The Anonymous Widower

Destination Manchester

The title of this post is the same as the title of this page on the London North Western Railway web site.

The page introduces, the operator’s proposed new service to Manchester.

As a progressive rail operator we’re always looking to develop our services and timetables to provide a better travelling experience for our customers. We are ambitious and our team seek innovative solutions to create new journey opportunities.

That’s why we have developed proposals for our trains to begin serving Manchester for the first time. Under the plans, our existing hourly service between Crewe and London Euston would be extended to Manchester city centre from summer 2026.

Following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2, these proposals will provide much-needed connectivity between Manchester, the West Midlands and London, with thousands of extra seats every day.

In more detail, the extended London Euston and Crewe service to Manchester Victoria station, will create the following.

• Additional capacity and comfortable, affordable journeys to and from Manchester city centre
• A great alternative to car and coach travel, with fares up to 50% cheaper than the main intercity train operator
• New regular direct services to Warrington for passengers at Milton Keynes, Rugby and Lichfield
• New regular direct services to Manchester for passengers at Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth and Atherstone

Note.

1. The service will pass through Warrington Bank Quay, Stockport, Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Salford Central to reach Manchester Victoria, so could be a comprehensive service to the Northern and Western parts of Manchester City Centre. It would just depend on the stopping pattern in the City Centre.
2. There would be good connections to Manchester Metrolink at Eccles and Manchester Victoria.
3. All stations on the Manchester Metrolink can be reached either direct or with a single change from Manchester Victoria.
4. Manchester Metrolink is touch-in and out with a credit card.
5. Manchester Victoria is very well connected by rail to cities and important destinations  across the North including Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford, Burnley, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield, Leeds, Liverpool, Preston, Wigan and York.
6. The page talks of a London Euston and Manchester Victoria time of three hours and ten minutes.
7. Manchester Stations is a group of the four stations; Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria and Deansgate. Often a ticket to Manchester Stations is a few pounds cheaper and more convenient, if you are visiting several places in the City Centre.

The London Euston and Manchester Victoria service looks to me to be a well-thought out proposal.

A New Connection To Manchester Airport

Under a title of Anything Else on the page on the London North Western Railway web site, this is said.

As well as the proposal to extend our London Euston-Crewe services to Manchester Victoria, we are also proposing to begin running trains to Manchester Airport. This will involve extending our existing service between Stafford and Crewe, providing direct connectivity to the airport from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. More details on this proposal will be announced in due course.

Note.

1. The extended Stafford and Manchester Airport service could call at Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Longport, Kidsgrove, Alsager, Crewe, and possibly Wilmslow and Styal.
2. Stafford, Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Longport, Kidsgrove and Alsager would gain direct services to and from Manchester Airport.
3. It would appear that the current Stafford and Crewe service waits in Stafford station for at least fifteen minutes.
4. The current Stafford and Crewe service appears to always use platform 6 at Stafford.
5. The current Euston and Crewe service appears to always use platform 3 at Stafford.
6. The current Crewe and Euston service appears to always use platform 1 at Stafford.
7. The current Birmingham and Liverpool service appears to always use platform 5 at Stafford.
8. The current Liverpool and Birmingham service appears to always use platform 4 at Stafford.

I suspect that trains can be timetabled, so that the following is possible.

• An hourly London Euston and Manchester Airport service with a quick step-free change at Stafford between the London Euston and Manchester Victoria service and the Stafford and Manchester Airport service.
• An hourly Manchester Airport and London Euston service with a quick step-free change at Stafford between the Manchester Airport and Stafford service and the  Manchester Victoria and London Euston service.
• An hourly Birmingham New Street and Manchester Airport service with a quick cross-platform change at Stafford between the Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street service and the Stafford and Manchester Airport service.
• An hourly Manchester Airport and Birmingham New Street service with a quick step-free change at Stafford between the Manchester Airport and Stafford service and the  Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street service.

Note.

1. I suspect more changes at Stafford could be cross-platform.
2. I also suspect that it is possible to arrange that all services to the same destination, leave from the same platform, at the same time or times each hour.
3. It would appear too, that if you want a cheap ticket price to Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Victoria or Stoke-on-Trent, then you may have to change at Stafford.

It appears all more affordable London Northwestern Railway trains will go via Stafford.

I have some further thoughts.

Stafford And Manchester Airport Timings

With all the stops, it looks like Stafford and Manchester Airport will take about 78 minutes, but if they used the West Coast Main Line and didn’t stop the time could be reduced to just under an hour.

The Class 730 Trains

The services will be run by 110 mph Class 730 trains.

In 2018, there was talk of a bi-mode 125 mph Aventra, which I wrote about in Bombardier Bi-Mode Aventra To Feature Battery Power.

Currently, the Class 730 trains are 110 mph trains.

Would it help timetabling and capacity if these trains could be stretched to 125 mph?

Avanti West Coast

Several Avanti West Coast services stop at Stafford.

Their services could be half-an-hour quicker to Stafford, but they wouldn’t have the same stopping patterns.

In response to the competition, Avanti West Coast might run a few Manchester Airport Expresses using their new Class 805 trains.

A Second Service Between Stoke And Manchester Airport

I feel this might be needed and perhaps it could be faster, by using the direct route between Stafford and Crewe.

Avanti West Coast could use it to create a one-change fast service between London Euston and Manchester Airport, if they felt such a service were to be needed.

Conclusion

I like this proposal.

But there is a lot of fine tuning to do!

 

 

 

 

 

July 2, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 730 Train, Crewe Station, Euston Station, London Northwestern Railway, Manchester Metrolink, Manchester Victoria Station