Styal Line

Styal Line
Overview
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Greater Manchester Cheshire North West England
Operation
Opened	1909
Owner	Network Rail
Technical
Track gauge	Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

[v · d · e]Styal Line
Legend Manchester Piccadilly Hope Valley Line Stafford to Manchester Line Crewe to Manchester Line and Buxton Line Mauldeth Road Burnage East Didsbury Gatley Heald Green Spur to Manchester Airport Manchester Airport Styal Wilmslow Crewe to Manchester Line

The Styal Line is a railway line in south Manchester and north-east Cheshire. It runs from Slade Lane Junction, some 2 km south of Manchester Piccadilly, to Wilmslow. There also is a spur to Manchester Airport. The line is an early commuter line running through many suburban stations. It was electrified in 1959 as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification scheme but most of the trains now using the line are diesel powered. The branch to the airport leaves the Styal Line via a triangular junction between Heald Green and Styal.

Services are currently operated by:

• Northern Rail, whose trains run from Manchester Piccadilly to the Airport via all stations on the line. Services operate on a 30 minute frequency. They consist of an hourly Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe service via Manchester Airport and Wilmslow and an hourly Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport service. Evening services on the Crewe to Manchester Line start and terminate at Wilmslow and are extended through Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Oxford Road railway station. All services are operated by Class 323 Electric Multiple Units.

• TransPennine Express, which run trains on this line through Manchester Piccadilly (main line terminal platforms). Their services are through services from across the north of England including Newcastle upon Tyne, Middlesbrough, York and Leeds, and from Cleethorpes via Sheffield also serving Manchester suburban stations en route. Their trains also operate from Barrow-in-Furness, Windermere via Preston, Bolton and Manchester Piccadilly.

History

In early twentieth century the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport became unable to cope with the increasing traffic. To solve the problem, a new route avoiding Stockport was constructed by the London and North Western Railway. It ran from Slade Lane Junction (located in Longsight, Manchester) to Wilmslow through what was then mainly a rural area. The primary purpose was to provide a bypass for express trains, but a few wooden stations were built on the line to encourage suburban development. In practice, very few expresses latterly used the line, as it was necessary for most trains to serve the important station at Stockport.
The line opened in 1909, and from 1923 was operated by the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The Manchester Airport spur was added in 1993 (initially towards Heald Green only, the link towards Styal was added a few years later)

External links

• Greater Manchester Strategic Rail Study Final Report June 2001