Crewe railway station
Encyclopedia
Crewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall
, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population (c. 1831) of just 70 residents. Crewe was chosen after Winsford
, seven miles to the north, had rejected an earlier proposal, as had local landowners in neighbouring Nantwich
, four miles away.
Nowadays, as well as serving the town of Crewe
that has grown near it, it still operates as a major junction on the West Coast Main Line (WCML)
. It also serves as a major station on the WCML and as a major rail gateway for the North West
. On the WCML, Crewe is located 158 miles north of London Euston, and 243 miles south of Glasgow Central.
In April 2006, Network Rail
organised its maintenance and train control operations into 26 "Routes". The main line through Crewe forms part of Route 18 (The West Coast Main Line). The line from Shrewsbury
and South Wales
to the junction south of Crewe station is Route 14 (South and Central Wales and Borders). The North Wales Coast Line
to Chester
and North Wales
is Route 22 (North Wales and Borders) and the Crewe to Manchester Line forms a part of Route 20 (North West Urban). The Crewe to Derby Line
is electrified between Crewe, Kidsgrove and Stoke-on-Trent
to enable it to serve as a diversionary route and therefore forms a part of Route 18.
Crewe currently has 12 platforms in regular use. There is a modern passenger entrance containing a bookshop and ticket office. Passengers access the platforms via a footbridge, stairs and lifts. The platforms have buildings dating from the 19th century containing two more bookshops, bars, buffets and waiting rooms. The last major expenditure on the station was in 1985, when the entire track layout was remodelled and the station facilities updated during a three-month period when few trains called at the station.
When it was built, Crewe railway station was truly unique, and has set many 'firsts'. It was the first station in the world to have its own railway hotel (The Crewe Arms, 1838, still in use). It was the first to be completely rebuilt owing to the need for expansion. It was the first to form a junction between more than two companies. It was the first to have a completely independent railway system built around it, to ease traffic congestion.
The story begins on 4 July 1837, with the opening of the Grand Junction Railway
. The purpose of this railway was to link the four largest cities of England
by joining the existing Liverpool and Manchester Railway
with the projected London and Birmingham railway
. The line, which was the first long-distance railway in the world, ran from Curzon Street railway station
in Birmingham
to Dallam
in Warrington
, Cheshire, where it made an end-on junction with the Warrington and Newton Railway, a branch of the L&M.
Conceived as a through route, the GJR was not interested in serving towns en-route. Wolverhampton
, for instance, was by-passed by half a mile because it did not lie on the intended route, and no central station was built for several years, instead a small Wolverhampton station, later renamed Wednesfield Heath
was deemed to suffice. The line passed through Stafford
, also opened on 4 July 1837. A station was built in the township of Crewe
, which formed part of the ancient parish of Barthomley
. The township later became a civil parish in its own right, and, later still, was renamed Crewe Green to avoid confusion with the town of Crewe, which was adjacent to it. The actual position of the station was at the point where the line crossed the turnpike road
linking the Trent and Mersey and the Shropshire Union Canals. Since the land was bought from the Earl of Crewe, whose mansion stood nearby, and it was located in the township of Crewe, the station was called Crewe. The railway station gave its name to the town of Crewe that was actually situated in the ancient parish of Coppenhall
. In 1936, the railway station was transferred from the civil parish of Crewe to the then municipal borough of Crewe.
As soon as the station opened it was seen to be at a useful point to begin a branch line to the county town of Chester
. The Chester and Crewe Railway
was formed and was absorbed by the GJR shortly before it opened to traffic in 1840. A locomotive depot was built at the station, to serve the Chester line, and to provide banking engines to assist trains southwards from Crewe up the Madeley Incline, a modest gradient which was a challenge to the small engines of the day.
By 1841, the Chester line was seen as a starting point for a new trunk line to Holyhead
, to provide the fastest route to Ireland, and the importance of Crewe as a junction station began to be established. This was given further endorsement when the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, a separate undertaking which had hoped to build a wholly independent line linking the two cities, shorter than the GJR, decided that it would be uneconomical to compete with that line over the greater part of its length, and decided to divert its own line to meet the GJR at Crewe. Teething squabbles between the companies delayed the running of through services for a while, and the M&B had to build a temporary station of their own, part of which survives today as an isolated platform next to the North Junction, at the start of the line to Manchester.
In 1842 the GJR decided to move its locomotive works from Edge Hill in Liverpool
to Crewe, siting the works to the north of the junction between the Warrington and Chester lines. To house the workforce and company management the town of Crewe was built by the company to the north of the works.
