Crewe–Derby line

TheCrewe–Derby lineis arailway linein centralEngland,running fromCrewein a south-easterly direction toDerby,viaStoke-on-TrentandUttoxeter.Passenger services on the line are provided byEast Midlands Railway,withAvanti West Coast,London Northwestern Railway,NorthernandCrossCountryproviding additional services north of Stoke-on-Trent to both Crewe andManchester.

Crewe–Derby line
AnEast Midlands Trains'Class 158enteringKidsgrovestation in 2015
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	East Midlands North West England West Midlands
Termini	Crewe Derby
Stations	11
Service
Type	Heavy Rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	East Midlands Railway Northern West Midlands Trains
Rolling stock	Class 158Express Sprinter Class 170Turbostar Class 220Voyager Class 221Super Voyager Class 323 Class 331 Class 350Desiro Class 390Pendolino
History
Opened	1848
Technical
Number of tracks	Double track, except from Alsager to Crewe where there is single track
Track gauge	4 ft8+1⁄2in(1,435 mm)standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz ACOHLE (Stoke-on-Trent to Crewe)
Operating speed	70 mph (110 km/h)
Route map (Click to expand)

Crewe–Derby line
West Coast Main LinetoPreston Crewe West Coast Main LinetoLondon Radway Green and Barthomley Alsager toKeele toSandbach West Coast Main LinetoManchester Kidsgrove Harecastle TunnelNorth ( 130 yd 119 m ) Harecastle Tunnel South ( 1766 yd 1615 m ) Chatterley Longport Potteries Loop Line Etruria Cliffe Vale Halt toNewcastle-under-Lyme Stoke-on-Trent Stoke to Leek Line West Coast Main LinetoLondon Carter's Crossing Halt Fenton Longton Normacot Longton, Adderley Green and Bucknall railway Meir Tunnel Meir Foxfield Light Railway Blythe Bridge Cresswell Cheadle branch line Leigh Bromshall toStafford Uttoxeter Churnet Valley LinetoNorth Rode Marchington Sudbury Scropton Tutbury and Hatton toBurton-on-Trent Egginton Junction GNR Derbs & Staffs Extension Egginton Cross Country RoutetoBirmingham Castle Donington Line Sinfin branch line Peartree Ramsline Halt Midland Main LinetoLondon Derby Midland Main LinetoSheffield

History

This line was opened by theNorth Staffordshire RailwayCompany and became part of theLondon Midland and Scottish Railwayin 1923.

The line was opened between Stoke and Uttoxeter on 7 August 1848. The next stage from here to Tutbury was opened 11 September 1848. Just beyond Tutbury was formerly a branch line toBurton upon Trent,having opened on the same date, but now closed.

A separate company, the Cheadle Railway Company, built a line fromCresswelltoCheadle,which was opened throughout on 1 January 1901 and was closed to passengers in 1953 and to freight traffic in 1978.

The section of line betweenEggintonand theMidland RailwayDerby to Birmingham line was opened on 13 July 1849. The section between Stoke and Kidsgrove is part of theWest Coast Main Line,which together with the section from Kidsgrove to Crewe opened on 9 October 1848.

When Central Trains were awarded the franchise for the line in the 1990s, the Crewe-Derby service (which under BR Regional Railways had run between Crewe, Derby andNottinghamthen eitherLincolnorSkegness) was expanded to run betweenManchester Airportand Skegness. However, poor punctuality meant that this was later curtailed to Crewe-Skegness. In Autumn 2005, further poor performance saw the through service limited to Crewe-Derby.

During 2003 much of the line was closed as part of the West Coast Main Line upgrade with trains terminating atBlythe Bridgeand a shuttle bus service running between there andCrewe.After the closure all stations on the route reopened exceptEtruriawhich was closed in 2005.As a result of the upgrade the section from Crewe to Kidsgrove waselectrifiedfor use as a diversionary route for the West Coast Main Line.

In May 2021, services provided byEast Midlands Railwaywere extended to provide Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent with direct links past Derby toNottinghamandNewark Castle,although the service is still run hourly and journeys between Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham take approximately 90 minutes.

Stations

All stations on the route exceptStoke-on-TrentandCreweare managed by East Midlands Railway.

The line serves or has formerly served the following places (highlighted place names currently have a station whereas the others formerly had a named station that is now closed):

Crewe; Radway Green and Barthomley;Alsager;Kidsgrove;Chatterley;Longport;Etruria;Stoke-on-Trent;Fenton;Longton;Normacot; Meir;Blythe Bridge;Cresswell; Leigh; Bramshall;Uttoxeter;Marchington; Sudbury; Scropton;TutburyandHatton;Egginton;Pear Treeand Normanton; andDerby.

Route

The route starts atDerbyand follows theCross Country Routeas far as North Staffordshire Junction inWillington,then carrying along the main body of the line until Stoke Junction on the Stoke-on-Trent branch of the West Coast Main Line until Kidsgrove, where it then follows the Alsager branch as far as Crewe south junction before terminating atCrewe.

The route is double track for all of its length except for a three-mile section between Alsager and Crewe, which was singled byBritish Rail.Whilst the majority of the route is not electrified, the section between Stoke Junction and Crewe is as part of the West Coast Main Line.

In April 2006,Network Railorganised its maintenance and train control operations into "26 Routes". The line from Crewe to Kidsgrove (where it joins the line fromManchester) through to Stoke-on-Trent forms part of Route 18 (the West Coast Main Line). The line through to Derby from the junction just south of Stoke-on-Trent station forms part of Route 19 (theMidland Main LineandEast Midlands).

Services

The line sees a basic hourly service in each direction fromCrewetoNewark CastleviaStoke-on-Trent,Uttoxeter,Derby,Long EatonandNottingham,with trains calling at all stations on the route except forPeartreewhich is served by two Newark bound trains and three Crewe bound trains per weekday.

The majority of services on the route from December 2008 to February 2020 were provided by single carClass 153 "Super Sprinter"Diesel Multiple Units, howeverClass 158 "Express Sprinter"andClass 156 "Super Sprinter"units were occasionally used.

From February 2020, the newEast Midlands Railwayfranchise started running Class 153 DMUs in double formation, and occasionally, Class 156 DMUs, however, overcrowding remained a major issue on the route, particularly in the morning and evening peak, and on weekends. Passengers are occasionally left behind.

AClass 170DMU arriving at Tutbury and Hatton in 2005, bound forSkegness.

The reintroduction ofClass 170 "Turbostar"trains on this route has eased congestion, compared to the previous Class 153 and 156 trains, and now mainly run this route, with the occasional class 158.

Future

Under the newEast Midlands Railwayfranchise, most trains have increased in capacity, with Class 170 DMUs now operating the route. In the future, there are plans to extend the route toNottingham.Local MPJack Breretonhas also called forMeirrailway station to be re-opened.