The Canada Dock Branch is a 4-mile 59

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

(7.62 kilometre) long railway line in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The line's route is from the large Edge Hill rail junction in the east of Liverpool to

Seaforth Dock Seaforth Dock (also known as the Royal Seaforth Dock) is a purpose-built dock and container terminal, on the River Mersey, England, at Seaforth, to the north of Liverpool. As part of the Port of Liverpool and Liverpool Freeport, it is operated ...

to the north. The line was originally built by the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

terminating at

Canada Dock Canada Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Canada Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall with three branch docks and a graving ...

, with a later branch extension added to Alexandra Dock and links onto the MDHC railway lines. The line is not electrified.

History

The line opened in 1866 between Edge Hill and

. Passenger trains ran on the line to Canada Dock from 1870. The initial stations were:

, Walton & Anfield, Breck Road,

Tue Brook The Tue Brook or Tew Brook is a small river or stream in Liverpool. It flows through the suburb of West Derby and is the main tributary of the River Alt. The brook is now almost entirely culverted and runs underground, but is remembered in the name ...

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and

Edge Lane Edge Lane is a main road running from the periphery of Liverpool city centre at Hall Lane towards the M62 motorway. Edge Lane technically comprises two roads, that of 'Edge Lane' and that of 'Edge Lane Drive' and passes through the districts of ...

. On 5 September 1881 a sub-branch to Alexandra Dock was opened from the main branch at Atlantic Junction. The branch was in a cutting to the south west of Kirkdale Station. This added the Alexandra Dock and Bootle Balliol Road stations to the line. A further station as added in 1882 at County Road named Spellow. On 1 May 1886 a junction with the

Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway (LC&SR) received parliamentary authorization on 2 July 1847 and opened between Southport and Liverpool, on 24 July 1848. The Liverpool terminal was a temporary station on the viaduct passing near to Wate ...

was opened from the Alexandra Branch. By 31 May 1948 all the passenger stations on the line closed. The line continued to be used by regular

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...

services, which operated primarily to provide a convenient Southport connection to long haul mainline trains. The service was withdrawn in October 1977. A new Merseyrail underground station below the mainline Lime Street station gave access from Southport via the Merseyrail Northern Line and Wirral Line. A planned extension to

Hornby Hornby may refer to: Places In England * Hornby, Lancashire * Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire * Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere * Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...

and

Gladstone Dock Gladstone Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. The dock is connected to Seaforth Dock to the north and what remains of Hornby Dock to the south. P ...

s was abandoned in September 1973, however the extension was built and opened in September 1985 for the transport of grain and coal. During 2021, work took place to double the 400 metres of single line section of the track, allowing trains greater flexibility to enter and exit the mainline.

Today

The line is currently a freight-only diesel-traction line and is sometimes referred to as the Bootle Branch or Seaforth Container Terminal Branch (SCT) providing the sole remaining rail connection to the

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks between ...

. The

Olive Mount chord The Olive Mount chord in Liverpool, England, is a 300-metre stretch of railway track between Olive Mount Junction, in Olive Mount cutting, and Edge Lane Junction that provides access to the Canada Dock Branch (more usually known today as the B ...

at Edge Hill junction was re-opened in December 2008, approximately doubling the Canada Dock branch's throughput of freight from the Port of Liverpool to the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

. The reinstatement of the chord was essential for existing port operations, ready for the increase in freight when the

Post-Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...

Liverpool2 Liverpool2 is a container terminal extension adjoining the River Mersey in Seaforth, Merseyside. The extension, built by Peel Ports, officially opened on 4 November 2016 and is an expansion of the Seaforth Dock container terminal. Developmen ...

container terminal was completed at

. The container terminal can berth the world's largest container ships, transporting up to 14,000 containers per ship.

Biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

wood pellets are imported into Liverpool and delivered to the Drax power station in Yorkshire via the rail link. The service started in 2015 with four trains a day, each carrying 25 wagons containing approximately of biomass pellets. A thrice-weekly rail link between the Port of Liverpool and the Mossend terminal in Glasgow was set up in 2018. It is expected that each trip will consist of about 40 containers.

The future

Passenger use

The Department for Transport's Rail electrification document of July 2009, states that the route to Liverpool Docks will be electrified. The Canada Dock Branch Line is the only line into the docks. From the document: :''70. Electrification of this route will offer electric haulage options for freight.'' :''There will be an alternative route to Liverpool docks for electrically-operated freight trains, and better opportunities of electrified access to the proposed freight terminal at Parkside near Newton-le-Willows.'' The electrification of this branch line would greatly assist in recommissioning passenger trains, as costs would be reduced. The Route Utilisation Strategy document makes note of the benefits of dual-voltage Electric multiple unit trains, which can be utilised on both the third rail Merseyrail network and future electrified lines which are likely to use overhead wires. There is also a serious suggestion to introduce passenger services on this line in the Local Transport Plan for Merseyside. This was again mentioned in Merseytravel's 30-year plan of 2014. The October 2017

Liverpool City Region The Liverpool City Region is a combined authority region of England, centred on Liverpool, incorporating the local authority district boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral. The region is in the historic counties of ...

Combined Authority update to the Long Term Rail Strategy mentions the re-opening of the line to passenger use with new stations at Anfield, Tue Brook and Edge Lane. The expansion of

Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

stadium has led to repeated calls to open the line to passengers and the building of a station to serve the stadium and the

area. It was announced in December 2019 that Liverpool City Council had commissioned a feasibility study to see about reopening the Canada Dock Branch to passenger traffic.

References

External links