Company, which until its demise in 1923 was the largest company in the world. The new company extended the existing lines to Holyhead, the Warrington line to Lancaster and Carlisle, the Manchester line to Leeds, and built the new Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway
to Shrewsbury
to join the joint GWR owned Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
, which provided connections to South Wales
. The North Staffordshire Railway
built a line from Stoke-on-Trent
, joining the LNWR from the South East. Crewe was therefore the centre of a wide-ranging railway network, and freight-handling facilities grew up to the south of the station.
To cope with the increase of traffic, the station was rebuilt in 1861, the buildings facing each other on the present platforms 5 and 6 dating from this time. At the same time the works was extensively redeveloped and enlarged, and the town also considerably enlarged, under the leadership of John Ramsbottom
, a Stockport man who had become Locomotive Superintendent for the whole company. Locomotive construction, hitherto divided with Wolverton (on the London and Birmingham Railway) was concentrated at Crewe. Ramsbottom also built a steelworks, the first in the world to make large-scale use of the Bessemer process
, as only the LNWR required enough steel to keep a Bessemer plant continuously occupied. He also introduced mass-production techniques, whereby as many parts as possible were identical between one engine and another.
Ramsbottom retired in 1871 and was succeeded by the legendary Frank Webb
, a colourful and controversial figure who was known as 'The Uncrowned King of Crewe'.
By the 1890s Crewe junctions had become so busy that a survey revealed 1,000 trains passing within a 24-hour period. Since half of these were freight trains which did not need to call at the station, the company decided to build a completely separate four-track railway line passing to the west of the station, joining the existing lines beyond the north and south junctions, burrowing beneath them and avoiding them completely. This huge undertaking also included a vast marshalling yard to the south of the station at Basford Hall, a revolutionary 'tranship shed' which allowed fast transfer of freight from wagons to road vehicles under cover, and the increase in the size of the passenger station by one-half again.
group. Crewe remained the major centre for locomotive construction. In 1938-39 the signal boxes at North and South Junctions were completely reconstructed as massive concrete structures to withstand air raids, and remained in use until the resignalling project in 1985. The North Junction signal box can now be visited as part of the Crewe Heritage Centre. Although the railway station is virtually synonymous with the town of Crewe, it was not actually incorporated within the borders of the borough of Crewe until the late 1930s, as it lies about 1 mile to the south east of the actual town centre.
With the exception of two new signal boxes and associated greatly improved colour light signalling, track circuiting and electrically operated track points, train operation at Crewe changed little in over fifty years. The trains did become longer and heavier and were hauled by larger engines, which required increased supplies of water to be taken on board before departure, but the number of passenger trains using Crewe Station and the method of operation did not vary greatly despite the passage of two world wars. Trains continued to divide at Crewe with the front portion for Manchester and the rear for Liverpool. The station pilot engine always had a pair of restaurant cars in a bay platform ready to attach to a morning service to London. Always there were extra coaches waiting to be attached to overcrowded trains. In addition to passengers there were vast quantities of mail, parcels and even live animals and birds of all descriptions transported in specially designed transit crates. When necessary the station staff had to feed and water these special passengers, which travelled in copious luggage vans.
In 1948 the LMS was nationalised as British Rail
ways, London Midland Region
. Nationalisation greatly facilitated the modernisation of British Railways and, after a false start developing new improved steam engines, electrification came, along with diesel power and fixed-formation air-braked trains. These changes had a significant effect on Crewe station. Notably, the variation in station use caused firstly by the electrification in stages of the West Coast Main Line between 1959 and 1974 and secondly by the general end of steam traction on Britain's railways. Following the completion of Electrification in 1974, trains did not need to change locomotives at Crewe, except for the London to Chester and Holyhead service. Many locomotive hauled trains were replaced by electric or diesel multiple unit trains, with much faster turn-round times. Additionally, two local branch lines had closed, which resulted in fewer trains terminating at Crewe. However, compensating for the decline of local passenger traffic, the reduction in mail and parcels traffic and the total elimination of livestock carriage, came the great increase in inter-city passenger traffic and the need for even faster, smoother and more efficient handling of passenger trains.
Crewe Works
, the diesel locomotive depot
& the electric locomotive depot
are all situated nearby.
Platform Use
In the SRA's
2002/03 financial year 773,969 people joined the railway system at Crewe railway station, and 763,846 left it there (tickets sold at Crewe, and tickets sold to Crewe; figure does not include passengers interchanging between one rail service and another).
interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment, and is set to receive a share of £50m funding for improvements.
