West Coast Main Line

v • d • e West Coast Main Line

Legend Edinburgh Waverley for ECML Haymarket Glasgow Central ( St Enoch) for SPT Network Motherwell for SPT Network Carstairs for SPT Network Carstairs South Junction Lockerbie Carlisle for Tyne Valley Line,    Cumbrian Coast Line and    Glasgow South Western Line Penrith Oxenholme Lake District     for Windermere Line Lancaster Preston Euxton Junction Wigan North Western Bolton Warrington Bank Quay Liverpool Lime Street Runcorn Weaver Junction  Acton Bridge Hartford Winsford Manchester Piccadilly Holyhead on North Wales Coast Line Stockport Chester Crewe North Junction Cheadle Hulme Junction Crewe Stoke-on-Trent Norton Bridge Junction Stone Junction Stafford Colwich Junction Lichfield Trent Valley Wolverhampton Tamworth Birmingham New Street Birmingham International Nuneaton Coventry Rugby for Birmingham Loop Hillmorton Junction  Long Buckby Northampton Hanslope Junction  Wolverton Milton Keynes Central  Bletchley Leighton Buzzard Cheddington Tring Berkhamstead Hemel Hempstead Apsley Kings Langley Watford Junction   Bushey Harrow & Wealdstone Wembley Central London Euston

The West Coast Main Line (WCML)^[1] is a busy mixed-traffic railway route in the United Kingdom. It provides fast, long-distance Intercity passenger services between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and southern Scotland.

Central to the WCML is its 401-mile (645 km) long core section between London Euston and Glasgow Central with principal InterCity stations at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle and Motherwell. Strictly (and by definition), this section alone is the West Coast Main Line,^[2] but the term now extends to include a complex system of branches and divergences serving the other major towns and cities of Northampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport, Manchester, Runcorn, Liverpool and Edinburgh.^[3]

In addition, several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing a number of links to rural towns and villages.

The WCML is a strategic European route and has been designated a priority Trans-European Networks (TENS) route. It is the principal rail freight corridor linking the European mainland (via the Channel Tunnel) through London and south-east England to the West Midlands, north-west England and Scotland, and is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe.

History

Early history

The line was built between the 1830s and the 1870s, as a number of separate railways, the first being the Grand Junction Railway (Warrington-Birmingham) then the London and Birmingham Railway, both completed in the 1830s. These lines, together with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the North Union Railway, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway amalgamated their operations in 1846 to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). North of Carlisle, the Caledonian Railway remained independent and opened its main line to Beattock in September 1847, to Edinburgh in February 1848 and to Glasgow in November 1849. One important section, the North Staffordshire Railway, which opened in 1848 from Macclesfield (connecting with the LNWR from Manchester) via Stoke-on-Trent to Norton Bridge and Colwich, also remained independent until the forced amalgamations of 1923.

Partly to appease the concerns and opposition of landowners along the route, in places some railway lines were built so that they avoided large estates and rural towns, and to reduce construction costs the railways followed natural contours, resulting in many curves and bends. The WCML also passes through some of the more hilly areas of the British mainland, such as the Chilterns (Tring cutting), the Watford Gap and Northampton uplands followed by the Trent Valley, the mountains of Cumbria with a summit at Shap, and Beattock Summit in the Leadhills area of southern Lanarkshire. This has left a legacy of lower maximum speeds on the line compared to the East Coast Main Line (ECML) route, and the principal solution to the problem has been the adoption of tilting trains, formerly British Rail's ill-fated APT, and latterly the Class 390 Pendolino trains constructed by Alstom and introduced by Virgin in 2003. A 'conventional' attempt to raise line speeds as part of the InterCity 250 upgrade in the 1990s would have relaxed maximum cant levels on curves and seen some track realignments; this scheme faltered for lack of funding in the economic climate of the time.

The route to Scotland was marketed by the LNWR as 'The Premier Line' but operations were complicated by incompatible braking systems, since the LNWR used the vacuum brake and the Caledonian used the Westinghouse air brake. Through trains were therefore of necessity composed of dual-braked and jointly-owned "West Coast Joint Stock" (so named). Following amalgamation on 1 January 1923, it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and the vacuum brake quickly became standard. In 1947, following nationalisation, it came under control of British Railways' London Midland and Scottish Regions, when the term "West Coast Main Line" officially came into use. However, it is something of a misnomer given that the line only physically runs along the west coast on a brief section overlooking Morecambe Bay between Lancaster and Carnforth for barely half a mile.

