The Windsor Link is a 700-metre railway line in

Salford, Greater Manchester Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county aft ...

that connects

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 ...

and Manchester Deansgate stations. It was opened by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

in May 1988, and came into full use in 1989. This link allows services from the

Manchester–Preston line The Manchester–Preston line runs from the city of Manchester to Preston, Lancashire, England. It is largely used by commuters entering Manchester from surrounding suburbs and cities, but is also one of the main railway lines in the North West ...

and the

Manchester–Southport line The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of England, operated by Northern Trains. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Ather ...

, from the north-west of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(such as from

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 ...

via

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 ...

and

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, also from Blackpool North and Lancaster via Preston) to directly access

Manchester Piccadilly station 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 ...

: Before the link was opened, services from these lines could only run into

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was ...

, although indirect access for services from Wigan or Preston to Manchester Piccadilly had been possible via 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 ...

's connection to the

Chat Moss Chat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up part of the City of Salford, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. It also makes up part of Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside and Warrington ...

route; the northern route of the Liverpool-Manchester lines. Services then continue south east to and from Piccadilly to destinations such as

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 ...

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

Hazel Grove Hazel Grove is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, close to the Peak District national park. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, the area was kno ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. Government approval for the link was granted in 1985, and it was built for £12.5 million.Intelligence ''

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport p ...

'' June 1985 page 398 The link has its west end just south of Salford Crescent station where it forms ''Windsor Bridge Junction'' (hence the name) and ends half a mile later at a junction with the route of the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...

at Ordsall Lane Junction, just to the west of the former Ordsall Lane station. Trains using the link then run along that route for a very short distance before turning off onto the route of the

Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester. The MSJ&AR line operat ...

to reach Deansgate,

Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Oxford Road railway station is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the second busiest of the four stations in Manchest ...

and Piccadilly. As part of the electrification of the line between Manchester and Preston the link was electrified in December 2018.

Notes

Rail transport in Greater Manchester Railway lines opened in 1988 1988 establishments in England {{coord, 53.480136, -2.268527, region:GB-SLF_type:landmark, display=title

See also

Notes