Chester–Manchester line


The Chester–Manchester line is one of two lines which run between the cities of Chester and Manchester in North West England. It is the faster of the two lines, and runs via and Warrington Bank Quay. The other line is the Mid-Cheshire line.
There are two trains per hour in each direction from Chester to Manchester. One runs to Manchester Victoria and continuing to Leeds and the other runs to Manchester Picadilly. A Transport for Wales service also runs from Chester to Liverpool via Frodsham and Runcorn.

Description

Both routes to Manchester share the Chester to Crewe line for a short distance to Brook Lane Junction where the Manchester lines diverge to Mickle Trafford at which point the southern route of the Cheshire Lines Committee diverges south-easterly to Mouldsworth whilst the considerably older route built by the London and North Western Railway and run jointly with the Great Western Railway continues to Helsby, Frodsham and the 1983 station at Runcorn East. It then passes through the Sutton Tunnel and heads northwards to cross and then run alongside the West Coast Main Line, eventually joining it at Acton Grange Junction en route to.
From Warrington the route follows the original 1837 Grand Junction Railway northwards through Winwick Junction to Earlestown where it joins George Stephenson's original Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which was the world's first inter-city railway, having opened in 1830. From here this venerable route is via Newton-le-Willows, and Eccles and then either via the earlier route to Manchester Victoria station or, as at present, via Ordsall Lane and Castlefield junctions, joining the Manchester–Preston line and on to Deansgate, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly station at platforms 13 & 14.

Services

operate an hourly service throughout between Manchester Piccadilly and Chester and onwards calling at all stations to Llandudno on the North Wales Coast Line. Certain services run to or from instead of Llandudno on weekdays to connect with the Irish ferries.
Class 175 units are primarily used for the TfW services between Manchester and North Wales, although Class 158 units can appear; Class 142 Pacer and Class 156 Sprinter units are used on the infrequent service between Liverpool/Warrington B.Q. and Ellesmere Port which share the line between Warrington and Helsby.
Since May 2019, an hourly Northern Trains train runs Chester–Warrington Bank Quay–Manchester Victoria–Bradford–Leeds and an hourly TfW train runs from Chester-Helsby-Frodsham-Runcorn-Liverpool South Parkway-Liverpool Lime Street.
It is also used by the Freightliner Group for access to the rail-served maritime freight terminal at Ellesmere Port.

Future developments