Pre-grouping, 1830s–1923

The WCML was not originally conceived as a single trunk route, but was a number of separate lines built by different companies between the 1830s and the 1880s. After the completion of the successful Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830, schemes were mooted to build more inter-city lines. The business practice of the early railway era was for companies to promote individual lines between two destinations, rather than to plan grand networks of lines, as it was considered easier to obtain backing from investors.

The first stretch of what is now the WCML was the Grand Junction Railway connecting the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to Birmingham, via Warrington, Crewe, Stafford and Wolverhampton, opening in 1837. The following year the London and Birmingham Railway was completed, connecting to the capital via Coventry, Rugby and the Watford Gap. The Grand Junction and London and Birmingham railways shared a Birmingham terminus at Curzon Street station, so that it was now possible to travel by train between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.^[11][12]

3020 Cornwall, an early LNWR express locomotive (built 1847, as pictured circa 1890)

These lines, together with the Trent Valley Railway (between Rugby and Stafford, avoiding Birmingham) and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway (Crewe–Manchester), amalgamated operations in 1846 to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Three other sections, the North Union Railway (Wigan–Preston), the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway and the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, were later absorbed by the LNWR.

North of Carlisle, the Caledonian Railway remained independent, and opened its main line from Carlisle to Beattock on 10 September 1847, connecting to Edinburgh in February 1848, and to Glasgow in November 1849.^[13]

Another important section, the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR), which opened its route in 1848 from Macclesfield (connecting with the LNWR from Manchester) to Stafford and Colwich Junction via Stoke-on-Trent, also remained independent. Poor relations between the LNWR and the NSR meant that through trains did not run until 1867.^[14]

The route to Scotland was marketed by the LNWR as The Premier Line. Because the cross-border trains ran over the LNWR and Caledonian Railway, through trains consisted of jointly owned "West Coast Joint Stock" to simplify operations.^[15] The first direct London to Glasgow trains in the 1850s took 12.5 hours to complete the 400-mile (640 km) journey.^[16]

The final sections of what is now the WCML were put in place over the following decades. A direct branch to Liverpool, bypassing the earlier Liverpool and Manchester line, was opened in 1869, from Weaver Junction north of Crewe to Ditton Junction via the Runcorn Railway Bridge over the River Mersey.^[17]

AT the northern end, the Caledonian replaced its original Southside terminus in Glasgow, with the much larger and better located Glasgow Central in 1879.^[13]

To expand capacity, the line between London and Rugby was widened to four tracks in the 1870s. As part of this work, a new line, the Northampton Loop, was built, opening in 1881, connecting Northampton before rejoining the main line at Rugby.^[12]

The worst-ever rail accident in UK history, the Quintinshill rail disaster, occurred on the WCML during World War I, on 22 May 1915, between Glasgow Central and Carlisle, in which 227 were killed and 246 injured.

LMS, 1923–1948

The Coronation Scot in 1937, hauled by a streamlined Coronation Class locomotive

The entire route came under the control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923 when the railway companies were grouped, under the Railways Act 1921.

The LMS competed fiercely with the rival LNER's East Coast Main Line for London to Scotland traffic (see Race to the North). Attempts were made to minimise end-to-end journey times for a small number of powerful lightweight trains that could be marketed as glamorous premium crack expresses, especially between London and Glasgow, such as the 1937–39 Coronation Scot, hauled by streamlined Princess Coronation Class locomotives, which made the journey in 6 hours 30 minutes,^[18] making it competitive with the rival East Coast Flying Scotsman (British Railways in the 1950s could not match this, but did achieve a London-Glasgow timing of 7 hours 15 minutes in the 1959–60 timetable by strictly limiting the number of coaches to eight and not stopping between London and Carlisle.^[19])

British Rail, 1948–1997

In 1948, following nationalisation, the line came under the control of British Railways' London Midland and Scottish Regions, when the term "West Coast Main Line" came into use officially, although it had been used informally since at least 1912.^[20]

