Liverpool – Earlestown – Manchester railway line

Liverpool Lime Street– Manchester Victoria / Manchester Piccadilly
Route length:	51.5 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Dual track :	continuous
Legend Liverpool Lime Street since 1836 Edge Hill Tunnel Liverpool Crown Street 1830-1836 Crown Street Tunnel Edge Hill to Manchester via Warrington to the port of Liverpool Wavertree Technology Park Broad Green from the port of Liverpool Roby Huyton to Wigan and the West Coast Main Line Whiston Rainhill Lea Green Wigan-Garston-Liverpool from Wigan St Helens Junction WCML to London Euston Earlestown WCML from London Euston Newton-le-Willows WCML Birmingham – Edinburgh from and to Edinburgh / Glasgow Golborne Junction Glazebrook – Wigan to Bolton Glazebury Astley Patricroft to Wigan from Bolton Eccles Weaste 1830-1942 Seedley 1830-1956 Cross Lane 1830-1949 from Edinburgh / Glasgow from Liverpool via Warrington / from Edinburgh / Glasgow Salford Ordsall Lane 1830-1957 to Manchester Liverpool Road 1830–1844 Manchester Deansgate Manchester Oxford Road to Manchester Exchange 1884–1969 Manchester Victoria to Oldham , Caldervale Line to Leeds / Blackpool North Manchester Piccadilly West Coast Main Line and to Glossop , Sheffield Huddersfield Line to York , Leeds and to Manchester Airport

The Liverpool – Earlestown – Manchester line is one of the two rail links between the English cities of Liverpool and Manchester . Although it was the first railway line with a regular timetable as the main line of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway , it has lost its importance in favor of the south, over Warrington running route . The route is owned by Network Rail , operations are the responsibility of Northern and, on individual sections, Transport for Wales / Trafnidiaeth Cymru , and it is also used by other companies for operational and alternative trips.

history

→ Main article : Liverpool and Manchester Railway

From Crown Street to Liverpool Road

The line was opened in 1830 by George Stephenson's Liverpool and Manchester Railway . It was the first railway line in Europe with a regular timetable and the Rocket caused a sensation as the fastest steam locomotive in the world across national borders. In addition, it was double-tracked right from the start. It ran from what was then Liverpool Road station in Manchester via the current route via Earlestown to Crown Street station in Liverpool. However, this terminus was far outside the city center, which is why a tunnel was built from Edge Hill station to the Lime Street station that now exists today .

From Lime Street to Victoria

In 1836 the tunnel was completed, Lime Street opened and Crown Street station closed. The train station Edgehill was moved a few meters. Since the tunnel had a considerable incline towards Lime Street, the locomotives were disconnected at Edge Hill and the cars rolled down to Lime Street. In the opposite direction, they were pulled up by a rope.

Exterior view of Liverpool Road Railway Station in Manchester in 2008

In 1842, the construction of a short link from the (now disused) Salford LMR station Orsdall Lane to Victoria Station of the Manchester and Leeds Railway began, which was completed in 1844. In 1837 the line between Birmingham Curzon Street station and Earlestown was opened, which allowed trains to run from Liverpool Road to Birmingham or even London Euston . On May 4, 1844, Liverpool Road station was closed to passenger traffic and the trains were all run to Victoria. A freight yard on Liverpool Road was not closed until 1975. The entrance building is still fully preserved today, the train station is part of the Museum of Science and Industry .

In 1837, the junction of the Grand Junction Railway from Earlestown to Birmingham was expanded into a triangle of tracks, so that Earlestown station has a total of six platforms on all sides of the triangle, so that trains in all directions can stop at it.

In 1845 the LMR became part of the Grand Junction Railway and again a year later it became part of the London and North Western Railway .

Manchester Exchange

In 1884, the LNWR built Exchange Street station in Manchester immediately south of Victoria Station. In addition to the existing Central , Piccadilly and Victoria stations, Manchester received a fourth central station.

This construction allowed the LNWR to leave the congested Victoria station, which it had shared with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for forty years , and operate its own station in Manchester. The five-track station was a mixture of terminus and through station, so that the LNWR could also allow trains from eastern England to enter. The Great Western Railway operated at times direct trains to London Euston. The trains from Liverpool also entered the Exchange station.

