West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line
The WCML running alongside the M1 motorway.
Overview
Type	Intercity rail Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Greater London North West England South East England West Midlands Scotland
Termini	London Euston Glasgow Central
Stations	51
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Virgin Trains London Midland CrossCountry First TransPennine Express Northern Rail Arriva Trains Wales Wrexham and Shropshire First ScotRail DB Schenker Rail (UK) GB Railfreight Freightliner Ltd Direct Rail Services Ltd (DRS)
Rolling stock	Class 390 "Pendolino" Class 350 "Desiro" Class 321 Class 221 "Super Voyager" Class 220 "Voyager" Class 185 "Desiro" Class 90
Technical
Line length	641.6 km (399 mi) [1]
No. of tracks	Two-Four
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25kV 50hz AC OHLE
Operating speed	125 mph (201 km/h) maximum [2]
Route map Edinburgh Waverley for ECML Haymarket Glasgow Central ( St Enoch) for SPT Network Motherwell for SPT Network Carstairs for SPT Network Carstairs South Junction Lockerbie Scotland / England Carlisle for Tyne Valley Line,    Cumbrian Coast Line and    Glasgow South Western Line Penrith Oxenholme Lake District     for Windermere Line Lancaster Preston Euxton Junction Wigan North Western Bolton Warrington Bank Quay Liverpool Lime Street Runcorn Weaver Junction  Acton Bridge Hartford Winsford Manchester Piccadilly Holyhead on North Wales Coast Line Stockport Chester Crewe North Junction Cheadle Hulme Junction Crewe Stoke-on-Trent Norton Bridge Junction Stone Junction Stafford Colwich Junction Lichfield Trent Valley Wolverhampton Tamworth Birmingham New Street Birmingham International Nuneaton Coventry Rugby for Birmingham Loop Hillmorton Junction  Long Buckby Northampton Hanslope Junction  Wolverton Milton Keynes Central  Bletchley Leighton Buzzard Cheddington Tring Berkhamstead Hemel Hempstead Apsley Kings Langley Watford Junction   Bushey Harrow & Wealdstone Wembley Central London Euston This route map:

The West Coast Main Line (WCML)^[3] is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, and the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. It provides fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and southern Scotland. Since the route was upgraded in recent years, large stretches of it have trains running at 125 mph (200 kph), so it may be classed as a high-speed line.

Central to the WCML is its 641.6-kilometre (399 mi)-long core section between London Euston and Glasgow Central^[4] with principal InterCity stations at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle and Motherwell. Strictly speaking, this section alone is the West Coast Main Line,^[5] but the term is now used to describe a complex system of branches and divergences, all connected from London Euston and serving also the major towns and cities of Northampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport, Manchester, Runcorn, and Liverpool; there is also a link to Edinburgh, but this is not the direct route from London to Edinburgh.^[6]

In addition, several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing a number of links to more rural towns.

The WCML is a strategic European route and has been designated a priority Trans-European Networks (TENS) route. It is the principal rail freight corridor linking the European mainland (via the Channel Tunnel) through London and south-east England to the West Midlands, north-west England and Scotland, and is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe.

History

Early history

The line was built between the 1830s and the 1870s as a number of separate railways, the first being the Grand Junction Railway (Warrington-Birmingham) then the London and Birmingham Railway, both completed in the 1830s. These lines, together with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the North Union Railway, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway amalgamated their operations in 1846 to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). North of Carlisle, the Caledonian Railway remained independent and opened its main line to Beattock in September 1847, to Edinburgh in February 1848 and to Glasgow in November 1849. One important section, the North Staffordshire Railway, which opened in 1848 from Macclesfield (connecting with the LNWR from Manchester) via Stoke-on-Trent to Norton Bridge and Colwich, also remained independent until the forced amalgamations of 1923.

Partly to appease the concerns and opposition of landowners along the route, in places some railway lines were built so that they avoided large estates and rural towns, and to reduce construction costs the railways followed natural contours, resulting in many curves and bends. The WCML also passes through some of the more hilly areas of the British mainland, such as the Chilterns (Tring cutting), the Watford Gap and Northampton uplands followed by the Trent Valley, the mountains of Cumbria with a summit at Shap, and Beattock Summit in the Leadhills area of southern Lanarkshire. This legacy of gradients and curves, and the fact that it was never originally conceived as a single trunk route, means the WCML has always been far from ideal as a long-distance main line, leading to lower maximum speeds compared to the East Coast Main Line (ECML) route, the other major main line from London to Scotland.

