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Crewe–Manchester line

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Crewe–Manchester line
Northern Rail Class 323 at Cheadle Hulme railway station
Overview
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleStockport
Crewe
Cheshire
Manchester
North West England
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)Avanti West Coast
CrossCountry
Northern Trains
TransPennine Express
Transport for Wales Rail
Rolling stockPrimarily:
British Rail Class 67/British Rail Mark 4
Class 197
Class 323
Class 331
Class 390
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed110 mph (180 km/h)
Route map

(Click to expand)
Crewe–Manchester line
Legend
Liverpool–Manchester lines
Ordsall Chord to Manchester Victoria
Deansgate Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Oxford Road
Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Mayfield
Ardwick branch to Huddersfield line
via Ashton-under-Lyme
Huddersfield line and Glossop line
Longsight
Rushford
Levenshulme
Fallowfield Loop line
Mauldeth Road Heaton Chapel
Burnage Stockport–Stalybridge line
Heaton Mersey Heaton Norris
Manchester South District Railway ST&AJR
East Didsbury
Stockport
Cheadle North Cheadle Heath
Cheadle
Mid-Cheshire line Hope Valley line
Gatley to Hazel Grove
Heald Green Cheadle Hulme
Manchester Airport Manchester Metrolink Stafford–Manchester line
Styal Handforth
Wilmslow
Alderley Edge
Chelford
Goostrey
Holmes Chapel
to Northwich
Sandbach
Sandbach branch
to Chester | WCML northbound
Crewe enlarge…
Welsh Marches line | to Stoke
West Coast Main Line southbound

The Crewe–Manchester line is a railway line in North West England, running between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly. It is a spur of the West Coast Main Line.

History

The line was built by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway Company, which diverted to Crewe in 1841 and merged in 1846 with others to form the London and North Western Railway Company. This, in turn, became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.

The route from Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly, including the Styal line, was the first section of the West Coast Main Line to be electrified, in 1959. The line was upgraded in the early 2000s, as part of the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme. A full service resumed on the line in March 2007.

The line is joined at Cheadle Hulme by the West Coast spur from Stoke-on-Trent. At Stockport, it is then joined by the Mid-Cheshire line from Chester, the Hope Valley line from Sheffield, and by the Buxton line.

In April 2006, Network Rail organised its maintenance and train control operations into '26 Routes'; the Crewe–Manchester line was included in Route 20 (North West Urban).

Services

Northern Trains operates services between Crewe, Alderley Edge and Manchester Piccadilly, via Stockport and the Styal line via Manchester Airport. A number of the Crewe / Alderley Edge – Piccadilly services also extend beyond Piccadilly to terminate at Liverpool Lime Street, Southport and Wigan North Western. Also, a number of services to/from Manchester start or terminate at Wilmslow.

Transport for Wales Rail operates a through express service between Milford Haven and Cardiff, via the Welsh Marches line, to Manchester.

Avanti West Coast operates West Coast Main Line services between London Euston, Crewe and Manchester.

CrossCountry also operates a small number of services on the line between Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street and the South.

External links

Railway lines in the North West
Primary to London
Other
Inter-regional
Intra-regional
Heritage
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