| Crewe to Manchester Line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Locale | Stockport Crewe Cheshire Greater Manchester North West England |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
The Crewe to Manchester Line is a railway line in north west England, running from Crewe north east to Manchester.
The line serves the following places: Crewe; Sandbach; Holmes Chapel; Goostrey; Chelford; Alderley Edge; Wilmslow; Cheadle Hulme; Stockport and Manchester.
The line was built by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway Company, which diverted to Crewe in 1841 and merged in 1846 with others to form the London and North Western Railway Company, which in turn became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.
The line from Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly (including the Styal Line) was the first section of the West Coast Main Line to be electrified, in 1959. The line was recently upgraded as part of the West Coast Main Line upgrade. A full service resumed on the line in March 2007.
The line is joined at Cheadle Hulme by the WCML line from London via Stoke-on-Trent and at Stockport by the Mid-Cheshire Line from Chester and by the Hope Valley Line from Sheffield joined with the Manchester to Buxton Line.
In April 2006, Network Rail organised its maintenance and train control operations into "26 Routes" and the Crewe to Manchester line was included in Route 20 (North West Urban).
Services on the line are provided by Northern Rail, which operates trains from Crewe via Wilmslow and the Styal Line to Manchester Airport and to Manchester via Stockport. Arriva Trains Wales operate a through express service from Milford Haven and Cardiff via the Welsh Marches Line to Manchester. Virgin Trains operate West Coast Main Line services from London Euston to Manchester.
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