Modernisation by British Rail

A train headed by a Class 85 electric locomotive at Euston in 1966, shortly after the introduction of electric train services on the WCML

As part of the 1955 modernisation plan, British Rail carried out a large programme of modernisation of the WCML in stages between 1959 and 1974; the modernisation involved upgrading the track and signaling to allow higher speeds, rebuilding a number of stations, and electrification of the route with overhead line equipment. The first stretch to be electrified was Crewe to Manchester, completed on 12 September 1960. This was followed by Crewe to Liverpool, completed on 1 January 1962. Electrification was then extended south to London. The first electric trains from London ran on 12 November 1965, with full public service from 18 April 1966. Electrification of the Birmingham branch was completed on 6 March 1967. In March 1970 the government approved electrification of the northern half of the WCML, between Weaver Junction (where the branch to Liverpool diverges) and Glasgow, and this was completed on 6 May 1974.^[9][21] The announcement, after five years of uncertainty, was made 48 hours before the writ was issued for a by-election in South Ayrshire.^[22] The Observer commented that, if the £25 million decision was politically rather than financially motivated, it would have the makings of a major political scandal.^[22]

A new set of high-speed long-distance services was introduced in 1966, launching British Rail's highly successful "Inter-City" brand^[23] (the hyphen was later dropped) and offering journey times as London to Manchester or Liverpool in 2 hours 40 minutes (and even 2 hours 30 minutes for the twice-daily Manchester Pullman).^[24] A new feature was that these fast trains were offered on a regular-interval service throughout the day: initially hourly to Birmingham, two-hourly to Manchester, and so on.^[25] With the completion of the northern electrification in 1974, London to Glasgow journey times were reduced to 5 hours.^[9]

BR Class 87 electric locomotive, 87020 in BR blue livery with a train of Mark 2 coaches. These, along with the similar Class 86 formed the backbone of express passenger services on the WCML from the 1970s until the 2000s.

Along with electrification came modern coaches such as the Mark 2 and from 1974 the fully integral, air-conditioned Mark 3 design. These remained the mainstay of express services until the early 2000s. Line speeds were raised to a maximum 110 mph (180 km/h), and these trains, hauled by Class 86 and Class 87 electric locomotives, came to be seen as BR's flagship passenger service. Passenger traffic on the WCML doubled between 1962 and 1975.^[26]

The modernisation also saw the demolition and redevelopment of several of the key stations on the line: BR was keen to symbolise the coming of the "electric age" by replacing the Victorian-era buildings with new structures built from glass and concrete. Notable examples were Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Stafford, Coventry and London Euston. To enable the latter, the famous Doric Arch portal into the original Philip Hardwick-designed terminus was demolished in 1962 amid much public outcry.^[27]

Electrification of the Edinburgh branch was carried out in the late 1980s as part of the East Coast Main Line electrification project in order to allow InterCity 225 sets to access Glasgow via Carstairs Junction.^[28]

The Advanced Passenger Train, British Rail's ill-fated tilting train, seen here next to the WCML at Crewe Heritage Centre

Modernisation brought great improvements in speed and frequency. However some locations and lines were no longer served by through trains or through coaches from London, such as: Windermere; Barrow-in-Furness, Whitehaven and Workington; Huddersfield, Bradford Interchange, Leeds and Halifax (via Stockport); Blackpool South; Colne (via Stockport); Morecambe and Heysham; Southport (via Edge Hill); Blackburn and Stranraer Harbour. Notable also is the loss of through services between Liverpool and Scotland; however these were restored by TransPennine Express in 2019.^[29]

British Rail introduced the Advanced Passenger Train APT project, which proved that London–Glasgow WCML journey times of less than 4 hours were achievable and paved the way for the later tilting Virgin Pendolino trains.^[30]

In the late 1980s, British Rail put forward a track realignment scheme to raise speeds on the WCML; a proposed project called InterCity 250, which entailed realigning parts of the line in order to increase curve radii and smooth gradients in order to facilitate higher-speed running. The scheme, which would have seen the introduction of new rolling stock derived from that developed for the East Coast electrification, was scrapped in 1992.