20th century

The route to Scotland was marketed by the LNWR as 'The Premier Line' but operations were complicated by incompatible braking systems, since the LNWR used the vacuum brake and the Caledonian used the Westinghouse air brake. Through trains were therefore of necessity composed of dual-braked and jointly-owned "West Coast Joint Stock" (so named). Following amalgamation on 1 January 1923, it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and the vacuum brake quickly became standard. In 1947, following nationalisation, it came under control of British Railways' London Midland and Scottish Regions, when the term "West Coast Main Line" officially came into use. However, it is something of a misnomer given that the line only physically runs along the west coast on a brief section overlooking Morecambe Bay between Lancaster and Carnforth for barely half a mile.

The WCML network directly connects Britain's three largest cities, London, Birmingham and Glasgow; and under the post-1923 LMS, and again after WW2 under British Railways, before there was significant airline competition for passengers, attempts were made to minimise end-to-end journey times for a small number of powerful lightweight trains that could be marketed as glamorous premium crack expresses, especially between London and Glasgow, such as the 1937-39 Coronation Scot which made the journey in 6 hours 30 minutes. War-ravaged British Railways in the 1950s could not match this, but did achieve a London-Glasgow timing of 7 hours 15 minutes in the 1959-60 timetable by strictly limiting the number of coaches to eight and not stopping between London and Carlisle.^[7]

In recent decades, the principal solution to the problem of the WCML's curvaceous line of route has been the adoption of tilting trains, formerly British Rail's ill-fated APT, and latterly the Class 390 Pendolino trains constructed by Alstom and introduced by Virgin in 2003. A 'conventional' attempt to raise line speeds as part of the InterCity 250 upgrade in the 1990s would have relaxed maximum cant levels on curves and seen some track realignments; this scheme faltered for lack of funding in the economic climate of the time.

The WCML is not a single railway; rather it can be thought of as a network of routes which diverge and rejoin the central core between London and Glasgow. The route from Rugby to Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stafford was the original main line until the shorter line was built in 1847 via the Trent Valley. South of Rugby there is a loop that serves Northampton, and there is also a branch north of Crewe to Liverpool which is notable since Weaver Junction on this branch is the oldest flyover-type junction in use. Among the other diversions are loops that branch off to serve Manchester, one from Colwich Junction in the Trent Valley south of Stafford via Stoke-on-Trent, one north of Stafford also via Stoke-on-Trent, and one via Crewe and Wilmslow. A further branch at Carstairs links Edinburgh to the WCML, providing a direct connection between the WCML and the East Coast Main Line.

Modernisation by British Rail

A Class 87 with a train of Mark 3 coaches on the WCML in Warwickshire

The line was modernised and electrified in stages between 1959 and 1974 - initial electrification was in 1959 between Crewe and Manchester and Liverpool, with the rest of the southern section of the line following in stages to 1967;^[8] the line from Weaver Junction (where the route to Liverpool diverges) to Glasgow was electrified in 1974.^[9] In this era, under a policy of "no diesels under the wires", engines were changed (from steam, and later from diesel, to electric traction) at busy change-over stations on the edge of the electrified area, like Birmingham New Street, Crewe and Preston. This policy was designed to maximise exploitation of the electrification infrastructure, but it presupposed that all trains were locomotive-hauled and thus later fell victim to a trend towards fixed-formation trains, notably the HST 125 diesel sets used from the late 1970s onwards on some CrossCountry services running partly on sections of the WCML.

Once electrification was complete between London, the West Midlands and the North-West, a new set of high-speed long-distance services was introduced in 1966, launching British Rail's highly successful "Inter-City" brand (the hyphen was later dropped) and offering such unprecedented journey times as London to Manchester in 2 hours 30 minutes. A significant feature was that these fast trains were not just the occasional crack express but a regular-interval service throughout the day: half-hourly to Birmingham, hourly to Manchester, and so on. These came to be seen as BR's flagship passenger product, immediately restoring the WCML to its premier position after a long period in the doldrums.

