My Idea to reopen two disused lines in Cheshire

[JoshuaG]

Hi all, I have recently joined and moved to Sandbach in Cheshire. I was curious about a few things relevant to the county.

The first one is: why was the line between Kidsgrove and Sandbach closed, rather than retained for a direct line between Northwich and Stoke? And is it possible to be reopened if they ever wanted a direct Stoke-Chester line?

The second is: would it be possible for them to reopen the line between Warrington and Altrincham if demand were there, even though the viaduct at Latchford would need work?

And finally, is the line between Chester and Mold still something that could be reopened, alongside the Shotton-Northwich line via Blacon and Chester (Chester and Connah's Quay Railway)?

Thanks all

 

[321362]

Welcome to the forum!

The first one is: why was the line between Kidsgrove and Sandbach closed, rather than retained for a direct line between Northwich and Stoke? And is it possible to be reopened if they ever wanted a direct Stoke-Chester line?

The second is: would it be possible for them to reopen the line between Warrington and Altrincham if demand were there, even though the viaduct at Latchford would need work?

And finally, is the line between Chester and Mold still something that could be reopened, alongside the Shotton-Northwich line via Blacon and Chester (Chester and Connah's Quay Railway)?

Thanks all

1. I'm fairly sure it closed pre- Beeching cuts, but remains open to freight to this day. Presumably it was so loss-making that they scrapped all the passenger services on the line.

It wouldn't be easy to reopen it for passenger services, mostly because there's already quite a bit of freight and passenger services through Sandbach. You'd need to electrify it to be viable for passenger use - Northern already have a diesel train shortage and all the other services around there are electric, so they wouldn't be able to interwork with, say, Manchester to Stoke stoppers or Crewe to Manchester stoppers.

Stoke - Chester isn't that large of a passenger flow - according to https://www.railwaydata.co.uk/odm/gbr/?dest=all&string_out=Stoke-On-Trent+[1314] it's around 15,000 passengers who travel annually between the two.

2. Probably, but it would cost an absurd amount because this is the UK railway industry and it always costs an absurd amount.

An extension for Metrolink would be more viable - I'm not local so can't talk about demand etc but Metrolink would be cheaper and quicker, plus TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester, the owner of Metrolink) is much more driven to expand than National Rail is, although hopefully with Great British Railways we will see more of a desire to expand the rail network.

3. The Chester to Mold line had its peak when Mold and the surrounding area were exporting minerals on an industrial scale. The bulk of services - and profits - will have been freight services. A few years back, the Campaign for Better Transport (wikipedia link) put out a report stating that the line would need more housing developments to be viable.

Similar issues for any Shotton - Northwich line, with the additional factor that there's already a direct Shotton - Chester line, and Chester - Northwich. The southern part of the Wirral does need an east-west rail link, but probably further north near Hooton and Neston.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Lawton Jcn.(Alsager) to Sandbach via Wheelock closed to passengers in 1930 and freight in the '60s. Sandbach to Northwich via Middlewich closed to passengers in 1960 but remains open to freight.

 

[6Gman]

Lawton Junction to Sandbach was basically used to move N Staffordshire coal without clogging up Crewe.

Since there is now no coal mined in N Staffordshire ...


It's now used as a footpath and cut by the Wheelock by-pass. You would need to remove the B5079 (which runs along its formation) and close Malkins Bank golf course.

So, little need and huge impracticality.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

So, little need and huge impracticality.

Indeed. Fairly straightforward these days to get the 11 or so rail miles, from Alsager to Sandbach, via Crewe, with just one change.

The second is: would it be possible for them to reopen the line between Warrington and Altrincham if demand were there, even though the viaduct at Latchford would need work?

Think the "if demand were there" bit is the key problem/issue here.

Question I'd likely ask instead from a Sandbach perspective is:-
Is there any realistic prospect of the line from Sandbach to Middlewich and then to Northwich and beyond, re-opening for passenger use? Obviously Middlewich station would need re-building. Reckon that this suggestion has slightly more chance of happening than the others that have been mentioned. Still likely to be little or no chance.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Hi all, I have recently joined and moved to Sandbach in Cheshire. I was curious about a few things relevant to the county.

The first one is: why was the line between Kidsgrove and Sandbach closed, rather than retained for a direct line between Northwich and Stoke? And is it possible to be reopened if they ever wanted a direct Stoke-Chester line?

The second is: would it be possible for them to reopen the line between Warrington and Altrincham if demand were there, even though the viaduct at Latchford would need work?

And finally, is the line between Chester and Mold still something that could be reopened, alongside the Shotton-Northwich line via Blacon and Chester (Chester and Connah's Quay Railway)?

Thanks all

Great first post. Welcome to the forum.

 

[daodao]

The second is: would it be possible for them to reopen the line between Warrington and Altrincham if demand were there, even though the viaduct at Latchford would need work?

Welcome to the forum.

Reopening the line between Warrington and Altrincham is essentially not realistic, for the following reasons:

• The route is still essentially rural, with just the small town of Lymm between Warrington and the Manchester conurbation
• The previous rail passenger service was sparse and little used; it ceased in 1962 pre-Beeching (see my moniker for a photo of the former Dunham station)
• It crosses a major administrative boundary, and TfGM aren't known for cooperation with neighbouring authorities such as Warrington regarding public transport operations; no part of the route is now within the administrative authorities of East Cheshire or West Cheshire
• The direct bus service between Warrington and Altrincham has now been restored, but it is only hourly, indicative of limited demand
• The rural section of the route is now largely a public footpath and cycleway, and reopening would have significant opposition, e.g. from Sustrans
• The eastern end of the route is in Broadheath, not Altrincham town centre, and this section has been obliterated by commercial and out of town retail developments and a road (George Richards Way)
• At the western end, Latchford viaduct would need substantial expenditure to make it suitable for railway use again, and there would need to be substantial redevelopment of the poorly sited Warrington Bank Quay station with extra platforms