Privatisation, 1997–present

Modernisation by Railtrack and Network Rail

Main article: West Coast Main Line route modernisation

A tilting Class 390 Pendolino on the WCML (introduced since 2002)

By the dawn of the 1990s, it was clear that further modernisation was required. Initially this took the form of the InterCity 250 project.

But then the privatisation of BR intervened, under which Virgin Trains won a 15-year franchise in 1996 for the running of long-distance express services on the line. The modernisation plan unveiled by Virgin and the new infrastructure owner Railtrack involved the upgrade and renewal of the line to allow the use of tilting Pendolino trains with a maximum line speed of 140 mph (225 km/h), in place of the previous maximum of 110 mph (177 km/h). Railtrack estimated that this upgrade would cost £2 billion, be ready by 2005, and cut journey times to 1 hour for London to Birmingham and 1 hr 45 mins for London to Manchester.

However, these plans proved too ambitious and were subsequently cancelled. Central to the implementation of the plan was the adoption of moving block signalling, which had never been proven on anything more than simple metro lines and light rail systems – not on a complex high-speed heavy-rail network such as the WCML. Despite this, Railtrack made what would prove to be the fatal mistake of not properly assessing the technical viability and cost of implementing moving block prior to promising the speed increase to Virgin and the government. By 1999, with little headway on the modernisation project made, it became apparent to engineers that the technology was not mature enough to be used on the line.^[31] The bankruptcy of Railtrack in 2001 and its replacement by Network Rail following the Hatfield crash brought a reappraisal of the plans, while the cost of the upgrade soared. Following fears that cost overruns on the project would push the final price tag to £13 billion, the plans were scaled down, bringing the cost down to between £8 billion and £10 billion, to be ready by 2008, with a maximum speed for tilting trains of a more modest 125 mph (201 km/h) – equalling the speeds available on the East Coast route, but some way short of the original target, and even further behind BR's original vision of 155 mph (250 km/h) speeds planned and achieved with the APT.

A Virgin Pendolino and EWS Class 66 freight train on the WCML

The first phase of the upgrade, south of Manchester, opened on 27 September 2004 with journey times of 1 hour 21 minutes for London to Birmingham and 2 hours 6 minutes for London to Manchester. The final phase, introducing 125 mph (201 km/h) running along most of the line, was announced as opening on 12 December 2005, bringing the fastest journey between London and Glasgow to 4 hours 25 mins (down from 5 hours 10 minutes).^[2] However, considerable work remained, such as the quadrupling of the track in the Trent Valley, upgrading the slow lines, the second phase of remodelling Nuneaton, and the remodelling of Stafford, Rugby, Milton Keynes and Coventry stations, and these were completed in late 2008. The upgrading of the Crewe–Manchester line via Wilmslow was completed in summer 2006.

In September 2006, a new speed record was set on the WCML – a Pendolino train completed the 401-mile (645 km) Glasgow Central – London Euston run in a record 3 hours 55 minutes, beating the APT's record of 4 hours 15 minutes, although the APT still holds the overall record on the northbound run.

An Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino tilting into a corner on the northern part of the WCML. The tilting mechanism allows higher speeds to be attained on the curving route

The decade-long modernisation project was finally completed in December 2008.^[32] This allowed Virgin's VHF (very high frequency) timetable to be progressively introduced through early 2009, the highlights of which are a three-trains-per-hour service to both Birmingham and Manchester during off-peak periods, and nearly all London-Scottish timings brought under the 4 hours 30 minutes barrier – with one service (calling only at Preston) achieving a London–Glasgow time of 4 hours 8 minutes.

