Northwich railway station

Northwich
Northwich railway station
Location
Place	Northwich
Local authority	Cheshire West and Chester
Grid reference	SJ669739
Operations
Station code	NWI
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12	0.190 million
2012/13	0.204 million
2013/14	0.207 million
2014/15	0.216 million
2015/16	0.234 million
History
Key dates	Opened 1 January 1863 (1 January 1863)
National Rail – UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Northwich from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Northwich railway station serves the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. The station has two platforms and is located on the Mid-Cheshire line 28 ¹⁄₄ miles (45.5 km) southwest of Manchester Piccadilly.

The first railway to reach the town was the Cheshire Midland Railway route from Knutsford, which opened to traffic on 1 January 1863. Further lines to Sandbach via Middlewich (opened in November 1867 by the London and North Western Railway), Helsby (the West Cheshire Railway, opened in 1869) and a short goods branch to Winnington (also opened in 1869) would complete the network of routes serving the area, with Chester Northgate being served from May 1875. The CMR was one of the constituent routes of the Cheshire Lines Committee from its opening, whilst the WCR was built by it. As a result, Northwich station was served by no fewer than four different pre-grouping railway companies. The LNWR also operated a number of its Sandbach & Crewe trains forward from here to Acton Bridge via Greenbank and the curve down to the West Coast Main Line at Hartford Junction.

Following the 1923 Grouping, Northwich remained a joint station (the CLC being jointly vested in the LNER & LMS and the LMS taking over the Sandbach branch trains). Services to Acton Bridge ended during World War 2, but the primary routes to Chester, Crewe & Manchester continued in use up to and after nationalisation in January 1948 (when they became part of the London Midland Region of British Railways). B.R withdrew passenger services from the Sandbach line and closed Middlewich station on 4 January 1960 - thereafter the outer face of the southern island platform at the station fell out of use, though the branch itself has continued in use for freight traffic and periodic passenger diversions. Services on the main Manchester to Chester route would continue, but from 1969 both terminals for this service would change following the closure of Manchester Central station on 5 May and Chester Northgate on 6 October that year. Trains henceforth ran to Manchester Oxford Road eastbound and to the former GWR & LNWR Joint station at Chester General westbound. Since 1990 though, Manchester-bound trains have been diverted beyond Altrincham to run via Northenden & Stockport to reach Manchester Piccadilly as the former route via Sale is now part of the Metrolink tram network.