The proposal to move the station has now been abandoned and instead maintenance work is being carried out on the current building. Cheshire East Council is completing a new regeneration master plan for Crewe, which includes the railway station.
Crewe Hall
Crewe Hall is a Jacobean mansion located near Crewe Green, east of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. Described by Nikolaus Pevsner as one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire, it is listed at grade I...
, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population (c. 1831) of just 70 residents. Crewe was chosen after Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
, seven miles to the north, had rejected an earlier proposal, as had local landowners in neighbouring Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
, four miles away.
Nowadays, as well as serving the town of Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
that has grown near it, it still operates as a major junction on the West Coast Main Line (WCML)
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. It also serves as a major station on the WCML and as a major rail gateway for the North West
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. On the WCML, Crewe is located 158 miles north of London Euston, and 243 miles south of Glasgow Central.
In April 2006, Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
organised its maintenance and train control operations into 26 "Routes". The main line through Crewe forms part of Route 18 (The West Coast Main Line). The line from Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
and South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
to the junction south of Crewe station is Route 14 (South and Central Wales and Borders). The North Wales Coast Line
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line. The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly...
to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
is Route 22 (North Wales and Borders) and the Crewe to Manchester Line forms a part of Route 20 (North West Urban). The Crewe to Derby Line
Crewe to Derby Line
The Crewe to Derby Line is a railway line in central England, running from Crewe south east to Derby. Services on the line are provided by East Midlands Trains....
is electrified between Crewe, Kidsgrove and Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
to enable it to serve as a diversionary route and therefore forms a part of Route 18.
Crewe currently has 12 platforms in regular use. There is a modern passenger entrance containing a bookshop and ticket office. Passengers access the platforms via a footbridge, stairs and lifts. The platforms have buildings dating from the 19th century containing two more bookshops, bars, buffets and waiting rooms. The last major expenditure on the station was in 1985, when the entire track layout was remodelled and the station facilities updated during a three-month period when few trains called at the station.
Early years
The story begins on 4 July 1837, with the opening of the Grand Junction Railway
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
. The purpose of this railway was to link the four largest cities of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by joining the existing Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
with the projected London and Birmingham railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
. The line, which was the first long-distance railway in the world, ran from Curzon Street railway station
Curzon Street railway station
Curzon Street railway station was a railway station in Birmingham that was used briefly for regular scheduled passenger services between 1838 and 1854 when it acted as the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, with lines connecting Birmingham to London...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Dallam
Dallam, Warrington
Dallam is a suburb of Warrington, England. It is home to a Royal Mail rail terminus on the main West Coast Main Line railway, opposite a large Eddie Stobart distribution centre. Considerably smaller than most suburbs of Warrington, Dallam alongside its slightly larger neighbour Bewsey...
in Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Cheshire, where it made an end-on junction with the Warrington and Newton Railway, a branch of the L&M.
Conceived as a through route, the GJR was not interested in serving towns en-route. Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, for instance, was by-passed by half a mile because it did not lie on the intended route, and no central station was built for several years, instead a small Wolverhampton station, later renamed Wednesfield Heath
Wednesfield Heath railway station
Wednesfield Heath for Wolverhampton railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway and opened on 4 July 1837. It served the city of Wolverhampton, and was located around a mile to the east of the city centre within the suburb of Heath Town, on Station Road...
was deemed to suffice. The line passed through Stafford
Stafford railway station
Stafford railway station is an important main line interchange station in the United Kingdom. It serves the county town of Stafford.The present station built in 1962 is a good example of the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and...
, also opened on 4 July 1837. A station was built in the township of Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, which formed part of the ancient parish of Barthomley
Ancient parishes of Cheshire
The Ancient Parishes of Cheshire refers to the group of parishes that existed in Cheshire, roughly within the period of 1200–1800. Initially, the ancient parishes had only an ecclesiastical function, but reforms initiated by King Henry VIII, developed by Queen Elizabeth I and expanded by...
. The township later became a civil parish in its own right, and, later still, was renamed Crewe Green to avoid confusion with the town of Crewe, which was adjacent to it. The actual position of the station was at the point where the line crossed the turnpike road
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
linking the Trent and Mersey and the Shropshire Union Canals. Since the land was bought from the Earl of Crewe, whose mansion stood nearby, and it was located in the township of Crewe, the station was called Crewe. The railway station gave its name to the town of Crewe that was actually situated in the ancient parish of Coppenhall
Ancient parishes of Cheshire
The Ancient Parishes of Cheshire refers to the group of parishes that existed in Cheshire, roughly within the period of 1200–1800. Initially, the ancient parishes had only an ecclesiastical function, but reforms initiated by King Henry VIII, developed by Queen Elizabeth I and expanded by...
