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Stafford–Manchester line
AVirgin TrainsClass 390 andCrossCountryClass 221 atStoke-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 220Voyager, Class 221Super Voyager, Class 323, Class 331Civity, Class 350Desiro, Class 390Pendolino
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 viaStockport Tiviot Dale M60 Stockport Viaduct Stockport Mid-Cheshire line toChester │ Buxton line toWhaley Bridge Disley cutoffviaCheadle Heath Cheadle Hulme Crewe–Manchester line Bramhall Greater Manchester boundary End ofTfGM 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 linetoLeek Crewe–Derby linetoDerby 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 viaCrewe Norton Bridge flyover Norton Bridge Bridgeford Great Bridgeford Stafford–Shrewsbury line toNewport │ Stafford and Uttoxeter Rly Stafford West Coast Main Line viaTrent Valley line West Coast Main Line viaRugby–Birmingham–Stafford line

TheStafford–Manchester line is a major railway line branching from theWest Coast Main Line servingStafford,Stone,Stoke-on-Trent,Kidsgrove,Congleton,Macclesfield,Cheadle Hulme,Stockport andManchester.

The line was completed in 1848. It incorporated the main line of theNorth Staffordshire Railway, from the junction with theLondon and North Western Railway (LNWR) atNorton Bridge, via its principal station atStoke-on-Trent, toMacclesfield. It then made a running junction, again with the LNWR, which had its own station atMacclesfield Hibel Road that was closed byBritish Railways in 1960.

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

The line waselectrified at25 kV AC, using overhead wires, under British Railways'1955 Modernisation Plan.

Avanti West Coast operatesinter-city services betweenLondon Euston andManchester Piccadilly, via theColwich spur. Some services between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly travel along theStone to Colwich line, thereby by-passingStafford.

CrossCountry operates services between Manchester Piccadilly andBirmingham New Street, which continue either toBournemouth orBristol Temple Meads. BetweenCheadle Hulme, where it joins theCrewe–Manchester line, and Manchester Piccadilly, the line forms part ofNetwork Rail Route 20.

Local services between Stafford,Stone andStoke-on-Trent, are operated byWest Midlands Trains; they are brandedLondon Northwestern Railway. Services continue toCrewe.

Between 2004 and 2008, there was no stopping service on the route, with a replacement bus service taking its place. HoweverWedgwood andBarlaston 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]

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

TheDerby to Crewe Line, operated byEast Midlands Railway, shares the Stafford to Manchester Line between Stoke-on-Trent andKidsgrove.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toStafford to Manchester Line.

• Rail transport in Cheshire
• Rail transport in Greater Manchester
• Rail transport in Staffordshire
• Rail transport in Stoke-on-Trent
• Railway lines opened in 1848
• Railway lines in the West Midlands (region)
• Railway lines in North West England

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