Along with electrification came the gradual introduction of modern, air-conditioned coaches such as the Mark 2 and, following the northern electrification scheme's completion in 1974, the fully integral Mark 3 design. These vehicles remained the mainstay of the WCML's express services until the early 2000s.

The modernisation also saw the demolition and redevelopment of several of the key stations on the line: BR was keen to symbolise the coming of the "electric age" by replacing the Victorian-era buildings with new structures built from glass and concrete. Notable examples were Birmingham New Street, Stafford, Coventry and London Euston. To enable the latter, the famous Doric Arch portal into the original Philip Hardwick-designed terminus was demolished in 1962 amid much public outcry. Recently, plans have been mooted to completely rebuild both New Street and Euston stations.

Electrification of the Edinburgh branch was carried out in the late 1980s as part of the ECML electrification project. The Preston-Manchester (via Bolton) and Crewe-Holyhead branches remain unelectrified.

Modernisation culminated in the adoption of air brakes for locomotive-hauled express trains. Also under British Rail, freight train operations and practices changed drastically resulting in the virtual elimination of the traditional slow-moving and generally unbraked pick-up goods train and the introduction of faster-moving point-to-point trainload operations using air-braked vehicles.

The running of express passenger services on the WCML came under the Inter-City brand in the late 1960s, which before privatisation in 1996 was known as "InterCity West Coast". "InterCity CrossCountry", using the West Midlands sections of the WCML, was also greatly developed with the introduction of HST units transferred from the ECML after the latter's electrification.

Modernisation brought great improvements, not least in speed and frequency, to many WCML services but there have been some losses over the years. Locations and lines served by through trains or through coaches from London in 1947 but no longer so served include: Windermere; Barrow-in-Furness, Whitehaven and Workington; Huddersfield and Halifax (via Stockport); Blackpool; Colne (via Stockport); Morecambe and Heysham; Southport (via Edge Hill); and Stranraer Harbour. Notable also is the loss of through service from Liverpool to Scotland.

Modernisation by Network Rail

A Virgin Pendolino and EWS Class 66 freight train on the WCML

By the dawn of the 1990s, it was clear that further modernisation was required. Initially, this took the form of the InterCity 250 project which would have seen the introduction of new rolling stock derived from that developed for the East Coast electrification introduced alongside a wholesale refurbishment of the WCML itself. But then the privatisation of BR intervened, which saw Virgin Trains win the franchise in 1996 for the running of long distance express services on the line. The bold modernisation plan unveiled by Virgin and the new infrastructure owner Railtrack would see the upgrade and renewal of the line to allow the use of tilting Pendolino trains with a maximum line speed of 140 mph (225 km/h), in place of the previous maximum of 110 mph (177 km/h). Railtrack estimated that this upgrade would cost £2bn, be ready by 2005, and cut journey times London to Birmingham to 1hr (since September 2004, 1hr 21mins) and 1hr 45mins London to Manchester.

However, Railtrack had not assessed the technical viability of moving block signalling prior to promising the speed increase to Virgin and the Government. No one had attempted to implement moving block on a line as complex as the WCML anywhere in the world, and it soon became apparent to engineers that the technology was not mature enough to be used on the line. The bankruptcy of Railtrack in 2001 and its replacement by Network Rail following the Hatfield crash brought a reappraisal of the plans whilst the original cost of the upgrade soared. Despite early fears that cost overruns on the project would push the final price tag to £13bn, reappraisal of the plans has brought the cost down to between £8bn and £10bn, ready by 2008 with a maximum speed for tilting trains of a more modest 125 mph (201 km/h). Services from Liverpool to the South West and the South Coast were withdrawn by Virgin in September 2003.

The first phase of the upgrade, south of Manchester, opened on 27 September 2004 with London to Birmingham journey times of 1hr 21mins and London to Manchester 2 hours 6 minutes. The final phase of introducing 125 mph (201 km/h) running along most of the entire length of the line was announced as opening on 12 December 2005, bringing the fastest journey from London to Glasgow to 4 hours 25 mins (down from 5hrs 10mins)^[10] although considerable work such as the quadrupling of the track in the Trent Valley, upgrading the slow lines, the second phase of remodelling Nuneaton, and the remodelling of Stafford, Rugby, Milton Keynes and Coventry stations were the last stages of the project to be completed in late 2008. The upgrading of the Crewe to Manchester line via Wilmslow was completed in Summer 2006.

