The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom,connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham,Manchester,Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe,carrying a mixture of intercity rail,regional rail,commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 400 miles (644 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1881. With additional lines deviating to Northampton,Birmingham,Manchester,Liverpool and Edinburgh,this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However,the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London,Coventry,Birmingham,Manchester,Liverpool and Glasgow,with many more smaller commuter stations,as well as providing links to more rural towns.
Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester,in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester,England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842,it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of the city centre,it hosts long-distance intercity and cross-country services to national destinations including London,Birmingham,Nottingham,Glasgow,Edinburgh,Cardiff,Bristol,Exeter,Plymouth,Reading,Southampton and Bournemouth;regional services to destinations in Northern England including Liverpool,Leeds,Sheffield,Newcastle and York;and local commuter services around Greater Manchester. It is one of 19 major stations managed by Network Rail. The station has 14 platforms:12 terminal and two through platforms. Piccadilly is also a major interchange with the Metrolink light rail system with two tram platforms in its undercroft.
Crewe railway station serves the railway town of Crewe,in Cheshire,England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.
Stockport railway station serves the large market and industrial town of Stockport in Greater Manchester,England. It is located 6 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly,on a spur of the West Coast Main Line to London Euston.
Kidsgrove railway station serves the town of Kidsgrove in Staffordshire,England. The station is 7.5 miles (12.07 km) north of Stoke-on-Trent. The station is served by trains on the Crewe–Derby line which is also a community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.
Gatley railway station is on the Styal Line in Greater Manchester,England. It serves the village of Gatley in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.
Lichfield Trent Valley is one of two railway stations that serve the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire,England;the other being Lichfield City in the city centre. It is a split-level station:low level platforms serve the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line,with a single high level platform being the northern terminus of the Cross-City Line.
Wilmslow railway station serves the town of Wilmslow in Cheshire,England,12 miles (19 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly on the Crewe to Manchester Line.
Stoke-on-Trent railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Stoke-on-Trent,on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line. It also provides an interchange between local services running through Cheshire,Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
Stafford railway station is a major interchange railway station in Stafford,Staffordshire,England,and is the second busiest railway station in Staffordshire,after Stoke-on-Trent. The station serves the market and county town,as well as surrounding villages. The station lies on the junction of the Trent Valley line,the Birmingham Loop/Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line,and the West Coast Main Line.
Heaton Chapel railway station serves the Heaton Chapel and Heaton Moor districts of Stockport,Greater Manchester,England. It is 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly towards Stockport. It opened as Heaton Chapel &Heaton Moor in 1852 by the London &North Western Railway. It was renamed Heaton Chapel by British Rail on 6 May 1974.
Romiley railway station serves Romiley,in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport,Greater Manchester,England. It is sited at a junction of two parts of the Hope Valley Line,providing services between Manchester Piccadilly,New Mills Central and Sheffield,and also between Piccadilly and Rose Hill Marple.
Handforth railway station serves the town of Handforth in Cheshire,England. Opened in 1842,it is a stop on the Crewe to Manchester Line.
Alderley Edge railway station serves the large village of Alderley Edge in Cheshire,England. The station is 13¾ miles (22 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly on the Crewe to Manchester Line.
The Mid-Cheshire line is a railway line in the north-west of England that runs from Chester to Edgeley Junction,Stockport;it connects Chester with Manchester Piccadilly,via Knutsford. After Chester Northgate closed in 1969,the section between Mickle Trafford Junction and Chester was used for freight trains only until it closed in 1992;from Mickle Trafford,passenger trains use the Chester–Warrington line to Chester General instead. The route taken by passenger trains has changed over the years and now differs considerably from the original. Between 2001 and 2014,passenger journeys on the line increased to over 1.7 million per year. A near doubling of the passenger service was expected to occur from December 2018,however this did not materialise.
Stone railway station serves the market town of Stone,Staffordshire,England. The station is located on a junction of the Colwich to Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line,but has platforms only on the branch from Stafford to Stoke-on-Trent.
The Crewe–Derby line is a railway line in central England,running from Crewe in a south-easterly direction to Derby,via Stoke-on-Trent and Uttoxeter. Passenger services on the line are provided by East Midlands Railway,with Avanti West Coast,London Northwestern Railway,Northern and CrossCountry providing additional services north of Stoke-on-Trent to both Crewe and Manchester.
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.
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.
Colwich Junction is a rail junction near the village of Little Haywood,in the county of Staffordshire,England. It is the junction between two routes of the West Coast Main Line:the Trent Valley line and the Stone to Colwich cutoff line. The junction was the site of the 1986 Colwich rail crash.
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