholar Green Line open station closed
Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		North Staffordshire Railway Biddulph Valley line		Mossley Halt Line and station closed
Macclesfield Central Line and station open		North Staffordshire Railway Potteries Loop Line (Through Trains Only)		Mow Cop and Scholar Green Line and station closed
Terminus		North Staffordshire Railway Potteries Loop Line (Limited service Monday-Saturday Only)		Mow Cop and Scholar Green Line and station closed
Terminus		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Potteries Loop Line		Mow Cop and Scholar Green Line and station closed
Terminus		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Biddulph Valley line		Biddulph Line and station closed

Best Kept Station

Congleton has often been recognised as one of the best-kept stations on the Stoke to Manchester line; it was maintained by Congleton in Bloom.^[45]

It won the Best Kept Station award in the Stoke-on-Trent division in 1983 and 1984.^[46]

Notes

1. Hourly service Monday-Saturday, six services each way on a Sunday
2. Extract from Public timetable July to September 1899^[22]