The WCML is not a single railway; rather it can be thought of as a network of routes which diverge and rejoin the central core between London and Glasgow. The route from Rugby to Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stafford was the original main line until the shorter line was built via the Trent Valley. South of Rugby there is a loop that serves Northampton, and there is also a branch north of Crewe to Liverpool which is notable since Weaver Junction on this branch is the oldest flyover-type junction in use. Among the other diversions are loops that branch off to serve Manchester, one from Colwich Junction in the Trent Valley south of Stafford via Stoke-on-Trent, one north of Stafford also via Stoke-on-Trent, and one via Crewe and Wilmslow. The Windsor Link north-south junction line in Manchester, built by British Rail in 1988, has made possible a through service via Bolton back to the main line at Preston. A further branch at Carstairs links Edinburgh to the WCML, giving it a direct connection to the East Coast route.

Modernisation by British Rail

A Class 87 with a train of Mark 3 coaches on the WCML in Warwickshire

The line was modernised and electrified in stages between 1959 and 1974 - initial electrification was in 1959 between Crewe and Manchester and Liverpool, with the rest of the southern section of the line following in stages to 1967;^[4] the line from Weaver Junction (where the route to Liverpool diverges) to Glasgow was electrified in 1974.^[5] In this era, a policy of "no diesels under the wires" meant that engines had to be changed (from steam, and later from diesel, to electric traction) at busy change-over stations like Birmingham New Street, Crewe and Preston.^{[citation needed]}

The modernisation also saw the demolition and redevelopment of several of the key stations on the line: BR was keen to symbolise the coming of the "electric age" by replacing the Victorian-era buildings with new structures built from glass and concrete. Notable examples were Birmingham New Street, Stafford, Coventry and London Euston. To enable the latter, the famous Doric Arch portal into the original Philip Hardwick-designed terminus was demolished in 1962 amid much public outcry.^{[citation needed]} Recently, plans have been mooted to completely rebuild both New Street and Euston stations.

Electrification of the Edinburgh branch was carried out in the late 1980s as part of the ECML electrification project. The Preston-Manchester (via Bolton) and Crewe-Holyhead branches remain unelectrified.

Modernisation culminated in the adoption of air brakes for locomotive-hauled express trains. Also under British Rail, freight train operations and practices changed drastically resulting in the virtual elimination of the traditional slow-moving and generally unbraked pick-up goods train and the introduction of faster-moving point-to-point trainload operations using air-braked vehicles.

The running of express passenger services on the WCML came under the Inter-City brand in the late 1960s, which before privatisation in 1996 was known as "InterCity West Coast". "InterCity CrossCountry", using the West Midlands sections of the WCML, was also greatly developed with the introduction of HST units transferred from the ECML after the latter's electrification.

Modernisation brought great improvements, not least in speed and frequency, to many WCML services but there have been some losses over the years. Locations and lines served by through trains or through coaches from London in 1947 but no longer so served include: Windermere; Barrow-in-Furness, Whitehaven and Workington; Huddersfield and Halifax (via Stockport); Blackpool; Colne (via Stockport); Morecambe and Heysham; Southport (via Edge Hill); and Stranraer Harbour. Notable also is the loss of through service from Liverpool to Scotland.

Modernisation by Network Rail

The WCML running alongside the M1 motorway at Watford Gap in Northamptonshire

A Virgin Pendolino and EWS Class 66 freight train on the WCML

By the dawn of the 1990s, it was clear that further modernisation was required. Initially, this took the form of the InterCity 250 project which would have seen the introduction of new rolling stock derived from that developed for the East Coast electrification introduced alongside a wholesale refurbishment of the WCML itself. But then the privatisation of BR intervened, which saw Virgin Trains win the franchise in 1996 for the running of long distance express services on the line. The bold modernisation plan unveiled by Virgin and the new infrastructure owner Railtrack would see the upgrade and renewal of the line to allow the use of tilting Pendolino trains with a maximum line speed of 140 mph (225 km/h), in place of the previous maximum of 110 mph (177 km/h). Railtrack estimated that this upgrade would cost £2bn, be ready by 2005, and cut journey times London to Birmingham to 1hr (currently^[when?] 1hr 21mins) and 1hr 45mins London to Manchester.

