Wigan North Western To Alderley Edge And Stalybridge
The following two services were started from Wigan North Western station in May 2018.
- Alderley Edge via Manchester Piccadilly.
- Stalybridge via Manchester Victoria
Both services are hourly and cross-Manchester services. I rode both of them on Friday afternoon.
These two routes are not fully-electrified and it was intended that they would use new Class 769 bi-mode trains, which can use diesel on sections without electrification.
But the Class 769 trains are still under test, so there was a selection of good and not-so-good rolling stock.
- One four-car train was two refurbished Class 156 trains working together.
- Another was a pair of refurbished Class 150 trains.
- And a third was a Class 150 train pulling a Pacer.
The diesel trains trundled into Manchester at speeds between sixty and eighty mph.
At least the four-car trains were the right size for the route and although full, the trains weren’t by any means over-full!
The arrival of the Class 769 trains would increase the quality and operating speed of the rolling stock.
I also went into Manchester on Saturday in a Class 319 train.
This electric train was doing up to ninety mph on the fully-electrified route via Newton-le-Willows.
As the Class 769 trains are based on Class 319 trains on electrified sections of the routes, they will be able to speed along and shorten journey times.
Wigan North Western And Alderley Edge
On this route approximately 9.5 miles of the 34.5 miles route is not electrified and journeys take 78 minutes.
As between Bolton and Alderley Edge is now fully electrified, I wonder what will be time between Wigan North Western and Alderley Edge.
If the service is under the hour, this could mean a reduction in the number of trains needed to work the route.
Wigan North Western And Stalybridge
On this route approximately 17 miles of the 27.8 miles route is not electrified and journeys take 59 minutes.
Because this service spends more time on diesel, the speed-up might not be as easy to achieve.
Conclusion
I predict that the Class 769 trains will be welcomed by passengers, operators and staff, as they will speed up services.
The Anonymous Widower 
Dear Anon W.
The service from Alderley Edge is supposed to be extended via Wigan WG to Southport from December
Comment by Chris Grayson | February 25, 2019 |