Some projects that were removed from the modernisation as a result of the de-scoping, such as a flyover at Norton Bridge station, were later restarted. A £250 million project to grade-separate the tracks at Norton Bridge that allowed for increased service frequency as well as improved line-speeds was completed in spring 2016.^[33] Other projects such as the replacement of a weak bridge in Watford allowed line-speeds to be increased from 90 mph (145 km/h) to 125 mph (201 km/h), decreasing journey times.^[34]

Track

Quadruple track section of line at Roade cutting in Northamptonshire – lines have already divided south of here and diverge a little further north

The main spine of the WCML is quadruple track almost all of the route from London to south of Winsford. At Hanslope Junction (near Milton Keynes), the line divides with one pair going direct to Rugby and the other pair diverting via Northampton to rejoin at Rugby. The spine continues north in quadruple track until Brinklow, where it reduces to triple track. The line between Brinklow and Nuneaton has three tracks, with one northbound track and fast and slow southbound tracks. The line then reverts to quadruple track at Nuneaton. North of Rugeley, there is a short double track stretch through the 777-yard (710 m) Shugborough Tunnel. The line is then quadruple track most of the way to Acton Bridge railway station, except for a double track section between Winsford and Hartford. The line is double track from Acton Bridge railway station to Weaver Junction (where a double track spur to Liverpool branches off). The line is double track from Weaver Junction to Warrington Bank Quay, but the line is quadruple track between Warrington Bank Quay to Wigan North Western. At Newton-le-Willows, the slow tracks join the Liverpool to Manchester line to pass through the centre of the town, while the fast tracks take the direct route via the Golborne cut-off. There are two more stretches of quadruple track, otherwise the line is double track to Scotland. The first is from Euxton Balshaw Lane to Preston, and the second is a busy section around Glasgow.

The WCML is noted for the diversity of branches served from the spine, notably those to/from the West Midlands and North Wales, Greater Manchester, and Liverpool. These are detailed in the route diagram.

The complete route has been cleared for W10 loading gauge freight traffic, allowing use of higher 9 ft 6 in (2,896 mm) hi-cube shipping containers.^[35][36] The route passes through Nuneaton and the Midlands and this area has been called the "Golden Triangle of Logistics".^[37]

Electrification

Nearly all of the WCML is electrified with overhead line equipment at 25 kV AC.^[38] Several of the formerly unelectrified branches of the WCML in the North West have recently been electrified such as the Preston to Blackpool North Line on which electric service commenced in May 2018 along with the Preston – Manchester Piccadilly line which saw electric service commence in February 2019.^[39] Wigan to Liverpool via St Helens Shaw Street and St Helens Junction were also electrified in the 2010-2017 timeframe.

The Wigan North Western to Lostock Parkway branch is also in the process of being electrified.^[40]

Commuter and regional trains

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Operator	Routes
				mph	km/h
BR Sprinter	Class 153		DMU	75	120	Transport for Wales	Chester to Crewe
	Class 156		DMU	75	120	ScotRail	Glasgow South Western Line
	Class 158		DMU	90	145	Northern Trains Transport for Wales	Settle–Carlisle line Birmingham International to Shrewsbury Aberystwyth, Pwllheli Chester and Holyhead
Bombardier Turbostar	Class 170		DMU	100	161	CrossCountry	Cardiff Central to Nottingham Birmingham New Street to Nottingham Birmingham New Street to Stansted Airport Birmingham New Street to Leicester
Alstom Coradia	Class 175		DMU	100	161	Transport for Wales	Holyhead to Cardiff Central and Llanelli via Llandudno Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly to Bangor via Llandudno Manchester Piccadilly Crewe Chester to Cardiff Central Swansea Milford Haven
Siemens Desiro	Class 185		DMU	100	161	TransPennine Express	TransPennine North West
BR Second Generation	Class 318		EMU	90	145	ScotRail	Glasgow Central to Lanark and Carstairs
	Class 319		EMU	100	161	London Northwestern Railway Northern Trains	London Euston to Tring, Milton Keynes Central and Northampton Liverpool and Warrington Bank Quay to Preston Manchester Victoria to Liverpool Lime Street via Earlestown Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly
	Class 320/3		EMU	90	145	ScotRail	North Clyde Line Argyle Line Whifflet Line
	Class 320/4			100	161
	Class 323		EMU	90	145	Northern Trains	Crewe to Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly
CAF Civity	Class 331		EMU	100	161	Northern Trains	Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly
Siemens Desiro	Class 350		EMU	110	180	London Northwestern Railway	London Euston to Tring, Milton Keynes Central, Northampton and Birmingham New Street, Birmingham New Street to Liverpool Lime Street, Stafford to Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent London Euston to Crewe via Trent Valley line
Bombardier Electrostar	Class 377		EMU	100	161	Southern	Watford Junction to East Croydon
Siemens Desiro	Class 380		EMU	100	161	ScotRail	Ayrshire Coast Line Inverclyde Line North Berwick Line Paisley Canal Line Argyle Line Cathcart Circle Line
Hitachi AT200	Class 385		EMU	100	161	ScotRail	Shotts Line
Alstom Aventra	730/0		EMU	90	145	London Northwestern Railway	London Euston to Tring, Milton Keynes Central and Northampton

