Manchester to Liverpool - via the Cheshire Lines, including the Widnes Central Loop

The Cheshire Lines Committee was a tripartite joint venture between the Great Central, Great Northern and Midland Railways which operated in the North-West of England and was the largest jointly owned railway in the UK. Its main line between Manchester and Liverpool opened in 1873 and was an immediate success. The line was one of the first in the world to use a clock-face timetable with expresses departing in either direction every hour at 30 minutes past the hour throughout the day. In 2023 most of the original intermediate stations still served their communities, whilst five extra stations had been added to the route since 1934 reflecting population growth. The Liverpool suburban section had been subsumed by Merseyrail. The line’s once heavy freight traffic had disappeared except for trains serving Trafford Park Container Terminal.