West Coast Mainline
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important intercity railway lines in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. It begins at Euston station in central London and links London to Glasgow but also links several of the UK's largest cities and towns on the way, including Milton Keynes, Northampton, Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and Carlisle.
The line was built in parts between the 1830s and the 1860s with the first parts being the Grand Junction Railway (Warrington - Birmingham) and then the London and Birmingham Railway, both completed in the 1830s.
Despite its somewhat confusing singular name, the WCML is not a single railway line, but a series of interconnecting railway lines.
For instance there are two rail routes between Birmingham and Manchester, one which goes via Crewe, and one via Stoke-on-Trent, but both are part of the West Coast Mainline.
The line was modernised and electrified in stages between 1959 and 1974 - initial electrification was in 1959 between Crewe and Manchester and Liverpool, with the rest of the southern section of the line following a few years later; the line from Weaver Junction (where the route to Liverpool diverges) to Glasgow was electrified in 1974. It is currently undergoing a major upgrade along almost its entire length. The original plans estimated that this upgrade would cost £2bn, be ready by 2005, cut journey times to Birmingham to one hour (currently 1hr 40mins) and 1hr 45mins to Manchester. After a series of setbacks, in particular the bankruptcy of Railtrack, the revised estimates indicate that the cost will £10bn, be ready by 2008, Birmingham journey times will be 1hr 10mins and 2hrs to Manchester.
See Also
|