High-speed trains

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Operator	Routes
				mph	km/h
Bombardier Voyager	Class 220		DEMU	125	200	CrossCountry	Between Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly and between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley before joining or leaving the ECML
	Class 221		DEMU			Avanti West Coast	Services between London Euston to: North Wales, Chester, Shrewsbury, Blackpool North, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.
						CrossCountry	Between Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly and between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley before joining or leaving the ECML
Alstom Pendolino	Class 390		EMU			Avanti West Coast	Services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Blackpool North, Birmingham New Street and the West Midlands, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
CAF Civity	Class 397		EMU			TransPennine Express	Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
Hitachi AT300	Class 800 Azuma		Bi-mode multiple unit			London North Eastern Railway	Edinburgh branch of the WCML between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley before joining or leaving the ECML
	Class 801 Azuma		EMU
	Class 802 Nova 1		Bi-mode multiple unit			TransPennine Express	Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.

Sleeper trains

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Operator	Routes
			mph	km/h
Class 92		Electric locomotive	87	140	GB Railfreight, on behalf of Caledonian Sleeper	All Caledonian Sleeper services, for sections between London Euston and Glasgow or Edinburgh
Mark 5 coach		Lounge Seated sleeper Sleeping car	100	161	Caledonian Sleeper	All Caledonian Sleeper services[43]

Future trains

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Operator	Routes	Expected introduction
				mph	km/h
Alstom Aventra	Class 730/0		EMU	90	145	West Midlands Railway	Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton, Birmingham International and Coventry	2024
	Class 730/2			110	177	London Northwestern Railway	London Euston to Tring, Milton Keynes Central, Northampton and Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street to Liverpool Lime Street Crewe to London Euston via the Trent Valley line	2024
Hitachi AT300	Class 805		Bi-mode multiple unit	125	200	Avanti West Coast[44]	Services between London Euston to: North Wales, Chester and Shrewsbury.	2023[45]
	Class 807		EMU				Services between London Euston to: Blackpool, Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street.

Avanti West Coast

The current principal train operating company on the West Coast Main Line is Avanti West Coast, which runs the majority of long-distance services under the West Coast Partnership rail franchise. In November 2016, the government announced that the (then named) InterCity West Coast franchise would be replaced by a new franchise called 'West Coast Partnership', which includes operating the planned High Speed 2 (HS2) service as well as the existing West Coast Main Line express services. In August 2019, the DfT announced that First Trenitalia West Coast Rail (trading as Avanti West Coast) was the successful bidder. Avanti West Coast commenced operating the franchise on 8 December 2019.^[46][47]

Avanti operates nine trains per hour on the WCML from London Euston, with three trains per hour to each of Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street, one train per hour to each of Chester, Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central via the Trent Valley (one Birmingham New Street train per hour continues to Scotland via Wolverhampton alternating between Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central), five trains on a weekday to Holyhead and three trains on a weekday to Bangor. There is also one weekday train in to/from Wrexham General. Additional peak terminating services run between London Euston and Preston, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Birmingham International, Lancaster and Carlisle. Additional trains during the early morning, late evening, rush hour and night that terminate or start at Birmingham. There are also two daily services between London Euston and Shrewsbury and four daily (Monday to Friday) services between London Euston and Blackpool North.