In 1929, the platform edge of platform 3 was connected to that of platform 11 at Victoria station, creating the longest platform in Europe with a length of 683 meters. Three trains could be dispatched at the same time.

The disused station buildings of the Weaste , Seedley and Cross Lane stations , which were abandoned between Eccles and Manchester between 1942 and 1956 , all had to give way to the construction of the M602 motorway.

Windsor Link and the loss of importance of Manchester Victoria

In 1988, the Windsor Link opened a new connection between Salford Central and Manchester Deansgate stations . It enabled faster routing of trains from northern England and Scotland to Manchester, which had previously used the WCML to Newton-le-Willos and then the LMR route to Manchester, in order to then enter Victoria station. As a result of the new connection, these trains, both those of the regional and those of the long-distance traffic, were led to Piccadilly, which on the one hand led to an upswing for the stations Deansgate, Oxford Road and Piccadilly, but also to a massive loss of importance for Victoria and this station fell into oblivion. In preparation for the Commonwealth Games 2002 , Piccadilly was redeveloped, but Victoria was left behind, which aroused public resentment. However, the expansion of the Manchester Metrolink and plans for redevelopment have slowed the loss of importance for Victoria. In the future, regional trains from the north of England will return to Victoria instead of the chronically congested Piccadilly station.

traffic

The current importance of the route has decreased significantly, it is only operated as a regional transport line. It has lost its function as the main line to the more southerly route, which saves time despite its greater length.

The operational operations are carried out by two companies:

Northern

business

Northern operates several pairs of trains as the largest user of the route. An accelerated train - roughly equivalent to a regional express - runs every hour on the Liverpool Lime Street – Manchester Piccadilly route, with stops at Wavertree Technology Park, St Helens Junction, Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Oxford Road . This train will be extended beyond Piccadilly to Manchester Airport .

There is also an hourly regional train between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria with stops at all stations, which after a short stop in Victoria is connected via Ashton-under-Lyne to Stalybridge .

The Northern also operates trains between Lime Street and Warrington Bank Quay , which use the route to Manchester as far as Earlestown , and then branch off onto the West Coast Main Line .

Rolling stock

Northern uses rolling stock of types 142 , 150 or 156 for the Liverpool – Earlestown – Manchester route .

Transport for Wales / Trafnidiaeth Cymru

The Transport for Wales / Trafnidiaeth Cymru uses the Piccadilly – Earlestown section every hour for the Manchester – Llandudno and Manchester – Chester routes . These trains are usually carried out with rolling stock of type 175 .

Other connections

The line via Earlestown is used by East Midlands Trains and TransPennine Express for empty and transfer trips and as an alternative route when the main route via Warrington is closed.

future

electrification

The British Department for Transport had announced that the route with a 25 kV 50 Hz in June 2009 AC - overhead line to be electrified by, 2013. The cost is around £ 100 million . The journey time is to be reduced from 45 minutes to 30 minutes and the importance of rail traffic is to be strengthened, also to relieve the southern connection.

Northern acquired class 319 trains from Thameslink for this purpose , renovated them and used them on the line. TransPennine Express no longer operates its trains on the Manchester Airport – Glasgow – Edinburgh route with diesel- powered trains via Bolton and Preston , but instead with electric multiple units via the route to Liverpool to the Golborne Junction , where they then turn onto the West Coast Main Line would.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Robert E Carlson: The Liverpool and Manchester railway project 1821-1831. David and Charles, Kelley, 1978.
2. ^ Frank Ferneyhough: Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 1830-1980. Robert Hale Ltd, London 1980.
3. ↑ http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/mancunian/expats/s/79/79408_what_victorias_done_for_us.html
4. ↑ http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/227980_victoria_could_rival_piccadilly_in_new_age_of_the_train
5. ↑ http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/20090427/15.pdf
6. ↑ http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/20090427/15.pdf
7. ↑ http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/20090427/25.pdf
8. ↑ http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/rail-electrification.pdf
9. ↑ http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/aroundtheweb/videos/northwestrailelectrification