West Coast Main Line

London – Glasgow / Edinburgh
Route length:	645 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Legend from East Coast Main Line 0 m 00 ch Edinburgh Waverley 1m 19ch Haymarket 1m 29ch / 100m 41ch to Falkirk and the Forth Bridge to Dundee 98m 75ch Slateford 98m 05ch Kingsknowe 97m 17ch Wester Halles 95m 42ch Curriehill 90m 70ch Kirknewton 89m 76ch to Glasgow via Shotts 102m 27ch Glasgow Central     to the SPT network 97m 24ch Cambuslang 95m 57ch Newton 95m 52ch after Hamilton 93m 71ch Uddingston 93m 58ch to Holytown 89m 38ch Motherwell to the SPT network 87m 59ch Shieldmuir 84m 08ch from Holytown 81m 75ch Carluke 76m 08ch to Lanark 73m 49ch Carstairs to the SPT network 73m 17ch Carstairs South Junction 25m 66ch Lockerbie 8m 57ch from Annan 0m 00ch / 69m 09ch Carlisle 68m 76ch to Settle and Newcastle to the Cumbrian Coast Line 51m 20ch Penrith 19m 12ch from Windermere 19m 11ch Oxenholme Lake District Leeds – Morecambe railway line from Arnside and from Wennignton 0m 31ch Carnforth 0m 19ch / 6m 08ch to and from Heysham Port 0m 00ch / 20m 78ch Lancaster from Blackpool North 0m 00ch / 21m 57ch Preston to Rufford to Blackburn 17m 54ch Leyland 16m 22ch / 25m 31ch 14m 77ch Euxton Balshaw Lane 6m 47ch Wigan North Western to Liverpool via St Helens 0m 53ch / 187m 76ch to Manchester Manchester-Liverpool railway line 182m 11ch Warrington Bank Quay 193m 52ch Liverpool Lime Street 192m 21ch Edge Hill 189m 57ch Mossley Hill 189m 00ch West Allerton 187m 77ch Liverpool S. Parkway River Mersey 180m 40ch Runcorn 174m 70ch Weaver Junction 172m 38ch Acton Bridge 169m 64ch Hartfort 165m 41ch Winsford 24m 39ch Buckshaw Parkway 22m 20ch Chorley 19m 15ch Adlington 17m 14ch Blackrod 15m 50ch Horwich Parkway 13m 52ch Lostock 13m 39ch from Westhoughton 10m 55ch from Hall l 'Th' Wood 10m 50ch Bolton 9m 06ch Moses Gate 8m 31ch Farnworth 7m 57ch Kearsley 4m 47ch Clifton from Altherton 1m 59ch Salford Crescent from Liverpool via Earlestown 1m 55ch / 191m 01ch to and from Manchester Victoria 189m 57ch Deansgate 189m 29ch Oxford Road 188m 70ch Manchester Piccadilly to Guide Bridge 186m 46ch / 9m 44ch Slade Lane Jn 8m 07ch Mauldeth Road 7m 18ch Burnage 6m 25ch East Didsbury 5m 11ch Gatley 3m 37ch Hero Green 0m 00ch Manchester Airport 1m 51ch / 3m 31ch Hero Green N. Jn 1m 48ch / 2m 50ch Hero Green S. Jn 1m 79ch Styal 186m 01ch Levenshulme 184m 47ch Heaton Chapel 183m 01ch Stockport 180m 59ch / 0m 00ch 180m 57ch / 0m 08ch Cheadle Hulme 178m 24ch Handforth 176m 71ch / 0m 18ch Wilmslow 176m 53ch / 0m 00ch Wilmslow South Jn 175m 21ch Alderley Edge 172m 17ch Chelford 168m 35ch Goostrey 166m 37ch Holmes Chapel 162m 50ch Sandbach 158m 00ch Crewe 2m 79ch Poynton 5m 15ch Adlington 7m 10ch Prestbury 9m 37ch / 0m 00ch 0m 25ch Macclesfield 8m 12ch Congleton Alsger 13m 60ch Kidsgrove 17m 03ch Longport 19m 78ch Stoke-on-Trent 23m 79ch Wedgwood 24m 44ch Barlaston 27m 00ch / 0m 00ch 0m 07ch Stone 133m 43ch Stafford 124m 22ch Rugeley Trent Valley 116m 19ch Lichfield Trent Valley 110m 01ch Tamworth LL 106m 39ch Polesworth 102m 23ch Atherstone 97m 10ch Nuneaton to Coventry 133m 04ch / 28m 50ch 23m 32ch Penkridge 14m 43ch / 15m 32ch 12m 75ch Wolverhampton 12m 64ch 8m 47ch Bescot Stadium 7m 48ch Tame Bridge Parkway 4m 76ch Hamstead 9m 46ch Coseley 8m 16ch Tipton 7m 29ch Dudley Port 5m 28ch Sandwell and Dudley 3m 30ch Smethwick Roll St. 3m 33ch Perry Barr 2m 45ch Witton 0m 05ch / 112m 73ch Birmingham New Street 1m 68ch Aston 110m 79ch Adderley Park 109m 08ch Stechford 108m 00ch Lea Hall 106m 33ch Marston Green 104m 55ch Birmingham International 102m 61ch Hampton-in-Arden 99m 38ch Berkswell 97m 45ch Tile Hill 95m 37ch Canley by Nuneaton 93m 97ch Coventry 82m 40ch rugby 81m 28ch / 83m 54ch 75m 37ch Long Buckby 65m 68ch Northampton 52m 33ch Wolverton 49m 65ch Milton Keynes Central to Bedford 46m 54ch Bletchley to Bedford to Bedford and Oxford 40m 14ch Leighton Buzzard 36m 08ch Cheddington 31m 50ch Tring 27m 75ch Berkhamsted 24m 39ch Hemel Hepstead 23m 06ch Apsley 20m 74ch Kings Langley to St Albans Abbey 17m 34ch Watford Junction 15m 79ch Bushey 11m 30ch Harrow & Wealdstone Access to London Marylebone to Wembley Stadium 8m 04ch Wembley Central to Wembley Stadium by Gospel Oak to Gospel Oak from London Victoria 3m 55ch Queens Park Access to London Marylebone from London Liverpool Street 0m 00ch London Euston