West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains provides commuter and long-distance services on the route, which terminate at London Euston. They are all operated under the London Northwestern Railway brand. There are two trains an hour from London to Birmingham; one calling at the majority of stations en route and one calling only at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Northampton, Rugby, Coventry, Canley, Tile Hill, Berkswell, Hampton-in-Arden, Birmingham International and Marston Green. There are two return trains per hour from Birmingham New Street to London Euston. These London–Birmingham stopping services are roughly one hour slower, end to end, than the Avanti West Coast fast service. There is also an hourly service from London Euston to Northampton calling at Leighton Buzzard, Bletchley, Milton Keynes Central and Wolverton.

West Midlands Trains also operates an hourly service between London Euston and Crewe, serving Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Northampton (peak times and Sundays only), Rugby, Nuneaton, Atherstone, Polesworth (once a day on Mondays to Saturdays), Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Rugeley Trent Valley, Stafford and Crewe. Some services also call at Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard and Bletchley. Trains also call at Long Buckby (Sundays only). This service was introduced in 2008 to coincide with the withdrawal of the similar Virgin Trains service. Under 'Project 110' this service was reconfigured in December 2012 and to operate 10 mph faster using enhanced British Rail Class 350/1 units.

A service to Tring is provided half-hourly from Euston; one calling at Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey, Watford Junction, Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted and one calling at Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey, Watford Junction, Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamstead. An hourly service operates to Milton Keynes Central calling at Watford Junction, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamstead, Tring, Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard and Bletchley.

West Midlands Trains also operates an hourly stopping train on the Marston Vale Line from Bletchley to Bedford as well as a 45-minute service on the Abbey Line to St Albans Abbey. These are both local branches off the WCML and classified as part of it.

After the Central Trains franchise was revised, London Midland took over services running on the WCML between Birmingham and Liverpool. In August 2017, London Midland lost the West Midlands franchise; West Midlands Trains took over in December 2017. Services on the WCML are all branded London Northwestern Railway services, and all local services around Birmingham are branded West Midlands Railway services.

TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express provides services along the WCML between Manchester Airport or Liverpool Lime Street, and Glasgow or Edinburgh (alternating serving each every 2 hours).

Southern

Southern provides an hourly service between East Croydon and Watford Junction, which calls at all stations on the West London Line, then Wembley Central, Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction. Three trains per day extend to Hemel Hempstead.

London North Eastern Railway

London North Eastern Railway operates one train per day between Glasgow Central and London King's Cross via Edinburgh Waverley,^[48] operating over the West Coast Main Line route between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

CrossCountry

CrossCountry operates services from Plymouth, Bournemouth and Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly; these trains run along the West Coast Main Line between Coventry and Manchester Piccadilly. Some trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads are extended to Paignton and Plymouth, and on summer weekends to Penzance and Newquay. CrossCountry services between Reading and Newcastle also use a small portion of the West Coast Main Line between Coventry and Birmingham New Street. Services towards Reading are often extended to Southampton Central (or occasionally Bournemouth) and 1 train per day towards Reading is extended to Guildford.

CrossCountry also operates a two-hourly service to/from Glasgow Central, which operates to either Penzance, Plymouth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Bristol Temple Meads or Birmingham New Street. On summer weekends trains from Glasgow Central also operate to Paignton, Penzance and Newquay. These services use the West Coast Main Line from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central.

