Stafford to Manchester Line

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.

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.

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-Rugeley "Chase" Line   Birmingham-Stratford Line   Birmingham-Walsall Line    Coventry-Nuneaton Line   Cross-City 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

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 Line    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