It would probably work in the sense that there would be demand for it, especially if good connections could be timetabled at Northwich. Access to Crewe is tricky because nobody seems to have properly considered accommodation for terminating trains from the Manchester direction (and that was as true in the 1985 remodeliing as it is now). The NR presentation linked above about the Crewe remodelling shows that there is to be a new stabling siding at the south end of platform 1. The purpose of this siding is not explained in the presentation but it seems that it could enable more use to be made of P1 by allowing terminating trains to be moved clear of the platform. That would be helpful. The presentation also says that there is new provision being made for bay platforms to terminate trains from Cardiff direction. It rather reads as if the plan is to cut back the Manchester-Cardiff service to a Crewe-Cardiff service (which it was originally, many years ago). No doubt this is seen as a cunning wheeze to avoid making provision for the Cardiff trains to cross the Crewe layout. However, from the Middlewich viewpoint it is interesting as it would free up a pair of hourly paths between Sandbach and Crewe.
