railroad.wikisort.org - Station

Congleton railway station is a mainline station serving the Cheshire town of Congleton. It lies on the Stafford-Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom.

Congleton
Congleton railway station in 2018
General information
Location	Congleton, Cheshire East England
Grid reference	SJ872623
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Northern Trains
Line(s)	Stafford-Manchester
Platforms	Formerly 3[1][2] [3] 2 in use[1][2]
Train operators	Northern Trains[nb 1] CrossCountry[nb 2]
Bus routes	94 Congleton to Newcastle under Lyme[nb 3]
Construction
Architectural style	Pseude-Tudor (When built)[4] Utilitarian (Rebuild)[4]
Other information
Station code	CNG[5]
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	9 October 1848; 174 years ago (1848-10-09)[6][7]
Rebuilt	1966; 56 years ago (1966)[8]
Electrified	1967; 55 years ago (1967)[2]
Original company	North Staffordshire Railway[2]
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway[9]
Key dates
1870	Signal box built[7]
1 June 1864	Biddulph Valley Line passenger services commenced[10]
1892	Footbridge erected[7]
11 July 1927	Biddulph Valley Line passenger services withdrawn[10]
1930	Third platform added[3]
2004	Refurbished[1][11]
2018	Booking hall refurbished[1]
6 July 2020	CrossCountry services suspended[12][13][14]
2021	Footbridge refurbished[1][15][16]
Passengers
2016/17	0.347 million
2017/18	0.348 million
2018/19	0.314 million
2019/20	0.333 million
2020/21	58,250
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Plans for a railway station in Congleton were first announced by the North Staffordshire Railway on 30 April 1845.[17] Congleton Railway station was to be the terminus of a planned line from Congleton to Colwich via Burslem and Stoke-on-Trent, this planned line was to be called The Pottery Line.[17]

The Stafford-Manchester line from Stoke-on-Trent to Congleton was opened on 9 October 1848 by the North Staffordshire Railway, with Congleton station opening on the same day.[6]

Congleton railway station was the northern terminus for passenger trains on the Biddulph Valley Line.[10]

In 1930 a third platform was added by the Nestle's Anglo Condensed Milk Company due to the importance of milk to economy of Congleton.[3]

Congleton railway station was rebuilt in 1966.[8] As part of the rebuild the station buildings were demolished and rebuilt, the level crossing was removed and the signal box was demolished.[18]

With the closure of the goods yard Brunswick Wharf in Buglawton on 1 April 1968[19][20] sand was brought to Congleton via Congleton railway station.[21]

The station has, in the past, been subjected to vandalism.[22][23][24]

In the past the station was served by trains to London, these services had stopped calling at Congleton by 1996.[25]

In early privatisation, Virgin CrossCountry served the station Monday to Saturday.[2][26]

In the past Congleton was one of the best-kept stations on the Stoke to Manchester via Macclesfield line, this was thanks to the staff who worked at the station.[27]

In the past the station was maintained by Congleton In Bloom.[27]

Accidents and incidents

On 27 December 1864 there was a collision between a London and North Western Railway goods engine and van and a North Staffordshire Railway passenger train at Congleton junction where the Biddulph Valley line joined the Stafford-Manchester line.[28]

On 17 February 1899 there was a collision at Congleton railway station.[29]

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office which is open during weekday and Saturday mornings with two self-service ticket machines available for ticket purchases at other times as well as modern help points on both platforms.

There is a waiting room on the southbound platform[23] however this is boarded up and closed to the public.

The station has a chargeable car park and bicycle storage available. Step-free access is available to both the platforms at Congleton.[30]

As part of the new Congleton Transport Development Plan Cheshire East Council has proposed improving the quality of the station buildings and the cycling and parking facilities at Congleton railway station.[31][32]

Services

Off-peak service in trains per hour is:[33]

• 1 tph to Manchester Piccadilly via Macclesfield
• 1 tph to Stoke-on-Trent

CrossCountry also operate a number of limited peak-hour services between Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street and Bournemouth although these services are currently suspended.[12][13][14]

On Sundays, there is a reduced service of six trains in each direction throughout the day. This was increased from 5 each way in December 2018. The station was due to gain hourly Sunday services as part of the Northern franchise when operated by Arriva Rail North.[34] These improvements were cancelled when Northern Trains took over the Northern franchise.

As part of the new Congleton Transport Development Plan Cheshire East Council has proposed setting up a park and ride and improving rail services at Congleton railway station.[31][32]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Stoke-on-Trent Limited Service		Northern Trains Stafford–Manchester line		Macclesfield
Kidsgrove
Stoke-on-Trent		CrossCountry Cross Country Network Peak Hours Only Monday-Saturday Only		Stockport
Preceding station		Historical railways		Following station
North Rode Line open station closed		North Staffordshire Railway Stafford–Manchester line		Mow Cop and Scholar Green Line open station closed
Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		North Staffordshire Railway Biddulph Valley line		Mossley Halt Line and station closed

Best Kept Station

Below is a list of years in which Congleton railway station has won a best kept station award.

• Best Kept station Stoke-on-Trent Division 1983[35]
• Best Kept station Stoke-on-Trent Division 1984[35]

Notes

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Congleton railway station from National Rail
• North Staffordshire Railway

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