The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the UK's main railway lines . It connects London with the West Midlands , North West England , North Wales and South Scotland .

The main line of WCML is 401 miles (645 km) long and runs from London Euston to Glasgow Central . The main stopovers are Milton Keynes , Rugby , Nuneaton , Tamworth , Stafford , Crewe , Warrington , Preston , Lancaster and Carlisle . A complex system of branch lines and alternative routes links other important cities to the WCML: Northampton , Coventry , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Stoke-on-Trent , Macclesfield , Manchester , Bolton , Liverpool and Edinburgh . In addition, the WCML forms part of the suburban railway networks in the metropolitan areas of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.

route

The WCML is not a single route, but rather a complex network of various branches and secondary routes that connect cities in the central area off the main route London – Glasgow. The original main route was the connection from rugby via Birmingham and Wolverhampton to Stafford, until a more direct route was built in the valley of the Trent . South of Rugby there is a branch that opens up to Northampton. Other important branches run from Crewe to Liverpool, Crewe to Manchester, Stafford to Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe to Wilmslow . The construction of the Windsor Link in Manchester has enabled direct trains via Bolton back to the main line at Preston since 1988. Edinburgh is also connected through a branch in Carstairs .

In the European context, the WCML is of great importance and has been classified as a route of the Trans-European Networks . It is the main freight corridor and connects mainland Europe via the Eurotunnel , London and south east England with the West Midlands, north west England and Scotland. The WCML is one of the busiest freight train routes in Europe.

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  On the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire

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  Pendolino and freight train in Warwickshire

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  Bridge over the Clyde in front of the terminus at Glasgow Central , 1989

history

Emergence

The WCML was created between the 1830s and 1870s through the construction of various, initially independent railway lines. It started with the Grand Junction Railway (Warrington - Manchester), followed by the London and Birmingham Railway . These two merged in 1846 with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway , the North Union Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway to form the London and North Western Railway (L & NWR). The line from Lancaster to Carlisle was built by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway from 1844. In September 1847, the line between the two cities began operating in their own company. In 1859 it also became part of the London and North Western Railway. North of Carlisle, the Caledonian Railway remained independent; it reached Glasgow in February 1848 and Edinburgh in November 1849. Another important company, the North Staffordshire Railway , which connected Macclesfield via Stoke-on-Trent with the Norton Bridge and Colwich branches, also remained independent until the merger in 1923.

To meet fears and opposition from landowners along the route, the railroad lines in some places were built to make long detours around manors and rural settlements. In order to reduce costs, the route was adapted to the topography, which resulted in numerous curves. The WCML also runs through some hilly areas such as the Chiltern Hills , Cumbria and southern Lanarkshire . For these reasons, the speed limit is lower than on the East Coast Main Line . This problem is countered with the use of tilting trains , earlier with the less successful Advanced Passenger Train from British Rail , since 2003 with the Pendolinos from Virgin Trains .

The L & NWR marketed the line to Scotland as The Premier Line , but operations were complicated by incompatible braking systems as the L & NWR used suction air brakes while the Caledonian Railway used Westinghouse air brakes . Continuous trains therefore had to consist of wagons with two braking systems, which were called West Coast Joint Stock . After consolidation on January 1, 1923, the line belonged to the route network of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and the air brake quickly became the standard.

British Rail

After nationalization, the line came into the possession of British Rail in 1948 and was part of the operating regions of London Midland and Scottish Region . It was here on April 17, 1948, that British Rail's first serious accident occurred. 24 people died.

→ Main article : Winsford Railway Accident (1948)

For the first time, the name West Coast Main Line was officially used at that time . However, this name is misleading, as the line actually runs only about half a kilometer along the coast, on Morecambe Bay between Lancaster and Carnforth . Another serious rear-end collision occurred on December 26, 1962, again in the vicinity of Winsford station. 18 people died.

→ Main article : Winsford Railway Accident (1962)

In 1963 there was a big robbery on a mail train, a gang of thieves looted over 2.6 million pounds (see mail train robbery ).

Between 1959 and 1974, the line was electrified in sections . The sections Crewe - Liverpool and Crewe - Manchester made the start. The remaining southern section followed until 1967, the section from Weaver Junction (junction to Liverpool) to Glasgow in 1974. This era was characterized by time-consuming and capacity-reducing locomotive changes - first from steam and later from diesel to electric locomotives - at important system changeover points such as Birmingham New Street, Crewe and Preston. The short section Carstairs - Edinburgh Waverley was only electrified in 1989, as it was still part of the East Coast Main Line at that time . The only non-electrified branches are Preston - Bolton - Manchester and Chester - Holyhead .

Railtrack and West Coast Main Land

→ Main article : Railtrack

Railtrack was the name of a group of companies in the United Kingdom that owned the tracks , signals , tunnels , bridges , level crossings and most of the stations on the privatized British rail network from 1994 to 2002 . The failed overhaul and modernization of the West Coast Main Line played a key role in the failure of the group of companies and the assets being transferred to Network Rail in October 2002 . Network Rail, unlike Railtrack previously, is a not-for-profit company, for which 116 mostly public corporations guarantee.

According to the analysis of the privatization critic James Meek, it was of considerable importance for Railtrack's IPO in 1996 that Railtrack had to arouse the conviction among investors that Railtrack, unlike British Rail, could fundamentally overtake the West Coast Main Line. In particular, the signal boxes as an essential element of the safety of train movements were in urgent need of overhaul . The predominantly US-American advisors of the IPO made the recommendation to rely on driving in moving distances for train protection in the future . With this procedure, which is also called driving on electronic sight or moving block , the capacity of a route can be maximized and the technical equipment minimized, since stationary blocks and their track vacancy detection systems are dispensed with. The trains then determine the location of their train end themselves and send it quasi-continuously to the next train. Taking into account its braking distance, this calculates the point from which the speed must be reduced. However, there was a major implementation problem: Driving in moving spatial distances was largely untested in rail transport. Meek points out that even in 2014, such systems are only limited to a few inner-city transport systems such as the Docklands Light Railway and the Shanghai Metro. Even these were only installed at a time when the modernization of the West Coast Main LIne should have long been completed. Most of the continental European railway companies had come to the conclusion in January 1995 that traveling in moving distances was not yet developed sufficiently to be used in train traffic. From Meek's point of view, this decision was not noticed by the mostly US-American consultants and executives of Railtrack because there was a lack of exchange with these experts. The consultants and top management of Railtrack mostly assumed that continental European railway companies were also dealing with the introduction of this technology and that Railtrack would only be the first railway company to introduce this technology. The warning from in-house experts was overheard, with unclear competencies, the downsizing of employees and internal quarrels as a result of the privatization. The consultants warned that failure of this technology would, on the one hand, significantly increase the costs of modernization, prevent the speed increase and would not lead to the hoped-for increase in capacity. These were at least not noticed by the public. The critical questions that were asked in the British House of Commons in February and March 1995 about Railtrack's plans also had no effect.

In February 1997, Richard Branson's Virgin Trains won the tender to operate the routes on the West Coast Main Line. In October 1997, Railtrack and Richard Branson announced how the future development of the West Coast Main Line should take place. Railtrack would spend £ 1.5 billion on track overhaul and install migratory distance travel for a portion of Virgin Trains' profits for £ 600 million on the route. This, along with other improvements, should result in high-speed lines that could reach speeds of 125 miles per hour from 2002 and 140 miles per hour from 2005. Manchester would then have been reachable from London in an hour and 45 minutes' drive. Railtrack also committed itself to high fines if this goal was not achieved by 2005. It was already clear in 1999 that this goal was not achievable: That year, Railtrack announced that the cost estimate was now at 5.8 billion British pounds and had largely abandoned the idea of ​​installing moving space-distance travel. In 2001 the cost was estimated at £ 7.5 billion. The modernization of this important British train connection was only partially completed in 2008 and at the time had cost 9 billion British pounds, most of which was borne by the British taxpayer.

Three serious train accidents that occurred on other sections of the route for which Railtrack was responsible ultimately resulted in the British Transport Minister Stephen Byers placing Railtrack plc under compulsory liquidation on October 7, 2001 after a corresponding application to the High Court of Justice . The assets were transferred to Network Rail a few months later.

Virgin Trains

Operating diagram

After British Rail was broken up, Virgin Trains was awarded the contract to operate long-distance services on WCML. In the course of the latest modernization, the route for tilting trains has been expanded and the top speed has been increased in sections from 110 mph (177 km / h) to 125 mph (201 km / h). The travel time between London and Glasgow could be reduced from 5:10 hours to 4:25 hours. Virgin Trains plans to run Pendolino trains at 135 mph (217 km / h) on the Trent Valley Line , which will be expanded to four lanes in 2008 . At the end of the concession, the line was put out to tender again, with the FirstGroup being awarded the contract for continued operation in 2012. The tender was successfully contested by Virgin Trains and will be repeated.

In addition to long-distance traffic by Virgin Rail, the WCML is used in sections by other railway companies.

See also

• List of railway lines in Great Britain
• Rail transport in Great Britain

literature

• M. Buck and M. Rawlinson: Line By Line - The West Coast Main Line, London Euston to Glasgow Central. Freightmaster Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-9537540-0-6 .
• James Meek: Private Island - Why Britain Now Belongs to Someone Else. Verso, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-78168-695-9 .
• OS Nock: Electric Euston to Glasgow. 1974, ISBN 0-7110-0530-3 .

Web links

Commons : West Coast Main Line  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Meek: Private Island , Chapter: Signal Failure; Privatised railways , p. 967.
2. ↑ Meek: Private Island , Chapter: Signal Failure; Privatised railways , p. 1036.
3. ↑ Meek: Private Island , Chapter: Signal Failure; Privatised railways , p. 1260.
4. ↑ Meek: Private Island , Chapter: Signal Failure; Privatised railways , p. 1109.
5. ^ Repair costs spiral to £ 5bn , BBC News, December 15, 1999
6. ↑ Meek: Private Island , Chapter: Signal Failure; Privatised railways , p. 897.
7. ↑ Meek: Private Island , Chapter: Signal Failure; Privatised railways , p. 878.
8. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/west-coast-main-line--3