Macclesfield railway station
Macclesfield railway station is a main line station serving the Cheshire market town of Macclesfield. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom.
Macclesfield station in August 2014 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Macclesfield, Cheshire East England |
| Grid reference | SJ919735 |
| Managed by | Avanti West Coast |
| Line(s) | Stafford-Manchester |
| Platforms | 3 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | MAC |
| Classification | DfT category C1 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1 July 1873[1] |
| Electrified | 1967[1] |
| Key dates | |
| 26 August 2022 | Signal Box closed[2] |
| Passengers | |
| 2018/19 | 1.709 million |
| Interchange | 14,163 |
| 2019/20 | 1.676 million |
| Interchange | 13,437 |
| 2020/21 | 0.301 million |
| Interchange | 1,075 |
| 2021/22 | 0.996 million |
| Interchange | 5,971 |
| 2022/23 | 1.184 million |
| Interchange | 7,693 |
| Location | |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
Facilities at the station include ticket sales, a kiosk, a waiting room and public toilets. Before the bus station was relocated and rebuilt in 2004, the railway and bus stations were sited very close to each other.
It is one of the three stations that provide access to the Middlewood Way, which follows the route of the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway.
History edit
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened the line between Manchester and Macclesfield on 19 June 1849. On this date the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) completed the Congleton to Macclesfield section of its main Macclesfield - Stoke - Norton Bridge line. A new joint station, managed by a committee of both companies, was opened at Hibel Road a month later, replacing the temporary LNWR station at Beech Bridge.[3]
During the 1860s, the North Staffordshire Railway collaborated with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway (MS&LR) to construct a joint railway between Macclesfield and Marple near Manchester. For the North Stafford this would provide a route to Manchester independently of the LNWR. For the MS&LR it would provide a link to Stoke-on-Trent and the south. The joint railway was constituted as the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M). It was opened throughout to a second, temporary Macclesfield station for passengers on 2 August 1869 and to goods on 1 March 1870. The MB&M then constructed its own permanent Macclesfield station called Macclesfield Central. It was just south of the LNWR station, which was renamed Macclesfield Hibel Road for clarity. The new MB&M station was connected to the rest of the joint line for goods on 3 April 1871 and opened for passengers on 1 July 1873. It closed to all traffic south of Rose Hill in January 1970.
Some North Staffordshire Railway through trains from Macclesfield railway station used the Potteries Loop Line.[4]
By the late 1920s there was one freight train a day from Macclesfield Central to Normacot railway station, this train used the Potteries Loop line.[5]
On 7 November 1960, British Railways closed Macclesfield Hibel Road. Macclesfield Central was vastly remodelled and is now called simply Macclesfield station. As with other stations on the West Coast Main Line, Macclesfield station was rebuilt in the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality, and its design follows the Modernist approach.[citation needed]
The station won the "Best Kept Station in Cheshire Award" for 2007, but was reported in summer 2011 to be "distinctly shabby", with peeling paintwork.[6]
Accidents and incidents edit
- On 26 July 1971, an electric multiple unit departed from the station against signals and was derailed by trap points.[7]
Services edit
Macclesfield is served by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Northern Trains services.
Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains operate an hourly service northbound, with some peak time extras, to Manchester Piccadilly; and CrossCountry has two services an hour, giving Macclesfield four northbound trains per hour.
Southbound, there are also four trains per hour. One is to Stoke-on-Trent, operated by Northern Trains; one to London Euston, operated by Avanti West Coast; one to Bournemouth via Birmingham New Street and Reading; and one to Bristol Temple Meads, operated by CrossCountry.[8][9][10]
Sunday services are similar, but the local stopping service operated by Northern Trains is limited, with only 6 services operating between Manchester Piccadilly and Stoke-on-Trent. The first Manchester-bound train on a Sunday extends to Manchester Oxford Road.
It is planned for Macclesfield to get one High Speed 2 service from London per hour once High Speed 2 becomes operational.[11]
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avanti West Coast | ||||
| CrossCountry | ||||
| Northern Trains | ||||
| Terminus | Northern Trains | |||
| Future | ||||
| TBA | Terminus | |||
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
| North Rode Line open, station closed | North Staffordshire Railway Churnet Valley Line | Terminus | ||
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
| Terminus | North Staffordshire Railway Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway | Bollington Line and station closed | ||
| Terminus | London, Midland and Scottish Railway Potteries Loop Line (Once a day freight train only) | Line and station closed | ||
Notes edit
Citations edit
- ^ a b Paul Shannon & John Hillmer (2003). British Railways Past and Present no 40 Cheshire. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. p. 103. ISBN 1-85895-232-8.
- ^ Smith, Roger (9 September 2022). "Major upgrade of West Coast Main Line signals in Cheshire completed". Rail Advent. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ Jeuda p. 4.
- ^ Allan. C Baker (July 2000). An Illustrated History of Stoke and North Staffordshire's Railways. Irwell Press. p. 37. ISBN 1-903266-11-4.
- ^ Jeuda, Basil (20 April 2014). The North Staffordshire Railway In LMS Days Volume 3. Lydney: Lightmore Press. p. 26. ISBN 9781899889839.
- ^ Johnston, Howard (10 August 2011). "Regional News". Rail. Peterborough. p. 24.
- ^ Earnshaw, Alan (1990). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 45. ISBN 0-906899-37-0.
- ^ "Scheduled timetable book for 10 December 2023 to 1 June 2024" (PDF). Avanti West Coast. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Train Timetables | Scotland, North East & Manchester to the South West and South Coast | Sunday 10 December 2023 – Saturday 01 June 2024" (PDF). CrossCountry Trains. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "N19 - Manchester to Stoke-on-Trent via Macclesfield | Train times | 10 December 2023 to 1 June 2024" (PDF). Northern Trains. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Five HS2 services an hour locally, MP told". Congleton Chronicle. 22 December 2022. p. 10.
References edit
- Jeuda, Basil (1995). The Railways of Macclesfield. Scenes from the Past. Vol. 27. Foxline Publishing. ISBN 1-870119-44-4.
External links edit
- Train times and station information for Macclesfield railway station from National Rail