In September 2006, a new speed record was set on the WCML — a Pendolino train completed the 401-mile (645 km) Glasgow Central — London Euston run in a record 3 hours 55 minutes, beating the APT's record of 4 hours 15 minutes, although the APT still holds the overall record on the northbound run.

December 2008 saw the final completion of the decade-long modernisation project.^[11] This allowed the introduction of Virgin's VHF (Very High Frequency) timetable to be progressively introduced through early 2009, the highlights of which are a three-trains-per-hour service to both Birmingham and Manchester during off-peak periods, and nearly all Anglo-Scottish timings brought under the 4hrs 30min barrier — with one service (calling only at Preston) achieving a London-Glasgow time of 4hrs 10mins.

Infrastructure

Track

The complete route has been cleared for W10 loading gauge freight traffic, allowing use of higher 9 ft 6 in (2,896 mm) hi-cube shipping containers.^[12][13]

Rolling stock

The majority of stock used on the West Coast Main Line is new-build, part of Virgin's initial franchise agreement having been a commitment to introduce a brand-new fleet of tilting Class 390 "Pendolino" trains for long-distance high-speed WCML services. The 53-strong Pendolino fleet, plus three tilting SuperVoyager diesel sets, were bought for use on these InterCity services. One Pendolino was written off in 2007 following the Grayrigg derailment. After the 2007 franchise "shake-up" in the Midlands, more SuperVoyagers were transferred to Virgin West Coast, instead of going to the new CrossCountry franchise. The SuperVoyagers are used on London-Chester and Holyhead services because the Chester/North Wales line is not electrified, so they run "under the wires" between London and Crewe. SuperVoyagers are also used on Virgin's Birmingham-Scotland services, even though this route is entirely electrified.

By 2012, the WCML Pendolino fleet will be strengthened by the addition of two coaches to 31 of the 52 existing sets, thus turning them into 11-car trains. Four brand new 11-car sets are also part of this order, one of which will replace the set lost in the Grayrigg derailment. Although the new stock has been supplied in Virgin livery, it is as yet unclear if they will enter traffic before the InterCity West Coast franchise is re-let in 2012. One unit is presently earmarked for a 9-month trial on the East Coast Main Line in 2010.

Previous franchisees Central Trains and Silverlink (operating local and regional services partly over sections of the WCML) were given 30 new "Desiros", originally ordered for services in the south-east. Following Govia's successful bid for the West Midlands franchise in 2007, another 37 Desiros were ordered to replace its ageing fleet of 321s.

The older BR-vintage locomotive-hauled passenger rolling stock still has a limited role on the WCML, with the overnight Caledonian Sleeper services between London Euston and Scotland using Mark 3 and Mark 2 coaches. Virgin has also retained and refurbished one of the original Mark 3 rakes with a Driving Van Trailer and a Class 90 locomotive as a standby set to cover for Pendolino breakdowns and for one Friday-only peak-time London-Preston service.

Class	Image	Type	Cars per set	Top speed		Number	Operator	Routes	Built
				mph	km/h
Class 390 Pendolino		EMU	9 (31 soon to be 11)	140	225	52	Virgin Trains	All services from London Euston to; Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow	2001–2004
Class 221 SuperVoyager		DEMU	4/5	125	200	3 4 car 18 5 car	Virgin Trains	All services from London Euston to: North Wales, Chester. All services from Birmingham to Scotland	2000–2002
Class 90		Electric locomotive	1	110	180	1	Virgin Trains Hired from DB Schenker	Relief train and Friday 18:46 London Euston to Preston service.	1987-90
Mark 2 Coach		Lounge Car Seated Sleeper	6	100	161	22	First ScotRail	All Caledonian Sleeper services from London Euston to Scottish destinations	1971 - 1974
Mark 3 Coach		Passenger Coach	10	125	200	10	Virgin Trains	Relief train and Friday 18:46 London Euston to Preston service.	1975 - 1986 (refurbished 2009)
		Sleeping car	10-12	125	200	53	First ScotRail	All Caledonian Sleeper services from London Euston to Scottish destinations	1980 - 1982
		DVT	1	125	200	1	Virgin Trains	Relief train and Friday 18:46 London Euston to Preston service.	1988 (refurbished 2009)
Class 321/4		EMU	4	100	160	7	London Midland	Birmingham - Northampton, Birmingham International - Walsall, London - Milton Keynes/Northampton Watford Junction - St. Albans Abbey	1989 - 1990
Class 350/1 Desiro		EMU	4	100	160	30	London Midland	London Euston to Tring, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Birmingham Birmingham to Liverpool.	2004–2005
Class 350/2 Desiro		EMU	4	100	160	37	London Midland	London Euston to Tring, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Birmingham Birmingham to Liverpool.	2008–2009
Class 185 Desiro		DMU	3	100	160	51	First TransPennine Express	TransPennine North West	2006
Class 377 Electrostar		EMU	4	100	160		Southern	Milton Keynes to East Croydon	2002–2009

Operators

Virgin Trains

The current principal train operating company on the West Coast Main Line is Virgin Trains, which runs the majority of long-distance services on the route. Virgin operates 9 trains per hour from London Euston, with three trains per hour to each of Birmingham and Manchester, one train per hour to each of Chester and Liverpool, 13 trains per day to Glasgow, and 6 trains per day to Holyhead. There is also one train in each direction to Wrexham. Additional terminating services run from London to Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.

In addition, Virgin operates one train per hour from Birmingham New Street to either Glasgow or Edinburgh (alternating each hour).^[14][15]

Average Journey Times ^[16]

London Midland

London Midland provides commuter and some long-distance services on the route, most of which terminate at London Euston. They are all operated under the "Express" brand. There is one train every 30 mins to Northampton, calling at the majority of stations en-route, one of these per hour being extended to Birmingham. This London-Birmingham service is roughly one hour slower, end to end, than the Virgin Trains service.

London Midland also operates an hourly service from London to Crewe, which serves Watford, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Rugby, Nuneaton, Atherstone, Tamworth, Lichfield, Rugeley, Stafford, Stone, Stoke on Trent, Alsager and Crewe. This service was introduced in 2008 to coincide with the withdrawal of the similar Virgin Trains service.

A service to Tring is offered every 20 minutes from Euston, calling at Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey, Watford Junction, Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted, with an hourly extension to Milton Keynes, which additionally calls at Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard and Bletchley.

During peak periods London Midland offers "The Watford Shuttle", which operates between Euston, Harrow and Wealdstone, Bushey, and Watford Junction. One service in each direction is extended to Tring and Milton Keynes.

London Midland also operates an hourly stopping train on the Marston Vale Line as well as a 45-minute service on the St Albans Branch Line. These are both local branches off the WCML.

After the Central Trains franchise was revised, London Midland took over services running on the WCML between Birmingham and Liverpool.

First Transpennine Express

As part of its North West route, First Transpennine Express provides services along the WCML between Preston and Glasgow/Edinburgh (alternating serving each roughly every 2 hours) as part of its Manchester Airport to Scotland service. Also as part of its North West route, services run from Preston and occasionally Manchester to branches off the WMCL encompassing Blackpool North, Windermere and Barrow-in-Furness.

Current developments

Felixstowe and Nuneaton freight capacity scheme

A number of items of work are proposed to accommodate additional freight traffic between the Haven ports and the Midlands including track dualling and the 'Nuneaton North Chord' which will simplyify access for some trains between the Birmingham to Peterborough Line and the WCML.

Proposed development

Increased line speed

Virgin Trains put forward plans in 2007 to increase the line speed in places on the WCML — particularly along sections of the Trent Valley Line between Stafford and Rugby from 125 to 135 mph (200 to 218 km/h) after the quadrupling of track had been completed. This would permit faster services and possibly allow additional train paths. 135 mph was claimed to be achievable by Pendolino trains while using existing lineside signalling without the need for cab signalling via the use of the TASS system (Tilt Authorisation and Speed Supervision) to prevent overspeeding. In practice regulations introduced by the HMRI (now ORR) at the time of the ECML high speed test runs in 1991 are still in force prohibiting this. Network Rail were aware of Virgin Train's aspirations^[17], however on the 4th November 2009 Chris Mole MP (the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport) announced that there were no plans for this to happen and thus for the foreseeable future the maximum speed will remain at 125 mph^[18].

In promoting this proposal, Virgin Trains reported that passenger numbers on Virgin West Coast increased from 13.6 million in 1997/98 to 18.7 million in 2005/6, while numbers on CrossCountry grew from 12.6 million to 20.4 million over the same period.

Accidents

See also: List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom

• Grayrigg derailment (at Lambrigg Crossovers, south of Grayrigg) - 23 February 2007; 1 killed
• Tebay rail accident - 15 February 2004; 4 workers killed (no public involvement)
• Norton Bridge rail crash - 16 October 2003; 1 injured
• Winsford rail crash - 23 June 1999; 31 injured
• Watford rail crash - 8 August 1996; 1 killed, 69 injured
• Stafford rail crash (1996) - 8 March 1996; 1 killed, 22 injured
• Newton rail crash - 21 July 1991; 4 killed; 22 injured
• Stafford rail crash (1990) - 4 August 1990; 1 killed, 35 injured
• Colwich rail crash - 19 September 1986; 1 killed 60 injured
• Wembley Central rail crash - 11 October 1984; 3 killed, 18 injured
• Nuneaton rail crash - 6 June 1975; 6 killed 67 injured
• Watford Junction rail crash - 1975; 1 killed, 11 injured
• Hixon - 6 January 1968; 11 killed, 27 injured
• Stechford rail crash - 28 February 1967; 9 killed, 16 injured
• Cheadle Hulme - 28 May 1964; 3 killed
• Coppenhall Junction - 26 December 1962; 18 killed, 34 injured
• Harrow and Wealdstone - 8 October 1952; 112 killed, 340 injured — worst accident in England and London.
• Weedon - 21 September 1951; 15 killed, 36 injured
• Lambrigg Crossing signal box between Grayrigg and Oxenholme - 18 May 1947 (express hit light engine through driver missing a signal while looking in his food box); 4 in hospital, 34 minor injuries^[19]
• Lichfield - 1 January 1946; 20 killed, 21 injured.
• Bourne End rail crash - 30 September 1945; 43 killed, 64 injured
• Winwick Junction - 28 September 1934; 12 killed
• Quintinshill rail crash - 22 May 1915; 227 killed, 246 injured. - worst ever accident in the United Kingdom.
• Wigan North Western railway station - 1 August 1873; 13 killed, 30 major injuries.

The route in detail

Network Rail, successor from 2001 to Railtrack plc, in its business plan published in April 2006,^[20] has divided the national network into 26 'Routes' for planning, maintenance and operational purposes.^[21] Route 18 is named as 'that part of the West Coast Main Line that runs between London Euston and Carstairs Junction' although it also includes several branch lines that had not previously been considered part of the WCML.^[22] The northern terminal sections of the WCML are reached by Routes 26 (to Motherwell and Glasgow) and 24 (to Edinburgh). This therefore differs from the "classic" definition of the WCML as the direct route from London Euston to Glasgow Central.

The cities and towns served by the WCML are listed in the tables below. Stations on loops and branches are marked **. Those stations in italics are not served by main-line services run by Virgin Trains but only by local trains. Between Euston and Watford Junction the WCML is largely but not exactly paralleled by the operationally independent Watford DC Line with 17 intermediate stations, including three with additional platforms on the WCML.

The final table retraces the route specifically to indicate the many loops, branches, junctions and interchange stations on Route 18, which is the core of the WCML, with the new 'Route' names for connecting lines.

The North Wales Coast Line from Crewe to Holyhead and the line from Manchester to Preston are not electrified. Services from London to Holyhead and from Manchester to Scotland are mostly operated either by Super Voyager tilting diesel trains or, in the case of one of the Holyhead services, by a Pendolino set hauled from Crewe by a Class 57/3 diesel locomotive.

