Stafford to Manchester Line

Stafford-Manchester Line

Passenger stations

The Stafford to Manchester Line is a branch of the West Coast Main Line (Network Rail Route 18) serving Stafford, Stone and Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove, Congleton, Macclesfield, Prestbury, Stockport and Manchester. Virgin Trains operate inter-city services between London Euston via the Colwich spur to Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly and also through cross-country services from Birmingham New Street (Route 17) via Stafford also to Stoke-on-Trent and principal stations to Manchester Piccadilly. Between Cheadle Hulme (where it joins the Crewe to Manchester Line and Manchester, the line forms part of Network Rail Route 20. Local Services between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent are operated by Central Trains and between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester by Northern Rail. The Derby to Crewe Line also operated by Central Trains shares the Stafford to Manchester Line between Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove. A frequent local service is operated by Northern Rail between Macclesfield and Manchester.

[edit] 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.

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

edit Railway lines in Central England:
Main lines:	Cross-Country Route Midland Main Line West Coast Main Line Birmingham-Peterborough via Leicester Line Birmingham-Worcester via Bromsgrove Line Birmingham-Worcester via Kidderminster Line Cherwell Valley Line Chiltern Main Line London-Aylesbury Line Trent Valley Line Welsh Marches Line Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury Line
Commuter lines:	Birmingham-Walsall-Rugeley "Chase" Line Birmingham-Stratford Line Coventry-Nuneaton Line Cross-City Line Erewash Valley Line Leicester-Loughborough "Ivanhoe" Line Northampton Loop Line Robin Hood Line Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line Stourbridge Junction-Stourbridge Town Line Walsall-Wolverhampton Line
Rural lines:	Cotswold Line Crewe-Derby Line Derwent Valley Line Leamington-Stratford Line Marston Vale Line Nottingham-Lincoln Line Nottingham to Grantham Line Oxford-Bicester Line Princes Risborough-Aylesbury Line Shrewsbury-Chester Line
Freight lines:	South Staffordshire Line Sutton Park Line

edit Railway lines in Northern England:
Main lines:	Cross-Country Route · East Coast Main Line · Midland Main Line · West Coast Main Line Chester-Manchester Line · Hope Valley Line · Liverpool-Manchester Lines · Manchester-Preston Line · Settle-Carlisle Railway
Commuter lines:	Airedale Line · Blackburn-Bolton Line · Caldervale Line · Mid-Cheshire Line · Dearne Valley Line East Lancashire Line · Glossop Line · Hallam Line · Harrogate Line · Huddersfield Line Kirkby Branch Line Lancaster-Heysham Line · Leeds-Bradford Lines · Liverpool-Wigan Line · Manchester Airport Line Manchester-Southport Line · Northern Line · Oldham Loop Line · Northallerton-Eaglescliffe Line Ormskirk Branch Line · Pontefract Line · Sheffield-Hull Line · Sheffield-Lincoln Line · Stockport-Stalybridge Line Wakefield Line · Wharfedale Line · Wirral Line · York & Selby Lines · York-Scarborough Line
Rural lines:	Barton Line · Borderlands Line · Buxton Line · Cumbrian Coast Line · Doncaster-Lincoln Line Durham Coast Line · Esk Valley Line · Tees Valley Line · Furness Line · Hull-York Line · Oxenholme-Windermere Line · Penistone Line · Ribble Valley Line · Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Yorkshire Coast Line