ScotRail

ScotRail operates services on sections of the West Coast Main Line for example near Glasgow with Argyle Line trains running on the section from Cambuslang to Carluke before veering off on the short branch to Lanark or heading along till Carstairs. The North Berwick Line runs from Glasgow Central High Level via Motherwell to Carstairs and onto Haymarket, Edinburgh Waverley and North Berwick.

At Carlisle the Glasgow South Western Line runs for several miles before heading west towards Dumfries, Kilmarnock, Ayr and Stranraer.

Caledonian Sleeper

Caledonian Sleeper operates services down the length of the West Coast Main Line, providing an overnight services each way between London and Scotland.

Felixstowe and Nuneaton freight capacity scheme

A number of items of work are under way or proposed to accommodate additional freight traffic between the Haven ports and the Midlands including track dualling. The 'Nuneaton North Chord' was completed and opened on 15 November 2012.^[49][50] The chord will ease access for some trains between the Birmingham to Peterborough Line and the WCML. The Ipswich chord was opened at the end of March 2014 allowing trains to run without reversing from Felixstowe towards the Midlands.^[51]

Stafford Area Improvements Programme

Planned flying junction and 2.5 mi (4.0 km) track diversion in the Stafford – Norton Bridge area. This replaced the previous level junction where the Stafford to Manchester via Stoke-on-Trent line diverges from the trunk route at Norton Bridge, avoiding conflicting train movements to enhance capacity and reduce journey times, additional freight capacity was also provided around Stafford station. This allowed two extra off-peak trains per hour from Euston to the North West, one extra train per hour from Manchester to Birmingham and one additional freight train per hour. The resignalling work associated with this project was due to be completed in summer 2015 and the Norton Bridge work was complete in December 2016, followed by a new timetable introduced in December 2017.^[52]

Weaver Junction to Liverpool signalling

Re-signalling work the WCML spur track from Liverpool to Weaver Junction was underway in 2016. Signal control moved to the Manchester Rail Operating Centre removing five local signal boxes. The signal improvements will improve journey times on this section of track.^[53]

Increased line speed

Virgin Trains put forward plans in 2007 to increase the line speed in places on the WCML – particularly along sections of the Trent Valley Line between Stafford and Rugby from 125 to 135 mph (200 to 217 km/h) after the quadrupling of track had been completed. This would permit faster services and possibly allow additional train paths. 135 mph (217 km/h) was claimed to be achievable by Pendolino trains while using existing lineside signalling without the need for cab signalling via the use of the TASS system (Tilt Authorisation and Speed Supervision) to prevent overspeeding. In practice, regulations introduced by the HMRI (now ORR) at the time of the ECML high-speed test runs in 1991 are still in force prohibiting this. Network Rail was aware of Virgin Train's aspirations;^[55] however, in November 2009 Chris Mole MP (then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Transport) announced that there were no plans for this to happen and thus for the foreseeable future the maximum speed will remain at 125 mph (201 km/h).^[56]

In promoting this proposal, Virgin Trains reported that passenger numbers on Virgin West Coast increased from 13.6 million in 1997/98 to 18.7 million in 2005/6, while numbers on CrossCountry grew from 12.6 million to 20.4 million over the same period.^[57]

Crossrail extension

In the London & South East Rail Utilisation Strategy (RUS) document published by Network Rail in 2011, a proposal was put forward to extend the Crossrail lines, currently under construction in central London, along the West Coast Main Line as far as Tring and Milton Keynes Central. The scheme would involve the construction of a tunnel in the vicinity of the proposed new station at Old Oak Common in West London connecting the Crossrail route to the WCML slow lines with a potential for interchange with the planned High Speed 2 line. Under current plans, a proportion of westbound Crossrail trains will terminate at Paddington due to capacity limitations; the RUS recommends the WCML extension as it will enable these services to continue beyond Paddington, maximising the use of the central London tunnels. The RUS also notes that diversion of WCML regional rail services via Crossrail into central London would alleviate congestion at Euston station, and consequently reduce the need for infrastructure work on the London Underground network which would be required to accommodate HS2 passengers arriving at Euston. The Crossrail extension proposal has not been officially confirmed or funded.^[54] In August 2014, the government launched a study into the Crossrail extension.^[58]

