The Anonymous Widower

The Former Unilever Site At Warrington – 6th May 2026

I went past this site twice yesterday on my way to and from Blackpool.

I took these pictures going Northwards.

And I took these pictures going Southwards.

A quick search of the Internet on my phone revealed.

• It was a former soap works, that had previously been owned by Unilever.
• The site was now going to be developed as a data centre.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways through the area.

Note.

1. Warrington Bank Quay station is indicated by the blue arrow in the middle of the map.
2. The Unilever site is to its North-West.
3. Warrington Bank Quay station is a major station on the West Coast Main Line and will probably be on High Speed Two, which will share tracks with the West Coast Main Line.
4. The two East-West lines are not electrified.
5. Warrington West is a relatively new station, that I wrote about in 2020, in The New Warrington West Station.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines between Liverpool and the coast in the West and the West Coast main Line in the East.

Note.

1. The Merseyrail third rail network shown in lilac.
2. Electrified tracks shown in red.
3. Tracks without electrification shown in black.
4. Warrington Bank Quay station indicated by the blue arrow.
5. The West Coast Main Line (WCML) runs North-South at the Eastern edge of the map.
6. Wigan North Western station is in the North East corner of the map.
7. Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay stations are both on the WCML.

Five lines connect the Liverpool local network to the WCML.

1. The top unelectrified line connects the new Headbolt Lane station to Wigan Wallgate station.
2. The most Northerly electrified line connects Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western stations via Huyton station.
3. The second electrified line connects Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester via Newton-le-Willows station.
4. The most Northerly of the bottom pair of unelectrified lines connects Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester via Warrington Central station.
5. The final line is a freight line between Liverpool and Manchester along the Mersey. This line runs under the WCML

The last line is likely to be upgraded to become Northern Powerhouse Rail between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester via Manchester Airport.

This picture shows a freight train passing under Warrington Bank Quay station.

This OpenRailway Map shows how the lines cross to the South of Warrington Bank Quay station.

Note.

1. The electrified North-South line is the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
2. There is quite a good amount of space.

Could the junction be designed, so that HS2 trains could go between Manchester and London?

 

 

May 7, 2026 - Posted by AnonW | Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Energy, Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Data Centre, Headbolt Lane Station, High Speed Two, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Manchester Airport Station, Merseyrail, Newton-le-Willows Station, Northern Powerhouse Rail, River Mersey, Unilever, Warrington Bank Quay Station, Warrington Central Station, Warrington West Station, West Coast Main Line, Wigan North Western Station, Wigan Wallgate Station