. In 1936, the railway station was transferred from the civil parish of Crewe to the then municipal borough of Crewe.
As soon as the station opened it was seen to be at a useful point to begin a branch line to the county town of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. The Chester and Crewe Railway
Chester and Crewe Railway
The Chester and Crewe Railway was an early British railway company absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway in 1840. The line was 11 miles in length, the engineer was Robert Stephenson and the contractor for the work was Thomas Brassey...
was formed and was absorbed by the GJR shortly before it opened to traffic in 1840. A locomotive depot was built at the station, to serve the Chester line, and to provide banking engines to assist trains southwards from Crewe up the Madeley Incline, a modest gradient which was a challenge to the small engines of the day.
By 1841, the Chester line was seen as a starting point for a new trunk line to Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
, to provide the fastest route to Ireland, and the importance of Crewe as a junction station began to be established. This was given further endorsement when the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, a separate undertaking which had hoped to build a wholly independent line linking the two cities, shorter than the GJR, decided that it would be uneconomical to compete with that line over the greater part of its length, and decided to divert its own line to meet the GJR at Crewe. Teething squabbles between the companies delayed the running of through services for a while, and the M&B had to build a temporary station of their own, part of which survives today as an isolated platform next to the North Junction, at the start of the line to Manchester.
In 1842 the GJR decided to move its locomotive works from Edge Hill in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Crewe, siting the works to the north of the junction between the Warrington and Chester lines. To house the workforce and company management the town of Crewe was built by the company to the north of the works.
London & North Western Railway
In 1845 the GJR merged with the London and Birmingham and the Liverpool and Manchester railways to form the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
Company, which until its demise in 1923 was the largest company in the world. The new company extended the existing lines to Holyhead, the Warrington line to Lancaster and Carlisle, the Manchester line to Leeds, and built the new Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway
Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway
The Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway was a railway owned by the London and North Western Railway company, built to connect Crewe with the jointly owned with the GWR Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway....
to Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station is the railway station serving Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, England. It is the only remaining railway station in the town; Shrewsbury Abbey, as well as other small stations around the town, having long closed. The station was built in 1848 and has been extended...
to join the joint GWR owned Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an independently developed English railway, the first to run train services in Herefordshire.Built between 1850 and 1853, it crossed a number of services by both the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway companies, became a joint...
, which provided connections to South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. The North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
built a line from Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, joining the LNWR from the South East. Crewe was therefore the centre of a wide-ranging railway network, and freight-handling facilities grew up to the south of the station.
To cope with the increase of traffic, the station was rebuilt in 1861, the buildings facing each other on the present platforms 5 and 6 dating from this time. At the same time the works was extensively redeveloped and enlarged, and the town also considerably enlarged, under the leadership of John Ramsbottom
John Ramsbottom (engineer)
John Ramsbottom was an English mechanical engineer who created many inventions for railways, including the piston ring, the Ramsbottom safety valve, the displacement lubricator, and the water trough.- Biography :...
, a Stockport man who had become Locomotive Superintendent for the whole company. Locomotive construction, hitherto divided with Wolverton (on the London and Birmingham Railway) was concentrated at Crewe. Ramsbottom also built a steelworks, the first in the world to make large-scale use of the Bessemer process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
, as only the LNWR required enough steel to keep a Bessemer plant continuously occupied. He also introduced mass-production techniques, whereby as many parts as possible were identical between one engine and another.
Ramsbottom retired in 1871 and was succeeded by the legendary Frank Webb
Francis Webb (engineer)
Francis William Webb was a British engineer responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway .- Biography :...
, a colourful and controversial figure who was known as 'The Uncrowned King of Crewe'.
By the 1890s Crewe junctions had become so busy that a survey revealed 1,000 trains passing within a 24-hour period. Since half of these were freight trains which did not need to call at the station, the company decided to build a completely separate four-track railway line passing to the west of the station, joining the existing lines beyond the north and south junctions, burrowing beneath them and avoiding them completely. This huge undertaking also included a vast marshalling yard to the south of the station at Basford Hall, a revolutionary 'tranship shed' which allowed fast transfer of freight from wagons to road vehicles under cover, and the increase in the size of the passenger station by one-half again.
