The line was opened between Stoke and Uttoxeter on 7 August 1848. The next stage from here to Tutbury was opened 11 September 1848. Just beyond Tutbury was formerly a branch line to Burton upon Trent, having opened on the same date, but now closed.
A separate company, the Cheadle Railway Company, built a line from Cresswell to Cheadle, which was opened throughout on 1 January 1901 and was closed to passengers in 1953 and to freight traffic in 1978.
The section of line between Egginton and the Midland Railway Derby to Birmingham line was opened on 13 July 1849. The section between Stoke and Kidsgrove is part of the West Coast Main Line, which together with the section from Kidsgrove to Crewe opened on 9 October 1848.
When Central Trains were awarded the franchise for the line in the 1990s, the Crewe-Derby service (which under BR Regional Railways had run between Crewe, Derby and Nottingham then either Lincoln or Skegness) was expanded to run between Manchester Airport and Skegness. However, poor punctuality meant that this was later curtailed to Crewe-Skegness. In Autumn 2005, further poor performance saw the through service limited to Crewe-Derby.
During 2003 much of the line was closed as part of the West Coast Main Line upgrade with trains terminating at Blythe Bridge and a shuttle bus service running between there and Crewe. After the closure all stations on the route reopened except Etruria which was closed in 2005.[1] As a result of the upgrade the section from Crewe to Kidsgrove was electrified for use as a diversionary route for the West Coast Main Line.
In May 2021, services provided by East Midlands Railway were extended to provide Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent with direct links past Derby to Nottingham and Newark Castle, although the service is still run hourly and journeys between Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham take approximately 90 minutes.
Stations
All stations on the route except Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe are managed by East Midlands Railway.
The line serves or has formerly served the following places (highlighted place names currently have a station whereas the others formerly had a named station that is now closed):
The route starts at Derby and follows the Cross Country Route as far as North Staffordshire Junction in Willington, then carrying along the main body of the line until Stoke Junction on the Stoke-on-Trent branch of the West Coast Main Line until Kidsgrove, where it then follows the Alsager branch as far as Crewe south junction before terminating at Crewe.
The route is double track for all of its length except for a three-mile section between Alsager and Crewe, which was singled by British Rail. Whilst the majority of the route is not electrified, the section between Stoke Junction and Crewe is as part of the West Coast Main Line.
In April 2006, Network Rail organised its maintenance and train control operations into "26 Routes". The line from Crewe to Kidsgrove (where it joins the line from Manchester) through to Stoke-on-Trent forms part of Route 18 (the West Coast Main Line). The line through to Derby from the junction just south of Stoke-on-Trent station forms part of Route 19 (the Midland Main Line and East Midlands).
Services
The line sees a basic hourly service in each direction from Crewe to Newark Castle via Stoke-on-Trent, Uttoxeter, Derby, Long Eaton and Nottingham, with trains calling at all stations on the route except for Peartree which is served by two Newark bound trains and three Crewe bound trains per weekday.
From February 2020, the new East Midlands Railway franchise started running Class 153 DMUs in double formation, and occasionally, Class 156 DMUs, however, overcrowding remained a major issue on the route, particularly in the morning and evening peak, and on weekends. Passengers are occasionally left behind.[2]
A Class 170 DMU arriving at Tutbury and Hatton in 2005, bound for Skegness.
The reintroduction of Class 170 "Turbostar" trains on this route has eased congestion, compared to the previous Class 153 and 156 trains, and now mainly run this route, with the occasional class 158.
Future
Under the new East Midlands Railway franchise, most trains have increased in capacity, with Class 170 DMUs now operating the route. In the future, there are plans to extend the route to Nottingham.[3] Local MP Jack Brereton has also called for Meir railway station to be re-opened.[4]
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