Were passenger services to resume through Middlewich it would give residents of Northwich, Knutsford, Altrincham and other parts of Mid Cheshire much improved connectivity and lower journey times to reach HS2 services. It could also aid the delivery of the 120,000 new jobs and 100,000 new homes that the Northern Gateway Partnership of local authorities aims to deliver in Cheshire and Staffordshire by 2040 on the back of the arrival of HS2 (see pages 60-63).
John Oates, chairman of the Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association, says the construction of HS2 is a key factor in dictating the delivery schedule for returning the Northwich-Sandbach line to passenger use.
“Middlewich station needs to be here before HS2 to Crewe opens in 2027,” he says. “Without the Mid Cheshire Rail Link, getting by rail from Northwich and Knutsford to Crewe takes well over an hour. Otherwise the nearest HS2 station will be Manchester Piccadilly, requiring passengers to travel a long way north to go south.
“The rail link will provide a vital feeder route from north and mid-Cheshire to the HS2 station at Crewe, and would be an easy-to-implement element of Northern Powerhouse Rail when everyone is busy talking about the potential for HS3.”
Manchester Airport is also equally difficult to access by rail from mid-Cheshire. Despite being only 12 miles northwest from Knutsford, its railway station is at the end of a short stub from the Styal Line to the east.
With no other public transport alternatives, this makes the prospect of a Western Link to give the airport a through route all the more intriguing. Manchester is already the UK’s third busiest airport, and the Western Link could be included in plans to increase annual passenger numbers from 23 million to 50 million, and to build an £800m Airport City of hotel, office and manufacturing facilities by 2030.
Trains would then be able to turn off the Mid Cheshire Line near Mobberley and run over the new 3½-mile link to Manchester Airport station, offering a journey time 20 minutes faster than the current route via Altrincham and Stockport with no change of train required. This would not only remedy the current public transport vacuum for airport users, it would also open up employment opportunities to residents of mid-Cheshire and provide another possible route for Middlewich line services.
Armed with the updated business case incorporating developments linked to HS2 and fresh opportunities for economic growth, Congleton MP Fiona Bruce has already presented the reinforced arguments for reopening Middlewich station to Rail Minister Paul Maynard, in order to raise Parliamentary support.
The document’s conclusions appear to have been well received by Maynard, who was himself born in Crewe and went to school in nearby Winsford. He agreed that connectivity was equally important between towns as between cities, to maximise the effectiveness of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse agenda, and looked forward to working closely with Bruce to expedite plans with the Department for Transport.
With the 150th anniversary of the building of the line falling next year, is this the perfect time for the long campaign to give Middlewich its station back to finally reach fruition?
Comment as guest
Comments
No comments have been made yet.