However, Railtrack had not assessed the technical viability of moving block signalling prior to promising the speed increase to Virgin and the Government. No-one had attempted to implement moving block on a line as complex as the WCML anywhere in the world, and it soon became apparent to engineers that the technology was not mature enough to be used on the line. The bankruptcy of Railtrack in 2001 and its replacement by Network Rail following the Hatfield crash brought a reappraisal of the plans whilst the original cost of the upgrade soared. Despite early fears that cost overruns on the project would push the final price tag to £13bn, reappraisal of the plans has brought the cost down to between £8bn and £10bn, ready by 2008 with a maximum speed for tilting trains of a more modest 125 mph (201 km/h). Services from Liverpool to the South West and the South Coast were withdrawn by Virgin in September 2003.

The first phase of the upgrade, south of Manchester, opened on 27 September 2004 with London to Birmingham journey times of 1hr 21mins and London to Manchester 2 hours 6 minutes. The final phase of introducing 125 mph (201 km/h) running along most of the entire length of the line was announced as opening on 12 December 2005, bringing the fastest journey from London to Glasgow to 4 hours 25 mins (down from 5hrs 10mins)^[6] although considerable work such as the quadrupling of the track in the Trent Valley, upgrading the slow lines, the second phase of remodelling Nuneaton, and the remodelling of Stafford, Rugby, Milton Keynes and Coventry stations were the last stages of the project to be completed in late 2008. The upgrading of the Crewe to Manchester line via Wilmslow was completed in Summer 2006.

In September 2006, a new speed record was set on the WCML - a Pendolino train completed the 401-mile (645 km) Glasgow Central - London Euston run in a record 3 hours 55 minutes, beating the APT's record of 4 hours 15 minutes, although the APT still holds the overall record on the northbound run.

December 2008 saw the final completion of the decade-long modernisation project.^[7] This allowed the introduction of Virgin's VHF (Very High Frequency) timetable to be progressively introduced through early 2009, the highlights of which are a three-trains-per-hour service to both Birmingham and Manchester during off-peak periods, and nearly all Anglo-Scottish timings brought under the 4hrs 30min barrier - with one service (calling only at Preston) achieving a London-Glasgow time of 4hrs 10mins.

Infrastructure

The complete route has been cleared for W10 loading gauge freight traffic which allows use of higher 9 ft 6 in (2,896 mm) hi-cube shipping containers.^[8]

Rolling stock

New trains for the route include 53 nine-car Class 390 Pendolino trains and initially 30 four-car Class 350 Desiro electric trains for London Midland Trains (with more anticipated) as well as CrossCountry Voyager and Super-Voyager trains for the cross-country services. Pendolino 2005 off-peak frequency of six trains per hour (rising to ten in the morning peak) is planned to increase to nine off-peak by 2009 including three per hour to both Birmingham and Manchester plus an hourly tilting Voyager service to Chester as well as improved services to Liverpool, Preston and Scotland. From December 2008 there has been an hourly Desiro operation from London to Crewe serving Watford, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Rugby, Nuneaton, Atherstone, Tamworth, Lichfield, Rugeley, Stafford, Stone, Stoke on Trent, Alsager and Crewe, which is operated by London Midland.

Development

Proposed Developments

Virgin Trains recently put forward plans to increase the line speed in places on the WCML and particularly on sections of the Trent Valley Line between Stafford and Rugby from 125 to 135 mph (200 to 218 km/h) after the quadrupling of track had been completed. This would permit faster services and possibly allow additional train paths. 218 km/h is claimed to be achievable by Pendolino trains while using existing signalling systems without the need for a cab signalling system. Network Rail is studying this proposal.^{[citation needed]}

In promoting the above proposal, Virgin Trains report that passenger numbers on Virgin West Coast increased from 13.6 million in 1997/98 to 18.7 million in 2005/6, while numbers on CrossCountry grew from 12.6 million to 20.4 million over the same period.^{[citation needed]}

