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,Liverpool,Manchester 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 399 miles (642 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1869. 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,Liverpool,Manchester and Glasgow,with many more smaller commuter stations,as well as providing links to more rural towns.
Crewe railway station is a railway station in Crewe,Cheshire,England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.
The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus,Birmingham New Street,to Walsall,and then Rugeley in Staffordshire,where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end.
Stockport railway station in Stockport,Greater Manchester,England,is 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly on the West Coast Main Line to London Euston.
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 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.
Uttoxeter railway station serves the town of Uttoxeter,Staffordshire,England. It is 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.
Cheadle Hulme railway station is a station in Cheadle Hulme,Greater Manchester,England. It is operated by Northern Trains.
Norton Bridge is a village in Staffordshire,England. Until May 2004 it was served by Norton Bridge railway station.
Longton railway station is a railway station in England at Longton,Stoke-on-Trent. The station is served by trains on the Crewe to 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. The full range of tickets for travel are purchased from the guard on the train at no extra cost.
Stone railway station serves the 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.
Barlaston railway station served the village of Barlaston in Staffordshire,England. This station was opened on 17 April 1848 and is on the first line opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on that date. At some times it was called Barlaston and Tittensor after the slightly more distant village of Tittensor.
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.
Rail transport in Staffordshire has a long history. Stafford itself is a major "crossroads" on the West Coast Main Line,handling passenger and freight services between London and Scotland along with traffic travelling between Manchester and Birmingham. Stoke-on-Trent was once a major railway centre,especially for traffic associated with the coal mining and pottery industries,but in recent years this traffic has almost completely disappeared.
Severn Bridge Junction is the area of railway lines just south east of Shrewsbury railway station,in Shropshire,England. It is controlled by a mechanical interlocked signal box of the same name,which is the largest operational mechanical signal box in the world. The Network Rail signalling area code is 'SBJ.'
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.
A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail,tram,streetcar,commuter rail,regional rail or heavy rail,intercity passenger service. The rail service may be replaced if the line is closed because of rail maintenance,a breakdown of a train,a rail accident or a strike action or to simply provide additional capacity or if the rail service is not economically viable.
Some railway stations in the United Kingdom have no services on offer from them,which renders the station effectively closed. These stations do not appear in the rail usage figures of the Office of Rail &Road as the stations receive no passengers. In order for the station to officially close,the Department for Transport is required to launch a consultation process before formally closing,under the provisions of the Railways Act 2005.
The West Coast Main Line is a key strategic railway line in the United Kingdom. It links the cities of London,Glasgow,Birmingham,Liverpool,Manchester and Preston. Virgin Trains took on the franchise to run train services on the routes in 1997 and as part of the agreement wanted an upgrade to the railway line to allow for faster more frequent trains to grow the business. The upgrade started in 1998 and was completed in 2009. It came under parliamentary and media scrutiny because of cost and schedule overruns. Further improvements such as the Norton Bridge rail flyover were completed after these dates. The project is sometimes given the acronym WCRM - West Coast Route Modernisation.
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