London Midland and Scottish Railway
In 1923 the LNWR became part of the London, Midland and Scottish railwayLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
group. Crewe remained the major centre for locomotive construction. In 1938-39 the signal boxes at North and South Junctions were completely reconstructed as massive concrete structures to withstand air raids, and remained in use until the resignalling project in 1985. The North Junction signal box can now be visited as part of the Crewe Heritage Centre. Although the railway station is virtually synonymous with the town of Crewe, it was not actually incorporated within the borders of the borough of Crewe until the late 1930s, as it lies about 1 mile to the south east of the actual town centre.
With the exception of two new signal boxes and associated greatly improved colour light signalling, track circuiting and electrically operated track points, train operation at Crewe changed little in over fifty years. The trains did become longer and heavier and were hauled by larger engines, which required increased supplies of water to be taken on board before departure, but the number of passenger trains using Crewe Station and the method of operation did not vary greatly despite the passage of two world wars. Trains continued to divide at Crewe with the front portion for Manchester and the rear for Liverpool. The station pilot engine always had a pair of restaurant cars in a bay platform ready to attach to a morning service to London. Always there were extra coaches waiting to be attached to overcrowded trains. In addition to passengers there were vast quantities of mail, parcels and even live animals and birds of all descriptions transported in specially designed transit crates. When necessary the station staff had to feed and water these special passengers, which travelled in copious luggage vans.
British Railways
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways, London Midland Region
London Midland Region of British Railways
The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...
. Nationalisation greatly facilitated the modernisation of British Railways and, after a false start developing new improved steam engines, electrification came, along with diesel power and fixed-formation air-braked trains. These changes had a significant effect on Crewe station. Notably, the variation in station use caused firstly by the electrification in stages of the West Coast Main Line between 1959 and 1974 and secondly by the general end of steam traction on Britain's railways. Following the completion of Electrification in 1974, trains did not need to change locomotives at Crewe, except for the London to Chester and Holyhead service. Many locomotive hauled trains were replaced by electric or diesel multiple unit trains, with much faster turn-round times. Additionally, two local branch lines had closed, which resulted in fewer trains terminating at Crewe. However, compensating for the decline of local passenger traffic, the reduction in mail and parcels traffic and the total elimination of livestock carriage, came the great increase in inter-city passenger traffic and the need for even faster, smoother and more efficient handling of passenger trains.
Present day
In 1985 the entire track layout was modernised, simplified and reduced, eliminating a vast array of points and crossings and allowing 80 mph running over the North Junction. At the same time all but one of the six 1902 extension platforms were taken out of use.Crewe Works
Crewe Works
Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
, the diesel locomotive depot
Crewe Diesel TMD
Crewe Diesel Traction Maintenance Depot or Crewe Diesel TMD was a diesel-electric locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot situated to the south of and visible from Crewe railway station. The depot is owned by EWS. The depot code is CD...
& the electric locomotive depot
Crewe Electric TMD
Crewe Electric TMD is an AC electric locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot situated to the north of Crewe railway station. The depot is situated on the south side of the Crewe to Chester railway line opposite Crewe Works on Victoria Avenue. The depot is operated by EWS...
are all situated nearby.
Current services
During the day, there are 22 trains passing through every hour (with additional less frequent services). As a summary:- Virgin TrainsVirgin TrainsVirgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
operates 2tph to London Euston
- London MidlandLondon MidlandLondon Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
operates 1tph services to London Euston via Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent railway stationStoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...
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- Virgin TrainsVirgin TrainsVirgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
operates 1tph to Birmingham New Street
- London MidlandLondon MidlandLondon Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
operates 2tph to Birmingham New Street.
- Virgin TrainsVirgin TrainsVirgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
operates 1tph to Glasgow Central or Edinburgh Waverley.
- Virgin TrainsVirgin TrainsVirgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
operates 1tph to Manchester Piccadilly calling WilmslowWilmslow railway stationWilmslow railway station serves the large town of Wilmslow, in the borough of Macclesfield and the county of Cheshire, England. The station is south of Manchester Piccadilly on the Crewe to Manchester Line....
and StockportStockport railway stationStockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...
- Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
operates 1tph to Manchester Piccadilly calling WilmslowWilmslow railway stationWilmslow railway station serves the large town of Wilmslow, in the borough of Macclesfield and the county of Cheshire, England. The station is south of Manchester Piccadilly on the Crewe to Manchester Line....
and StockportStockport railway stationStockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...
