The Stafford to Manchester Line is a 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...

 (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...

 Route 18) serving Stafford

Stafford

Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

, Norton Bridge

Norton Bridge

Norton Bridge is a village in Staffordshire, England. Until 2004 it was served by Norton Bridge railway station.Arguably Norton Bridge is a hamlet as it is in the Parish of Chebsey and does not have its own church.Local amenities...

, Stone

Stone, Staffordshire

Stone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of...

, Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

, Kidsgrove

Kidsgrove

Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...

, Congleton

Congleton

Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...

, Macclesfield

Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...

, Cheadle Hulme

Cheadle Hulme

Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...

, Stockport

Stockport

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

 and Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

.

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 operate inter-city services between London Euston

Euston railway station

Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...

 via the Colwich spur to Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent railway station

Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...

, Macclesfield

Macclesfield railway station

Macclesfield railway station is a main line station serving the Cheshire town of Macclesfield. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line, in the United Kingdom....

, Stockport

Stockport railway station

Stockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...

 and Manchester Piccadilly. CrossCountry

CrossCountry

CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 services operate from Birmingham New Street (Route 17) via Stafford

Stafford railway station

Stafford railway station is an important main line interchange station in the United Kingdom. It serves the county town of Stafford.The present station built in 1962 is a good example of the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and...

 also to Stoke-on-Trent and principal stations to Manchester Piccadilly. Between Cheadle Hulme

Cheadle Hulme railway station

Cheadle Hulme railway station is an open triangular railway station serving Cheadle Hulme in Greater Manchester. It is located on the West Coast Main Line and is included in Network Rail Route 20...

 (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 (calling at Stone) are operated by London Midland

London Midland

London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....

, as part of the London-Crewe service started in December 2008. Between 2004 and 2008 there was no stopping service on the route, with a replacement bus service taking its place. Frequent local services between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester are 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...

. The Derby to Crewe Line

Crewe to Derby Line

The Crewe to Derby Line is a railway line in central England, running from Crewe south east to Derby. Services on the line are provided by East Midlands Trains....

 operated by East Midland Trains shares the Stafford to Manchester Line between Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove

Kidsgrove railway station

Kidsgrove railway station serves the town of Kidsgrove in Staffordshire, England. The station is 12 km north of 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...

.

History

The line was completed in 1848 and incorporated the main line of the North Staffordshire Railway

North Staffordshire Railway

The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....

 from the junction with the London and North Western Railway

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

 at Norton Bridge

Norton Bridge railway station

Norton Bridge railway station is four miles north-west of Stafford on the West Coast Main Line near the village of Norton Bridge in Staffordshire, England.The main line platforms were removed before electrification in the 1960s...

 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

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

. The North Staffordshire Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

 in 1923.

The line was electrified

Railway electrification in Great Britain

Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...

 at 25 kV AC

25 kV AC

The 25 kV Alternating current railway electrification system is commonly used in railways worldwide, especially for high-speed rail.-Overview:This electrification system is ideal for railways that cover long distances and/or carry heavy traffic...

, using overhead wires under the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan.