- Styal Line
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Styal Line Overview System National Rail Status Operational Locale Greater Manchester
Cheshire
North West EnglandOperation Opened 1909 Owner Network Rail Technical Track gauge Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
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
Railway lines in the North West Primary Local Blackpool Branch Lines · Borderlands Line · Buxton Line · Caldervale Line · Chester to Manchester Line · Crewe-Derby Line · Crewe-Manchester Line · Cumbrian Coast Line · East Lancashire Line · Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line · Furness Line · Glossop Line · Hope Valley Line · Huddersfield Line · Kirkby Branch Line · Leeds to Morecambe Line · Liverpool to Manchester Lines · Liverpool to Wigan Line · Manchester to Preston Line · Manchester to Southport Line · Mid-Cheshire Line · Morecambe Branch Line · Newcastle and Carlisle Railway · Northern Line (Merseyrail) · Ormskirk Branch Line · Ribble Valley Line · Settle-Carlisle Line · Stafford-Manchester Line · Stockport to Stalybridge Line · Styal Line · Windermere Branch Line · Wirral LineCategories:- Rail transport in Greater Manchester
- Rail transport in Cheshire
- Railway lines opened in 1909
- Railway lines in North West England
- Airport rail links in the United Kingdom
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