London to Glasgow and Edinburgh

Branches and loops

Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line
and other local routes
to Crewe Stafford to Stoke-on-Trent Penkridge Colwich Junction Colwich to Shrewsbury Rugeley Trent Valley Wolverhampton Walsall Coseley Tipton Armitage Dudley Port Sandwell & Dudley to Burton upon Trent Smethwick Galton Bridge Lichfield Trent Valley Smethwick Rolfe Street to Bromsgrove & Redditch Birmingham New Street Aston Adderley Park Water Orton to Burton upon Trent Stechford Tamworth Lea Hall Polesworth Marston Green Atherstone Birmingham International Hampton-in-Arden Nuneaton Berkswell Tile Hill to Leicester Canley Bedworth Bulkington Coventry Shilton Brinklow to Leamington Spa Rugby to Northampton to London Euston
Key
West Coast Main Line Birmingham Loop Line freight and diversionary lines other lines

The WCML is noted for the diversity of branches served between the London and Glasgow main line. The adjacent diagram deals with the very complex network of lines in the West Midlands that link the old route via Birmingham with the new WCML route via the Trent Valley (i.e. 1830s versus 1840s).

In the following tables, related to the WCML branches, only the Intercity stations are recorded:

Rugby–Birmingham–Wolverhampton–Stafford

Main article: Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line

City/Town		Station	Ordnance Survey grid reference
Rugby		Rugby	SP511759 SP331781 SP187836 SP069866 SO992900 SO919988 SJ918229
Coventry	Coventry	Coventry
	Canley	Canley
	Tile Hill	Tile Hill
Balsall Common		Berkswell
Hampton in Arden		Hampton-in-Arden
Birmingham International Airport		Birmingham International
Solihull	Marston Green	Marston Green
Birmingham	Lea Hall	Lea Hall
	Stechford	Stechford
	Adderley Park	Adderley Park
	Birmingham city centre	Birmingham New Street
Smethwick		Smethwick Rolfe Street
		Smethwick Galton Bridge
Oldbury		Sandwell and Dudley
Tipton		Dudley Port
		Tipton
Dudley	Coseley	Coseley
Wolverhampton		Wolverhampton
Penkridge		Penkridge
Stafford		Stafford

Crewe–Manchester–Preston

City/Town	Station	Ordnance Survey grid reference
Crewe	Crewe	SJ711546
Wilmslow	Wilmslow	SJ850811
Stockport	Stockport	SJ892898
Manchester	Manchester Piccadilly	SJ849977
Bolton	Bolton	SD719086
Preston	Preston	SD534290

WCML branches and junctions

Sources

• Buck, Martin; Rawlinson, Mark (2000). Line By Line: The West Coast Main Line, London Euston to Glasgow Central. Swindon: Freightmaster Publishing. ISBN 0-9537540-0-6.
• "EUSTON MAIN LINE ELECTRIFICATION, A Technical Conference sponsored jointly by the British Railways Board and the Institutions of Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Locomotive, and Railway Signal Engineers, 25–26th October 1966". Conference Proceedings. Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMECH). 181 (6 (Part 3F)). 1966–67.
  • Brentnall, E. G. (1966). "Paper 2: Signalling and Telecommunications Works on the Euston Main Line Electrification". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Conference Proceedings. 181 (36): 65–86. doi:10.1243/PIME_CONF_1966_181_108_02.
  • Butland, A. N. (1966). "Paper 3: Civil Engineering Works of the Euston Main Line Electrification Scheme". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Conference Proceedings. 181 (36): 51–64. doi:10.1243/PIME_CONF_1966_181_107_02.
  • Emerson, A. H. (1966). "Paper 4: Electrification of the London Midland Main Line from Euston". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Conference Proceedings. 181 (36): 17–50. doi:10.1243/PIME_CONF_1966_181_105_02.