The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of

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 ...

, operated by

Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...

. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Atherton Line. Starting at the city centre stations of Manchester Victoria (also serving Salford Central on the fringe of the city centre) and

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

(also serving Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate), it runs in a north-western direction through the towns, villages and suburbs of the

City of Salford The City of Salford () is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury, as well as the villages ...

and

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. It then proceeds in the same direction through the small rural villages of West Lancashire, before ending on the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

coast at the resort town of Southport.

Rolling stock

Services on the line use , and Class 158 DMUs as well as

Class 769 The British Rail Class 769 ''Flex'' is a type of bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) and tri-mode multiple unit (TMU) which is currently being converted by Brush Traction, and running in service with Transport for Wales Rail and Northern Trains. The t ...

BMUs, although 150s and 156s are the most common. DMUs are banned from operating on this route because the steps below the doors on these units foul the platform coping stones at station.

Current stations

* Southport – terminus, interchange for

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which are dedicated electri ...

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

services to south Sefton and

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 ...

Meols Cop Meols Cop () is a small area within the Blowick suburb, in the coastal town of Southport, Merseyside in north-western England. It is not a suburb or ward in its own right. It is not to be confused with Meols on the Wirral Peninsula. The two ca ...

– suburban stop for eastern Southport * Bescar Lane – village (cottage-style) stop for North Meols. Infrequent service. * New Lane – village stop, also for Martin Mere. Infrequent service. * Burscough Bridge – town stop, pedestrian interchange to Burscough Junction on Preston to Ormskirk branch line. Now an unstaffed station. * Hoscar – village stop for Hoscar and

Lathom Lathom is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Ormskirk. It is in the district of West Lancashire, and with the parish of Newburgh forms part of Newburgh ward. The population of the civil par ...

. Infrequent service *

Parbold Parbold is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England. Local government Parbold had a population of 2,582 at the 2011 Census. West Lancashire is divided into 19 parish councils, the first tier of local government. Parbold is borde ...

– for village of

. Staffed station. *

Appley Bridge Appley Bridge is a small, affluent village crossing the borders of Greater Manchester and West Lancashire, England. It is located off Junction 27 of the M6 motorway and is nestled in the Douglas Valley alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. ...

– suburban stop for

. Western boundary for TfGM ticketing zone *

Gathurst Gathurst is the name given to a small section of the township of Shevington, a Civil Parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was historically a part of Lancashire. The village is served by a railway stati ...

, serves the nearby village of

Shevington Shevington is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, England. The population of the Wigan ward called Shevington and Lower Ground had increased to 11,482 at the 2011 Census. Lying within the historic county boun ...

Wigan Wallgate Wigan Wallgate railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The station serves two routes, the Manchester-Southport Line and the Manchester- Kirkby Line. It is 16 miles north-w ...

– main stop for town of

, interchange for services to

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...

, Bolton,

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. Pedestrian interchange to

Wigan North Western Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is a moderately-sized station on the West Coast Main Line. It is operated by Avanti West Coast, and is also ...

for national services to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. *

Ince Ince may refer to: *Ince, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, UK *Ince-in-Makerfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, UK *Ince (UK Parliament constituency), a former constituency covering Ince-in-Makerfield *Ince (ward), an electoral ward covering ...

– suburban stop for

Ince-in-Makerfield Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward (north o ...

. Not served by semi-fast services. * Hindley – suburban stop for Hindley. Interchange point for services to Bolton. Staffed station. * Daisy Hill – Westhoughton and

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

. Staffed station. * Hag Fold – suburban stop for Atherton and Leigh. Staffed station. Not served by semi-fast services. * Atherton – stop for town of Atherton and Leigh. Staffed station. * Walkden – stop for Walkden and

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

. Staffed station. * Moorside – suburban stop. Staffed station. Not served by semi-fast services. * Swinton – stop for town of Swinton. Staffed station. *

Salford Crescent Salford Crescent railway station is a railway station in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, opened by British Rail in 1987. The station is west of Salford Central, west of Manchester Victoria and west of Manchester Piccadilly. It consist ...

– main stop for city of Salford and the University of Salford, interchange for services to Bolton and Preston line and Ribble Valley line services to Blackburn * Salford Central – city centre stop serving the western fringes of Manchester city centre, the station lays just on the Manchester/Salford boundary, but Central Manchester is the area this station serves. * Manchester Victoria – main stop for city of Manchester, and interchange for trans-pennine services and services to south

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. Metrolink tram interchange to Manchester Piccadilly railway station for mainline intercity services.

Tram train

There is ongoing feasibility into the conversion of parts of this line (Wigan–Atherton–Manchester) to operate as a Manchester Metrolink service with a higher frequency metro service for the Greater Manchester Boroughs of

and Salford into the city centre. In November 2013, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority approved a recommended strategy for reconfiguring existing commuter services into tram-train operation, identifying the Atherton line as providing an opportunity for extending potential tram-train services from the south-east (Marple, Glossop) across the city centre and outwards to the north west. – committee report Southport and Kirkby services on this line would be diverted to operate via Bolton. Additionally, Network Rail has identified electrification of Wigan to Southport, together with the Ormskirk–Preston line and the

Burscough Curves Burscough Junction pronounced (Burs/co Junction) is one of two railway stations serving the town of Burscough in Lancashire, England. It is sited on the Ormskirk Branch Line, north of and is served by Northern Trains. The station was the scene ...

as a possible source of new services.

References

External links

Northern Rail network map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester-Southport line Rail transport in Greater Manchester Rail transport in Lancashire Rail transport in Merseyside Railway lines in North West England