Accidents

See also: List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom

• Grayrigg derailment (at Lambrigg Crossovers, south of Grayrigg) - 23 February 2007; 1 killed
• Tebay rail accident - 15 February 2004; 4 workers killed (no public involvement)
• Norton Bridge rail crash - 16 October 2003; 1 injured
• Winsford rail crash - 23 June 1999; 31 injured
• Watford rail crash - 8 August 1996; 1 killed, 69 injured
• Stafford rail crash (1996) - 8 March 1996; 1 killed, 22 injured
• Newton rail crash - 21 July 1991; 4 killed; 22 injured
• Stafford rail crash (1990) - 4 August 1990; 1 killed, 35 injured
• Colwich rail crash - 19 September 1986; 1 killed 60 injured
• Wembley Central rail crash - 11 October 1984 3 killed, 18 injured
• Nuneaton rail crash - 6 June 1975; 6 killed 67 injured
• Watford Junction rail crash - 1975; 1 killed, 11 injured
• Hixon - 6 January 1968; 11 killed, 27 injured
• Stechford rail crash - 28 February 1967; 9 killed, 16 injured
• Cheadle Hulme - 28 May 1964; 3 killed
• Coppenhall Junction - 26 December 1962; 18 killed, 34 injured
• Harrow and Wealdstone - 8 October 1952; 112 killed, 340 injured - worst accident in England and London.
• Weedon - 21 September 1951; 15 killed, 36 injured
• Lambrigg Crossing signal box between Grayrigg and Oxenholme - 18 May 1947 (express hit light engine through driver missing a signal while looking in his food box); 4 in hospital, 34 minor injuries^[9]
• Lichfield - 1 January 1946; 20 killed, 21 injured.
• Bourne End rail crash - 30 September 1945; 43 killed, 64 injured
• Winwick Junction - 28 September 1934; 12 killed
• Quintinshill rail crash - 22 May 1915; 227 killed, 246 injured. - worst ever accident in the United Kingdom.
• Wigan North Western railway station - 1 August 1873; 13 killed, 30 major injuries.

The route in detail

Network Rail, successor from 2001 to Railtrack plc, in its business plan published in April 2006,^[10] has divided the national network into 26 'Routes' for planning, maintenance and operational purposes.^[11] Route 18 is named as 'that part of the West Coast Main Line that runs between London Euston and Carstairs Junction' although it also includes several branch lines that had not previously been considered part of the WCML.^[12] The northern terminal sections of the WCML are reached by Routes 26 (to Motherwell and Glasgow) and 24 (to Edinburgh). This therefore differs from the "classic" definition of the WCML as the direct route from London Euston to Glasgow Central.

The cities and towns served by the WCML are listed in the tables below. Stations on loops and branches are marked **. Those stations in italics are not served by main-line services run by Virgin Trains but only by local trains. Between Euston and Watford Junction the WCML is largely but not exactly paralleled by the operationally independent Watford DC Line with 17 intermediate stations, including three with additional platforms on the WCML.

The final table retraces the route specifically to indicate the many loops, branches, junctions and interchange stations on Route 18, which is the core of the WCML, with the new 'Route' names for connecting lines.

The North Wales Coast Line from Crewe to Holyhead and the line from Manchester to Preston are not electrified. Services from London to Holyhead and from Manchester to Scotland are mostly operated either by Super Voyager tilting diesel trains or, in the case of one of the Holyhead services, by a Pendolino set hauled from Crewe by a Class 57/3 diesel locomotive.

London to Glasgow and Edinburgh (Network Rail Route 18)

Branches and loops

The WCML is noted for the diversity of branches served from the London to Edinburgh and Glasgow main line. The following map deals with the very complex network of lines in the West Midlands that link the old route via Birmingham with the new WCML route via the Trent Valley (i.e. 1830s versus 1840s):

Map of the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford line and other local routes.

In the following tables, related to the WCML branches, only the Intercity stations are recorded:

Rugby-Birmingham-Wolverhampton-Stafford (Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line) (Network Rail Route 17)

Crewe-Holyhead (North Wales Coast Line) (Network Rail Route 22)

Crewe-Manchester-Preston (Network Rail Route 20)

Network Rail Route 18 (WCML) - Branches and junctions

The length of the WCML's main core section is nominally quoted as being 401.25 miles (645.7 km). The basis of this measurement is taken as being the distance between the midpoint of Platform 18 of London Euston to that of Platform 1 of Glasgow Central, and has historically been the distance used in official calculations during speed record attempts.

See also

• East Coast Main Line
• Rail transport in the United Kingdom

References

• Buck, Martin. and Rawlinson, Mark (2000). Line By Line: The West Coast Main Line, London Euston to Glasgow Central. Swindon: Freightmaster Publishing. ISBN 0953754006

External links

• Rail Industry www page which monitors the progress of the project
• Department of Transport - 2006 - West Coast Main Line - Update Report
• Network Rail Business Plans and Reports
• British Railways in 1960, Euston to Crewe
• British Railways in 1960, Crewe to Carlisle
• British Railways in 1960, Carlisle to Carstairs
• British Railways in 1960, Carstairs to Glasgow
• Rugby to Glasgow in five minutes - time-lapse video, June 2008
• London to Glasgow in five minutes - BBC video, December 2008

Coordinates: 52°10′41″N 0°55′27″W / 52.17801°N 0.92405°W / 52.17801; -0.92405