London to Glasgow and Edinburgh (Network Rail Route 18)

The approximate route of the WCML shown within the UK, with major destinations, loops and branches shown.

A Map of Virgin (red) and London Midland (green) Express Services on the WCML showing the current service pattern each hour.

Branches and loops

The WCML is noted for the diversity of branches served from the London to Edinburgh and Glasgow main line. The following map deals with the very complex network of lines in the West Midlands that link the old route via Birmingham with the new WCML route via the Trent Valley (i.e. 1830s versus 1840s):

Map of the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford line and other local routes.

In the following tables, related to the WCML branches, only the Intercity stations are recorded:

Rugby-Birmingham-Wolverhampton-Stafford (Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line) (Network Rail Route 17)

Crewe-Holyhead (North Wales Coast Line) (Network Rail Route 22)

Crewe-Manchester-Preston (Network Rail Route 20)

Network Rail Route 18 (WCML) - Branches and junctions

The length of the WCML's main core section is nominally quoted as being 401.25 miles (645.7 km). The basis of this measurement is taken as being the distance between the midpoint of Platform 18 of London Euston to that of Platform 1 of Glasgow Central, and has historically been the distance used in official calculations during speed record attempts.

See also

• East Coast Main Line
• Rail transport in the United Kingdom

References

• Buck, Martin. and Rawlinson, Mark (2000). Line By Line: The West Coast Main Line, London Euston to Glasgow Central. Swindon: Freightmaster Publishing. ISBN 0953754006

External links

• Rail Industry www page which monitors the progress of the project
• Department of Transport - 2006 - West Coast Main Line - Update Report
• Network Rail Business Plans and Reports
• British Railways in 1960, Euston to Crewe
• British Railways in 1960, Crewe to Carlisle
• British Railways in 1960, Carlisle to Carstairs
• British Railways in 1960, Carstairs to Glasgow
• London to Glasgow in five minutes - BBC video, December 2008

Railway lines in London Primary High Speed 1 · East Coast Main Line · Great Eastern Main Line · Great Western Main Line · Midland Main Line · West Coast Main Line Secondary Bexleyheath Line · Brighton Main Line · Caterham Line · Chatham Main Line · Chiltern Main Line · Crossrail (under construction) · Dartford Loop Line · Hertford Loop Line · Lea Valley Lines · London to Aylesbury Line · London, Tilbury and Southend Line · North Kent Line · Oxted Line · Shepperton Branch Line · South Eastern Main Line · South Western Main Line · Sutton & Mole Valley Lines · Tattenham Corner Line · Thameslink · Watford DC Line · Waterloo to Reading Line · West Anglia Main Line Local Bromley North Line · Catford Loop Line · Chessington Branch Line · Chingford Branch Line · Dudding Hill Line · East London Line · Epsom Downs Branch · Gospel Oak to Barking Line · Greenford Branch Line · Greenwich Line · Nunhead to Lewisham Link · Hayes Line · Hounslow Loop Line · Kingston Loop Line · Mid-Kent Line · New North Main Line · North London Line · Northern City Line · Romford to Upminster Line · South London Line · West London Line London Transport portal

Railway lines in the North West Primary West Coast Main Line Local Blackpool Branch Lines · Borderlands Line · Buxton Line · Caldervale Line · Chester to Manchester Line · Crewe-Derby Line · Crewe-Manchester Line · Cumbrian Coast Line · East Lancashire Line · Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line · Furness Line · Glossop Line · Hope Valley Line · Huddersfield Line · Kirkby Branch Line · Leeds to Morecambe Line · Liverpool to Manchester Lines · Liverpool to Wigan Line · Manchester to Preston Line · Manchester to Southport Line · Mid-Cheshire Line · Morecambe Branch Line · Newcastle and Carlisle Railway · Northern Line (Merseyrail) · Ormskirk Branch Line · Ribble Valley Line · Settle-Carlisle Line · Stafford-Manchester Line · Stockport to Stalybridge Line · Styal Line · Windermere Branch Line · Wirral Line

