Stafford to Manchester Line

The Stafford to Manchester Line is a branch of the West Coast Main Line (Network Rail Route 18) serving Stafford, Norton Bridge, Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove, Congleton, Macclesfield, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport and Manchester.

Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains operate inter-city services between London Euston via the Colwich spur to Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly.

CrossCountry
CrossCountry services operate from Birmingham New Street (Route 17) via Stafford also to Stoke-on-Trent and principal stations to Manchester Piccadilly. Between Cheadle Hulme (where it joins the Crewe to Manchester Line) and Manchester, the line forms part of Network Rail Route 20.

London Midland
Local services between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent (calling at Stone) are operated by London Midland, as part of the London-Crewe service started in December 2008. Between 2004 and 2008 there was no stopping service on the route, with a replacement bus service taking its place.

Northern Rail
Frequent local services between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester are operated by Northern Rail.

East Midland Trains
The Derby to Crewe Line operated by East Midland Trains shares the Stafford to Manchester Line between Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove.

History
The line was completed in 1848 and incorporated the main line of the North Staffordshire Railway from the junction with the London and North Western Railway at Norton Bridge via its principal station at Stoke-on-Trent to Macclesfield where it made a running junction again with the LNWR, which had its own station at Macclesfield (Hibel Road), which was closed by British Rail. The North Staffordshire Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.

Electrification
The line was electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires under the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan.