Chester to Manchester Line

Chester-Manchester Line (via Warrington Bank Quay)

An Arriva Trains Wales Class 175 at Earlestown railway station
Overview
Status Open
Locale Greater Manchester
Cheshire
Chester
North West England
Termini Chester
Operation
Owner Network Rail
Operator(s) Northern Rail and Arriva Trains Wales
Rolling stock
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Operating speed 75mph from Chester to Warrington Bank Quay
110mph from WBQ to Earlestown
90mph from Earlestown to Manchester
Route map
Legend
Caldervale Line
Hope Valley Line
West Coast Main Line
Huddersfield Line Glossop Line

Oldham Loop Line
 

Manchester Mayfield
Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Victoria Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Exchange

Manchester Oxford Road
Manchester Central

Deansgate-Castlefield
Salford Central

Deansgate

Liverpool to Manchester Lines
Windsor Link

Manchester Metrolink
Ordsall Lane
Cross Lane
Seedley
Weaste

Manchester docks branch
Eccles Manchester Metrolink
to Wigan Central

to
Bolton Great
Moor Street

Patricroft
Barton Moss
Lamb's Cottage
Flow Moss Cottage
Astley
Glazebury & Bury Lane
to Bolton
Kenyon Junction
M6 motorway
to Wigan via Hindley
West Coast Main Line
to Glasgow

Parkside Junction
Golborne Junction
Lowton Junction

Parkside
Newton-le-Willows Junction

Newton-le-Willows

Earlestown

Liverpool to Manchester Lines
Liverpool to
Manchester Lines

Warrington Central
M62
 
High Level

Warrington Bank Quay

St Helens and
Runcorn Gap Railway

Low Level
 
Junction reversed
during rationalisation

Moore

Daresbury
Norton

Runcorn East
Sutton Tunnel
West Coast Main Line
to Liverpool

Weaver Junction
Halton Curve

Halton
River Weaver
Frodsham
West Coast Main Line
to London

Helsby
Ellesmere Port to
Warrington Line

to Northwich
Dunham Hill

Mid-Cheshire Line
Mickle Trafford

North Wales Coast Line
to Crewe

Chester Merseyrail
Wirral Line
Chester Northgate
Chester and
Connah's Quay Railway

North Wales Coast Line

There are two Chester to Manchester Lines between the cities of Chester and Manchester in North West England. This article is about the line via Warrington Bank Quay. The other (slower) line is the Mid-Cheshire Line.

There is currently one train per hour in each direction from Chester to Manchester, but from December 2017 there will be an additional train per hour in each direction, calling only at Chester, Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Victoria.

Description

Both routes to Manchester share the Chester to Crewe line for a short distance to Brook Lane Junction where the Manchester lines diverge to Mickle Trafford at which point the southern route of the Cheshire Lines Committee (see the Mid-Cheshire Line) diverges south-easterly to Mouldsworth whilst the considerably older route built by the London and North Western Railway continues to Helsby (junction from Ellesmere Port), Frodsham (nearest station to the junction for the Halton Curve), Runcorn East . Then through the Sutton Tunnel (over a mile long) and northwards alongside the West Coast Main Line into Warrington Bank Quay railway station.

From Warrington the route follows the original Grand Junction Railway route northwards through Winwick Junction to Earlestown where it joins George Stephenson's original Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which was the world's first inter-city railway, having opened in 1830. From here this venerable route is via Newton-le-Willows, Patricroft and Eccles and then either via the earlier route to Manchester Victoria station or, as at present, via Ordsall Lane and Castlefield junctions, joining the Manchester to Preston Line and on to Deansgate, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly station at platforms 13 & 14.

Services

Arriva Trains Wales operate an hourly service throughout between Manchester and Chester (no trains stop at Patricroft, Eccles or Deansgate, which are served by Liverpool to Manchester Lines) and onwards calling at all stations to Llandudno on the North Wales Coast Line (except Sundays, when trains terminate at Chester).

Class 175 units are primarily used for the services between Manchester and North Wales, although Class 158 units can appear; Class 142 Pacer and Class 156 Sprinter units are used on the infrequent service between Liverpool/Warrington B.Q and Ellesmere Port which share the line between Warrington and Helsby.

It is also used by the Freightliner Group for access to the rail-served maritime freight terminal at Ellesmere Port.

Future Developments

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chester to Manchester Line.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.