Manchester is steeped in railway history going back almost 200 years to the opening of Liverpool Road station in September 1830. The line from Liverpool was widely regarded as the first ever inter-city railway in the world. The railway network around the city greatly expanded in the second half of the nineteenth century with new lines opening to the surrounding Lancashire towns and beyond. At one time the city also supported an extensive dock railway system based around the Manchester Ship Canal and Salford Docks.

Manchester’s current rail network sees lines radiating out from all points of the compass and with 262 km of route mileage it boasts the largest provincial railway network outside of London. A number of groundbreaking schemes have been implemented in recent years which have radically changed the pattern of service operations across the city. These have included the Hazel Grove Chord, the Windsor Link, the Airport Extension and the Ordsall Chord. Manchester also had the largest new tram system in the UK in 2023 with nine lines operated by a uniform fleet of 147 Bombardier-built trams.

This book is packed with information about the workings of the city’s railways going back as far as the final years of the steam age.