Macclesfield railway station

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Template other Macclesfield railway station serves the Cheshire market town of Macclesfield, England. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line.

It is one of the three stations that provide access to the Middlewood Way, which follows the route of the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway.

History

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened the line between Manchester and Macclesfield on 19 June 1849. On this date, the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) completed the Congleton to Macclesfield section of its main Macclesfield - Stoke - Norton Bridge line. A new joint station, managed by a committee of both companies, was opened at Hibel Road a month later, replacing the temporary LNWR station at Beech Bridge.

During the 1860s, the North Staffordshire Railway collaborated with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) to construct a joint railway between Macclesfield and Marple, near Manchester. For the NSR, this would provide a route to Manchester independently of the LNWR. For the MS&LR, it would provide a link to Stoke-on-Trent and the south. The joint railway was constituted as the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M). It was opened throughout to a second, temporary Macclesfield station for passengers on 2 August 1869 and to goods on 1 March 1870. The MB&M then constructed its own permanent station in the town called Macclesfield Central. It was sited just south of the LNWR station, which was renamed Macclesfield Hibel Road for clarity. The new MB&M station was connected to the rest of the joint line for goods on 3 April 1871 and opened for passengers on 1 July 1873. It closed to all traffic south of Rose Hill in January 1970.

Some North Staffordshire Railway through trains from Macclesfield railway station used the Potteries Loop Line.

By the late 1920s, there was one freight train a day from Macclesfield Central to Template:Rws; this train used the Potteries Loop line.

On 7 November 1960, British Railways closed Macclesfield Hibel Road. Macclesfield Central was vastly remodelled and is now called simply Macclesfield station. As with many other stations on the West Coast Main Line, it was rebuilt in the Brutalist style of architecture; the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and its design follows the Modernist approach.

The station won the "Best Kept Station in Cheshire Award" for 2007 but, in summer 2011, it was reported to be "distinctly shabby", with peeling paintwork.

Accidents and incidents

• On 26 July 1971, an electric multiple unit departed from the station against signals and was derailed by trap points.

Facilities

Facilities at the station include ticket sales, a kiosk, a waiting room and public toilets.

Services

A two and a half minute video in which two trains arrive from different directions at the station round the same time, and then depart

Trains arriving and departing station

Macclesfield is served by three train operating companies: Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Northern Trains.

Northbound to Template:Rws and Template:Rws, Avanti West Coast and Northern operate hourly services, with some peak time extras, and CrossCountry runs two services an hour.

Southbound, there are also four trains per hour: one stopping service to Template:Stnlink, operated by Northern Trains; one inter-city service to Template:Rws, operated by Avanti West Coast; one to Template:Stnlink, via Template:Rws and Template:Stnlink; and one to Template:Rws, both operated by CrossCountry.

Sunday services are similar, but the local stopping service operated by Northern Trains is limited, with only six rail replacement bus services operating between Manchester Piccadilly and Stoke-on-Trent.

Preceding station		National Rail National Rail		Following station
Stoke-on-Trent		Avanti West Coast London – Manchester via Stoke-on-Trent		Stockport
Stoke-on-Trent		CrossCountry Cross Country Route		Stockport
Congleton		Northern Trains Template:Rws – Template:Rws (Local stopping service)		Prestbury
				Poynton
Terminus		Northern Trains Macclesfield – Template:Rws (Local stopping service) (Limited service)
Preceding station		Historical railways		Following station
North Rode Line open, station closed	style="background:#Template:NSR colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	North Staffordshire Railway Churnet Valley Line	style="background:#Template:NSR colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	Terminus
Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus	style="background:#Template:NSR colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	North Staffordshire Railway Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway	style="background:#Template:NSR colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	Bollington Line and station closed
Terminus		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Potteries Loop Line (Once a day freight train only)		Normacot Line and station closed

External links

• Train times and station information for Macclesfield railway station from National Rail