Manchester to Southport Line

The Manchester to Southport Line is a railway line in the north-west of England, operated by Northern Rail, it was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway.

Starting at the city centre stations of Manchester Victoria (also serving Salford Central on the fringe of the City Centre) and Manchester Piccadilly (also serving Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate). It runs in a north-westerly direction through the suburbs and centres of Salford and Wigan. It then proceeds in the same direction through the small rural villages of West Lancashire, before ending on the Irish Sea coast at the resort town of Southport.

Stations

 * Southport - terminus, interchange for Merseyrail Northern Line services to south Sefton and Liverpool
 * Meols Cop - suburban stop for eastern Southport
 * Bescar Lane - village (cottage-style) stop for North Meols. Infrequent service.
 * New Lane - village stop, also for Martin Mere. Infrequent service.
 * Burscough Bridge - town stop, pedestrian interchange to Burscough Junction on Preston to Ormskirk branch line. Staffed station.
 * Hoscar - village stop for Hoscar and Lathom. Infrequent service
 * Parbold - for village of Parbold. Staffed station.
 * Appley Bridge - suburban stop for Appley Bridge and western Wigan. Western boundary for TfGM ticketing zone
 * Gathurst - suburban stop for outskirts of Wigan, serves the nearby village of Shevington
 * Wigan Wallgate - main stop for town of Wigan, interchange for services to Kirkby, Bolton, Manchester Airport and Rochdale. Pedestrian interchange to Wigan North Western for national services to Birmingham, Glasgow and London.
 * Ince - suburban stop for eastern Wigan. Not served by semi-fast services.
 * Hindley - suburban stop for eastern Wigan. Interchange point for services to Bolton. Staffed station.
 * Daisy Hill - suburban stop for Westhoughton. Staffed station.
 * Hag Fold - suburban stop for Atherton. Staffed station. Not served by semi-fast services.
 * Atherton - stop for town of Atherton. Staffed station.
 * Walkden - stop for Walkden and Worsley. Staffed station.
 * Moorside - suburban stop. Staffed station. Not served by semi-fast services.
 * Swinton - stop for town of Swinton. Staffed station.
 * Salford Crescent - main stop for city of Salford and the University of Salford, interchange for services to Bolton and Preston line and Ribble Valley Line services to Blackburn
 * Salford Central - city centre stop serving the western fringes of Manchester city centre, the station lays just on the Manchester/Salford boundary, but Central Manchester is the area this station serves.
 * Manchester Victoria - main stop for city of Manchester, and interchange for trans-pennine services and services to south Lancashire and Merseyside. Metrolink tram interchange to Manchester Piccadilly railway station for mainline intercity services.

There is ongoing feasibility into the conversion of parts of this line (Wigan - Atherton - Manchester) to operate as a Manchester Metrolink service with a higher frequency metro service for the Greater Manchester Boroughs of Wigan and Salford into the city centre. Southport and Kirkby services on this line would be diverted to operate through Wigan via Bolton and onto Manchester. Additionally Network Rail has identified electrification of Wigan to Southport, together with Ormskirk to Preston Line and the Burscough Curves as a possible source of new services.