Liverpool to Manchester Lines

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Liverpool to Manchester Lines

Legend Caldervale and Oldham West Coast Main Line Hope Valley Line Huddersfield and Glossop Manchester Victoria Manchester Piccadilly and Exchange (closed) Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Central G-Mex Metrolink station Salford Central Deansgate ( G-Mex) Windsor Link Manchester United FC Halt Manchester Metrolink {Open Match Days Only) to Altrincham Freight Terminal Euroterminal to Wigan Eccles Trafford Park to Bolton Humphrey Park Urmston Patricroft Chassen Road Flixton Manchester Ship Canal Glazebury Irlam to Stockport to Bolton Glazebrook to Wigan via Hindley Birchwood Padgate West Coast Main Line Parkside Liverpool Junction (Golborne Junction) Newton-le-Willows Warrington Central Earlestown West Coast Main Line St Helens Junction Sankey for Penketh to Wigan via St Helens Lea Green to Liverpool via Garston Rainhill Widnes Whiston to Wigan and WCML Hough Green Huyton Roby Halewood Broad Green Olive Mount Chord (to be relaid) Hunts Cross Kirkdale and Wavertree Technology Park Liverpool Docks to Runcorn (Birmingham - Liverpool Line) Liverpool South Parkway for John Lennon Airport West Allerton Garston Mossley Hill Merseyrail Northern Line Edge Hill Edge Hill Tunnel Liverpool Lime Street

There are two Liverpool to Manchester Lines between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the north-west of England.

Contents 1 Description 1.1 Northern Route 1.1.1 Technical Details 1.2 Southern Route 1.2.1 Technical Details 2 Services 2.1 Northern Route 2.2 Southern Route 3 History 4 Further reading 5 See also

[edit] Description

[edit] Northern Route

The more northerly of the two lines follows George Stephenson's original 32 mile (51.5-km) Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which was the world's first passenger railway, having opened in 1830. Stephenson's Rocket was used on it. It had a speed 16 miles per hour. The line runs from Liverpool Lime Street station, via Earlestown and Newton-le-Willows, and continues to either Manchester Victoria or Manchester Piccadilly.

The Airport route (ie the fast services) are generally booked for Class 156 trains, whilst the Victoria route is mainly booked Class 142 trains and Class 150 trains.^[1]

[edit] Technical Details

The key junctions on this route are:

• Edge Hill West Jn (to CLC line via Warrington Central)
• Edge Hill East Jn (to Edge Hill CS)
• Bootle Branch Jn (to Bootle branch, leading to the docks)
• Huyton Jn (to Wigan line)
• Earlestown West Jn (WCML Southbound via Warrington Bank Quay)
• Earlestown East Jn (WCML Southbound via Warrington Bank Quay)
• Newton-le-Willows Jn (for daily Wigan via Golborne Junction services)
• Parkside Jn (for daily Wigan via Golborne Junction services)
• Eccles Station Jn (to the Weaste branch towards the Manchester Ship Canal)
• Ordsall Lane Jn (Separates Chat Moss line (to Victoria) from Bolton lines (to Piccadilly)

^[2]

During a journey, the trains pass through Lime Street control (LS), Liverpool Edge Hill signalbox (LE), Huyton signalbox (HN), Warrington North signalbox (WN), Astley signalbox (AY), Eccles signalbox (ES) and Manchester Piccadilly control (MP).

[edit] Southern Route

The more southerly, and currently busier, route runs from Liverpool Lime Street via Warrington Central to Manchester Piccadilly. It follows the London and North Western Railway's route as far as Allerton Junction just south of Liverpool South Parkway, where a spur connects it to the line built by the Cheshire Lines Committee in 1873. Originally, this ran between