Halton Curve
Encyclopedia
Halton (borough)
Halton is a local government district in North West England, with borough status and administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998. It consists of the towns of Widnes and Runcorn and the civil parishes of...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. It runs from Frodsham Junction (north of Frodsham station
Frodsham railway station
Frodsham railway station serves the town of Frodsham, Cheshire, England. The station is managed by Arriva Trains Wales. The station building has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
) to Halton Junction (south of Runcorn station
Runcorn railway station
Runcorn railway station is in the town of Runcorn in the unitary authority of Halton in the north west of England. The station lies on the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line between Weaver Junction & and is operated by Virgin Trains...
), providing a link from the North Line to the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
branch of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
.
The line can now be used only northbound because the southbound line and the associated points and diamond crossings at each end of the curve have been removed to permit higher speeds on the main line towards Crewe at the northern end and reduce maintenance costs, meaning that the line is rarely used.
There are occasional freight workings and one scheduled passenger train service: a parliamentary train
Parliamentary train
A Parliamentary train or Parly is, nowadays, a British English term for a train that operates a Parliamentary service - that is to say a token service to a given station, thus maintaining a legal fiction that either the station or, in some cases, the whole line is open, although in reality the...
, operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
train which runs on summer Saturdays only, nonstop from Chester
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
to Runcorn. This replaced the former Liverpool to Llandudno
Llandudno railway station
Llandudno railway station serves the town of Llandudno and is the terminus of a branch line from Llandudno Junction on the Crewe to Holyhead North Wales Coast Line. It is managed by Arriva Trains Wales....
and return summer Saturday train that used the curve up until September 1994. Regular passenger services over the line had previously ceased in May 1975.
A rail user group, the North Cheshire Rail User Group, supports and actively campaigns for an improved service at this station and for this railway line.
Future
In 2004, the Strategic Rail AuthorityStrategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
announced that it intended to close the line. The Runcorn area of the West Coast Main Line was due to be resignalled, and the SRA claimed that incorporating the curve into the scheme added a significant extra cost which could not be justified given the scant service. The closure plans have since been postponed.
Other organisations are working to upgrade the line rather than close it. The North Cheshire Rail Users Group campaign for the reintroduction of regular services.
Merseytravel
Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
proposed upgrading the Halton Curve so it can be worked bidirectionally (which would need a new crossover at Halton Junction), providing a second rail route between Liverpool and Chester. Other new services could include direct trains from Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
to Wrexham
Wrexham General railway station
Wrexham General railway station is a main line railway station and the main railway station serving Wrexham, north-east Wales. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, but services are also provided by Virgin Trains who operate a service to London Euston...
or Llandudno
Llandudno railway station
Llandudno railway station serves the town of Llandudno and is the terminus of a branch line from Llandudno Junction on the Crewe to Holyhead North Wales Coast Line. It is managed by Arriva Trains Wales....
via Liverpool South Parkway
Liverpool South Parkway railway station
Liverpool South Parkway station is a railway station and bus interchange in the Garston district of Liverpool, England. It serves, via a bus link, Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the neighbouring suburb of Speke....
and Runcorn, which would provide improved access to Liverpool Airport for passengers from Chester, Wrexham and the various towns along the North Wales coast.
In conjunction with the above proposal, Halton Borough
Halton (borough)
Halton is a local government district in North West England, with borough status and administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998. It consists of the towns of Widnes and Runcorn and the civil parishes of...
Council are investigating the possibility of a new station on the curve, at Beechwood, which would provide convenient interchange with Runcorn's busway network.
On 8 March 2005, the then Transport Minister Tony McNulty
Tony McNulty
Anthony "Tony" James McNulty is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Harrow East from 1997 to 2010 and was a government minister from 2002 to 2009. He was Minister for London and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform at the Department for...
announced in Parliament that the resignalling work is currently scheduled for 2010 and the future of the Halton Curve will be "resolved" by then.
Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
's draft Route Utilisation Strategy for Wales discusses the future of the line. An hourly service between Liverpool and Chester via Runcorn and Helsby, calling at all stations except Edge Hill
Edge Hill railway station
Edge Hill railway station serves the district of Edge Hill in Liverpool, England.There have been two stations of that name. The first stood a short distance south-west of the present station and its remains are still visible, although the site is not open to the public.Edge Hill is the first...
could be feasible if the curve was restored to bidirectional operation. The RUS document recommends that further development work take place.