Macclesfield railway station

Macclesfield railway station is a main line station serving the Cheshire market town of Macclesfield. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom.

Facilities at the station include ticket sales, a kiosk, a waiting room and public toilets. Before the bus station was relocated and rebuilt in 2004, the railway and bus stations were sited very close to each other.

It is one of the three stations that provide access to the Middlewood Way, which follows the route of the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway.

History
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened the line between Manchester and Macclesfield on 19 June 1849. On this date the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) completed the Congleton to Macclesfield section of its main Macclesfield - Stoke - Norton Bridge line. A new joint station, managed by a committee of both companies, was opened at Hibel Road a month later, replacing the temporary LNWR station at Beech Bridge.

During the 1860s, the North Staffordshire Railway collaborated with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway (MS&LR) to construct a joint railway between Macclesfield and Marple near Manchester. For the North Stafford this would provide a route to Manchester independently of the LNWR. For the MS&LR it would provide a link to Stoke-on-Trent and the south. The joint railway was constituted as the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M). It was opened throughout to a second, temporary Macclesfield station for passengers on 2 August 1869 and to goods on 1 March 1870. The MB&M then constructed its own permanent Macclesfield station called Macclesfield Central. It was just south of the LNWR station, which was renamed Macclesfield Hibel Road for clarity. The new MB&M station was connected to the rest of the joint line for goods on 3 April 1871 and opened for passengers on 1 July 1873. It closed to all traffic south of Rose Hill in January 1970.

Some North Staffordshire Railway through trains from Macclesfield railway station used the Potteries Loop Line.

By the late 1920s there was one freight train a day from Macclesfield Central to Normacot railway station, this train used the Potteries Loop line.

On 7 November 1960, British Railways closed Macclesfield Hibel Road. Macclesfield Central was vastly remodelled and is now called simply Macclesfield station. As with other stations on the West Coast Main Line, Macclesfield station was rebuilt in the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality, and its design follows the Modernist approach.

The station won the "Best Kept Station in Cheshire Award" for 2007, but was reported in summer 2011 to be "distinctly shabby", with peeling paintwork.

Accidents and incidents

 * On 26 July 1971, an electric multiple unit departed from the station against signals and was derailed by trap points.

Services
Macclesfield is served by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Northern Trains services.

Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains operate an hourly service northbound, with some peak time extras, to Manchester Piccadilly; and CrossCountry has two services an hour, giving Macclesfield four northbound trains per hour.

Southbound, there are also four trains per hour. One is to, operated by Northern Trains; one to London Euston, operated by Avanti West Coast; one to via Birmingham New Street and ; and one to Bristol Temple Meads, operated by CrossCountry.

Sunday services are similar, but the local stopping service operated by Northern Trains is limited, with only 6 services operating between Manchester Piccadilly and Stoke-on-Trent. The first Manchester-bound train on a Sunday extends to Manchester Oxford Road.

It is planned for Macclesfield to get one High Speed 2 service from London per hour once High Speed 2 becomes operational.