Railway lines in the South East Primary High Speed 1 · Great Western Main Line · West Coast Main Line Secondary Bexleyheath Line · Brighton Main Line · Caterham Line · Chatham Main Line · Chiltern Main Line · Dartford Loop Line · Epsom Downs Branch · London to Aylesbury Line · North Kent Line · Oxted Line · Shepperton Branch Line · South Eastern Main Line · South Western Main Line · Sutton & Mole Valley Lines · Tattenham Corner Line · Thameslink · Waterloo to Reading Line Local Alton Line · Arun Valley Line · Ascot to Guildford line · Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line · Cherwell Valley Line · Cotswold Line · East Coastway Line · Eastleigh to Fareham line · Eastleigh to Romsey Line · Hampton Court Branch Line · Hastings Line · Henley Branch Line · Hundred of Hoo Railway · Island Line, Isle of Wight · Kent Coast Line · Lymington Branch Line · Maidstone East Line · Marlow Branch Line · Marshlink Line · Marston Vale Line · Medway Valley Line · New Guildford Line · North Downs Line · Oxford to Bicester Line · Portsmouth Direct Line · Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line · Reading to Plymouth Line · Redhill to Tonbridge Line · Sheerness Line · Slough to Windsor & Eton Line · Staines to Weybridge Line · Staines to Windsor Line · Wessex Main Line · West Coastway Line · West of England Main Line

Railway lines in the West Midlands Primary Cross Country Route · West Coast Main Line Secondary Chiltern Main Line Local Birmingham to Peterborough Line · Birmingham to Stratford Line · Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line · Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line · Chase Line · Cotswold Line · Coventry to Leamington Line · Coventry to Nuneaton Line · Crewe-Derby Line · Cross-City Line · Leamington to Stratford Line · Northampton Loop Line · Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line · Shrewsbury to Chester Line · Stafford to Manchester Line · Stourbridge Town Branch Line · Walsall to Wolverhampton Line · Welsh Marches Line · Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line

Transport in Buckinghamshire Road Motorways M1 · M4 · M25 · M40 A-Roads A4 · A40 · A41 · A404 · A412 · A413 · A418 · A421 · A422 · A428 · A4010 · A4012 · A4146 · A4155 · A5 · A508 · A509 · A5130 Roman roads Akeman Street · Watling Street Notable Junctions Handy Cross roundabout · Denham Roundabout · Magic Roundabout (High Wycombe) Motorway service stations Beaconsfield · Newport Pagnell Rail Main lines West Coast Main Line · Chiltern Main Line · Great Western Main Line Other lines Marston Vale Line · London to Aylesbury Line · Metropolitan line · Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line · Marlow Branch Line Closed lines Varsity Line · Great Central Main Line · Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line · Brill Tramway · Wycombe Railway · Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway · Cheddington to Aylesbury Line · Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway · Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line · Bedford to Northampton Line Other Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway · East West Rail Link · Buckinghamshire Railway Centre · Seer Green rail crash · List of railway stations Air Denham Aerodrome · Turweston Aerodrome · Silverstone Heliport · Wycombe Air Park · RAF Bases Waterways Rivers River Thames · River Great Ouse Canals Grand Union Canal · Branches: Slough Arm · Wendover Arm · Aylesbury Arm Footpaths National Trails Thames Path · The Ridgeway Long-distance footpaths Icknield Way (path) · Chiltern Way · Greater Ridgeway · Midshires Way · Ouse Valley Way · Shakespeare's Way · Swan's Way Cycle Paths Route 4 · Route 6 · Route 50 · Route 51 · Route 57 · Route 61 · Route 70 Related articles Transport in Milton Keynes Road Milton Keynes grid road system · A421 · A422 · A4146 · A5 · A509 · A5130 · H6 Childs Way · H10 Bletcham Way · V6 Grafton Street · V8 Marlborough Street Rail Bletchley railway station · Bletchley TMD · Bow Brickhill railway station · East West Rail Link · Fenny Stratford railway station · Marston Vale Line · Milton Keynes Central railway station · Varsity Line · West Coast Main Line · Woburn Sands railway station · Wolverton railway station · Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line Bus Buses in Milton Keynes · Arriva Shires & Essex · Milton Keynes Coachway · MK Metro · Stagecoach in Northants · United Counties Omnibus Other transport Cosgrove aqueduct · Grand Union Canal · Milton Keynes redway system · Watling Street · Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway