Manchester–Preston line

Manchester–Preston line
Manchester–Preston line
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Manchester Victoria Preston;
Stations	16
Service
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Northern Trains; TransPennine Express;
Rolling stock	Class 150; Class 156; Class 158; Class 195; Class 331; Class 397; Class 769; Class 802;
Technical
OHLE
Operating speed	100mph
Route map
	; (Click to expand)

Legend

West Coast Main Line

Blackpool branch lines

Preston

East Lancashire line

Ormskirk branch line

Leyland

Euxton Junction

West Coast Main Line

Euxton

(B&PR

)

Buckshaw Parkway

Lancashire Union Railway

to Blackburn

Chorley

Rawlinson Bridge

Lancashire Union Railway

to Wigan North Western

Adlington

Blackrod

Horwich Branch

Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly

to Hindley and Daisy Hill

Horwich Parkway

Lostock Lane

to Wigan Wallgate

via Westhoughton

Lostock

Ribble Valley line

Bolton

to Bury

to Bury

Clifton

Agecroft Bridge

Pendleton Bridge

Manchester–Southport line

and Kirkby branch line

Salford Crescent

Windsor Bridge

to Manchester Victoria

Windsor Link

Liverpool–Manchester lines

Deansgate

Manchester Oxford Road

Manchester Piccadilly

West Coast Main Line

to Huddersfield and Glossop

The Manchester–Preston line runs from the city of

Chat Moss line between Manchester and Liverpool was to be electrified first. The electrification work for this line commenced in May 2015 and was due for completion in May 2018,^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] but was delayed until December 2018.^[5]

Electric service commenced on 11 February 2019.

The line is one of the busiest in the North West, with eight trains per hour in each direction during the off-peak daytime timetable. The line speed is currently 100 mph.

There is a large variety of rolling stock on this line, current rolling stock include Classes 150, 156, 158 and 195 DMUs, 331 and 397 EMUs and 769 and 802 BMUs. Former rolling stock on this line include Classes 142, 153, 175, 180 and 185 DMUs and 319 and 350 EMUs.

History

The line was opened as far as Bolton in 1838 by the

East Lancashire Railway, as part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

.

Route

The route now has 2 starting points in Manchester:

Manchester Victoria

.

Manchester Victoria was the original starting point before the Windsor Link was created. It goes through Salford Central, after which it then joins the line from the Windsor Link and enters Salford Crescent
.

The route then continues to

Bolton station there is a junction to the right where the Ribble Valley line, a single track line, heads off to Blackburn and Clitheroe. The line cuts through the western suburbs of Bolton including Lostock, where trains to Wigan Wallgate via Westhoughton, branch off. Next is Horwich Parkway opened in 1999 and Blackrod (where the former Horwich Branch diverged). It then proceeds through the town of Adlington and on to Chorley, passing through Buckshaw Parkway, which opened in 2011 and finally joins the West Coast Main Line at Euxton Junction before continuing via Leyland to Preston

.

Operators

Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness and Windermere

trains. Other workings use part of the line only - e.g.

Manchester Victoria to Blackburn and Clitheroe (diverge at Bolton) and Stalybridge/Alderley Edge to Southport via Westhoughton (diverge at Lostock Junction).^[6]

Manchester Airport to Blackpool North, Barrow-in-Furness and Windermere services prior to the 2016 franchise change. TPX now only operate express trains to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. These were temporarily diverted to via Wigan North Western and Chat Moss but resumed in May 2019 after the completion of the electrification of this line.^[4]

Manchester Piccadilly

.

Other TOCs operate along the southern section of the route to Ordsall Lane Jn and go on to Warrington:

Transport for Wales Rail operate services en route to Llandudno via Warrington Bank Quay and Chester.
East Midlands Railway also operate services between Norwich and Liverpool Lime Street

Freight and diversions

The line is an important diversionary route at weekends, used in conjunction with the Crewe–Manchester line to divert away from a large section of the West Coast Main Line if required. The convenience is that this only adds 35–40 minutes to a journey and negates the need for costly bus replacement services. Some freight still uses this line (such as stone trains from the Peak District to a distribution terminal at Hope St., Salford and "Bin-liner" refuse trains from Pendleton to Scunthorpe), especially during the peak periods during the day. It is, however, a primary passenger route in the North West of England.

Trains

Manchester Victoria

instead. Prior to 2007, Class 175 trains worked the majority of these services before the 185s took over. Between May 2001 and December 2006, they worked all Barrow-in-Furness and Windermere services and the majority of the Blackpool North services. However, they never worked to Scotland due to this being a Virgin CrossCountry service until December 2007.

TransPennine Express use mainly newer Class 397 Civitys on the line having replaced the older Class 350 units. Class 185 units still appear occasionally when the Class 397 Civity units are unavailable.

Bolton as these diverge onto the unelectrified lines, notably the Ribble Valley line to Blackburn and Clitheroe and the Manchester–Southport line to Southport

.

Since December 2019, services between

Manchester Victoria and Blackpool North also use Class 331

units.

Electrification

Work on 25 kV OHL electrification of the line began in May 2015 and has included numerous bridgeworks plus the major undertaking of the re-boring of Farnworth Tunnel.

Virgin Pendolino) finally ran between Preston and Manchester in December 2018.^[5] The first scheduled passenger-carrying electric services began on 11 February 2019, running to Blackpool North, Buckshaw Parkway, Manchester Victoria and Manchester Airport using Class 319 EMUs.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b "Manchester to Preston improvements". Network Rail. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
^ "Hendy report: Enhancements Delivery Plan Update" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2016.
^ "Network Rail plans Bolton station expansion". Railway Gazette. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017. Electrification of the railway through Bolton is due to be completed by December 2017...
^ ^a ^b ^c "No electric trains on Bolton line until May 2018". Place North West. 1 December 2017.
^ ^a ^b McDonnell, Seamus (14 December 2018). "VIDEO: Watch first successful electric train tests through Bolton". The Bolton News.
^ Table 82 National Rail timetable, December 2016
^ "The Great North Rail Project - The Farnworth Flyer, Issue 2" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2015.
^ Department for Transport (11 August 2015). "Government boost for Northern Powerhouse: Farnworth Tunnel". Gov.UK.
^ Cox, Charlotte (11 January 2018). "Plans to electrify Manchester to Preston rail route delayed AGAIN". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
^ "Old mines delay rail electrification". BBC News. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
^ McDonnell, S. (12 February 2019). "First electric passenger trains finally entering service in Bolton". Bolton News. Retrieved 18 February 2019.