Stafford–Manchester line

The Stafford–Manchester line is a major railway line branching from the West Coast Main Line serving Stafford, Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove, Congleton, Macclesfield, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport and Manchester.

Stafford–Manchester line
A Virgin Trains Class 390 and CrossCountry Class 221 at Stoke-on-Trent
Overview
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands (region), North West England
Service
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern Trains
Rolling stock	Class 220 Voyager, Class 221 Super Voyager, Class 323, Class 331 Civity, Class 350 Desiro, Class 390 Pendolino
History
Opened	1848
Technical
Line length	53.9 miles (86.7 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Stafford–Manchester line
Legend
Liverpool–Manchester lines Manchester–Preston line Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Huddersfield line Glossop line Longsight  A6  Rushford Styal line Levenshulme Fallowfield Loop line Heaton Chapel Stockport–Stalybridge line Heaton Norris Stockport, Timperley & Altrincham Jn Rly via Stockport Tiviot Dale  M60  Stockport Viaduct Stockport Mid-Cheshire line to Chester │ Buxton line to Whaley Bridge Disley cutoff via Cheadle Heath Cheadle Hulme Crewe–Manchester line Bramhall Greater Manchester boundary End of TfGM service 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  A54  North Rode Churnet Valley line Biddulph Valley line Congleton Mow Cop and Scholar Green Crewe–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 Cliffe Vale Halt ( closed 1865 ) Stoke to Market Drayton Line Stoke-on-Trent Stoke–Leek line to Leek Crewe–Derby line to Derby Whieldon Road Halt Mount Pleasant Halt Sideway Halt  A50  Trentham Park branch line Trentham Wedgwood Barlaston Stone to Colwich Line Stone  M6  West Coast Main Line via Crewe Norton Bridge flyover Norton Bridge Bridgeford Great Bridgeford Stafford–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

History

The line was completed in 1848. It incorporated the main line of the North Staffordshire Railway, from the junction with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Norton Bridge, via its principal station at Stoke-on-Trent, to Macclesfield. It then made a running junction, again with the LNWR, which had its own station at Macclesfield Hibel Road that was closed by British Railways in 1960.

The North Staffordshire Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.

The line was electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires, under British Railways' 1955 Modernisation Plan.

Services

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast operates inter-city services between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, via the Colwich spur. Some services between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly travel along the Stone to Colwich line, thereby by-passing Stafford.

CrossCountry

CrossCountry operates services between Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street, which continue either to Bournemouth or Bristol Temple Meads. Between Cheadle Hulme, where it joins the Crewe–Manchester line, and Manchester Piccadilly, the line forms part of Network Rail Route 20.

London Northwestern Railway

Local services between Stafford, Stone and Stoke-on-Trent, are operated by West Midlands Trains; they are branded London Northwestern Railway. Services continue to Crewe.

Between 2004 and 2008, there was no stopping service on the route, with a replacement bus service taking its place. However Wedgwood and Barlaston stations are still without a train service, although they were never officially closed and are still served by rail-replacement bus services. Norton Bridge also lost its services at the same time but was formally closed in December 2017, after 13 years without a rail service.^[1]

Northern Trains

Frequent local services between Stoke-on-Trent, Congleton, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly are operated by Northern Trains.

East Midlands Railway

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