Norton Bridge is a village in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, England. Until May 2004 it was served by
Norton Bridge railway station.
Arguably Norton Bridge is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
, as it is in the Parish of Chebsey and does not have its own church.
Amenities
At present, Norton Bridge has very few amenities for residents. There is a children's park which has been recently upgraded. In addition to the park there is St Luke's which is a small church/village hall and a postbox. Also, Norton Bridge's only public house, "The Railway Inn" has now reopened and serves locally brewed beer.
Norton Bridge rail crash
The Norton Bridge rail crash occurred on 16 October 2003. An
intermodal train hauled by two
Freightliner Class 86 (86631 and 86611) locomotives collided with another stationary freight train, after
passing a red signal. The cabs of the leading locomotive were badly damaged but the driver escaped with only minor injuries, although he had to be cut from the wreckage by the fire brigade.
Norton Bridge Junction
Norton Bridge Junction is where trains towards
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
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 ...
are routed away from 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 primary uses of this route are the
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...
service from
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
to
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
via Stoke-on-Trent and the
CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
services between the South Coast and Southwest and Manchester Piccadilly via
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
. No regular freight service uses this route.
In 2014 construction commenced on a scheme which takes the form of a diversionary route and flyover. The new route commences just north of
Great Bridgeford
Great Bridgeford is a village in Staffordshire, England. Population details taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census can be found under Seighford. It lies on the A5013 road, A5013 and is the point where the List of B roads in Great Brit ...
and runs slightly west of the West Coast Main Line. The route then swings eastward on a new flyover located just north of the present Norton Bridge Junction to rejoin the existing route to Stoke-on-Trent. The new junction was commissioned over the Easter 2016 weekend, 18 months ahead of schedule.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Chebsey
Chebsey is a civil parish in the Borough of Stafford, Staffordshire, England. It contains 16 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, an ...
*
List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom
This lists significant accidents involving railway rolling stock, including crashes, fires and incidents of crew being overcome by locomotive emissions. Other railway-related incidents such as the King's Cross fire of 1987 or the 7 July 2005 Lond ...
*
West Coast Main Line route modernisation
The West Coast Main Line is a key strategic railway line in the United Kingdom. It links the cities of London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. Virgin Trains took on the franchise to run train services on the routes in 19 ...
References
External links
Villages in Staffordshire
Borough of Stafford
Railway accidents in 2003
2003 in England
2003 disasters in the United Kingdom
Train collisions in England
Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger
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