- Northern RailNorthern RailNorthern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
operates 1tph to Manchester PiccadillyManchester Piccadilly stationManchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
via Manchester Airport
- Northern RailNorthern RailNorthern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
operates 1tph to Manchester Piccadilly via StockportStockport railway stationStockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...
- Virgin TrainsVirgin TrainsVirgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
operates hourly services to ChesterChester railway stationChester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
with some services continuing to Bangor, Holyhead and one per day to Wrexham.
- Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
operates hourly express services to CarmarthenCarmarthen railway stationCarmarthen railway station is situated south of the River Towy on the edge of the town of Carmarthen. It is located on the West Wales Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, who operate most of the passenger trains serving it...
via Cardiff CentralCardiff Central railway stationCardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
extending every other hour to Milford HavenMilford Haven railway stationMilford Haven railway station serves the town of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Opened on 7 September 1863, it was originally known as Milford, becoming Old Milford by January 1902, and finally being renamed Milford Haven by April 1910....
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- Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
operates an hourly shuttle service to ChesterChester railway stationChester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
- Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
operates 1 train a day to Birmingham New Street stationBirmingham New Street StationBirmingham New Street is the main railway station serving Birmingham, England, located in the city centre. It is an important hub for the British railway system, being served by a number of important long-distance and cross-country lines, including the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line,...
via Stafford and one per day to Birmingham via Shrewsbury.
- Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
operate a daily limited-stop express south to Cardiff CentralCardiff Central railway stationCardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
and north to HolyheadHolyhead railway stationHolyhead railway station serves the town of Holyhead on Holy Island, Anglesey. It is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, although Virgin Trains also serves it....
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- East Midlands TrainsEast Midlands TrainsEast Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
operates hourly service to Derby via Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent railway stationStoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...
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- London MidlandLondon MidlandLondon Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
operates 2tph to Liverpool Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street railway stationLiverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
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- CrossCountryCrossCountryCrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
provide limited daily services to Manchester and the South West (reduced as of 2009).
Platform Use
- Platform 1 - Northern Rail stopping services to and from Manchester Piccadilly and Southbound London Midland services to Birmingham New Street.
- Platform 2 - Extra Capacity.
- Platform 3 - London Midland services to and from London Euston.
- Platform 4 - East Midlands Trains services to and from Derby.
- Platform 5 - Virgin Trains Northbound services to Manchester Piccadilly and Southbound to Birmingham New Street and London Euston.
- Platform 6 - Arriva Trains Wales services Northbound to Manchester Picadilly and Southbound to Cardiff and beyond. Some Virgin Trains services also use this platform along with Cross Country.
- Platform 7 - Arriva Trains Wales stopping services to and from Shrewsbury.
- Platform 8 - Extra Capacity.
- Platform 9 - Arriva Trains Wales hourly shuttle service to Chester.
- Platform 10 - Extra Capacity.
- Platform 11 - Virgin Trains Northbound services to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Chester and North Wales and London Midland Northbound services to Liverpool Lime Street.
- Platform 12 - Extra Capacity.
In the SRA's
Strategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
2002/03 financial year 773,969 people joined the railway system at Crewe railway station, and 763,846 left it there (tickets sold at Crewe, and tickets sold to Crewe; figure does not include passengers interchanging between one rail service and another).
Future
In 2007 Network Rail published a proposal to replace the existing Crewe station with a new station located approximately 1 mile to the south in the area of the current Basford Hall freight yard, adjacent to the A500 road and with new links to the M6 motorway; this proposal is claimed to be better suited to the operations of the modern railway as it is estimated that the existing station will be at 125% of its operating capacity in the mid-2020s, and the new station will have a more efficient track layout with fewer conflicting train movements. It is, however, unclear how the line from the south-east (Stoke-on-Trent) and south-west (Shrewsbury) would access the new site. It has also been proposed in a related development that a "Crewe Town" station would be built nearer the town centre on the Chester line, with a shuttle service to the new main station.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7485745.stmhttp://www.crewe.tv/2008/07/basford-switch-looking-favourite.html In 2009 the station was identified as one of the ten worst category BUnited Kingdom railway station categories
The 2,535 railway stations on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom are classified into six categories and four subcategories by the Department for Transport. The scheme was devised in 1996 and there was a review in 2009 when 106 stations changed categories. The categorisation scheme is...
interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment, and is set to receive a share of £50m funding for improvements.
The proposal to move the station has now been abandoned and instead maintenance work is being carried out on the current building. Cheshire East Council is completing a new regeneration master plan for Crewe, which includes the railway station.