Halton Curve

Liverpool to North Wales via Chester using the Halton Curve
Halton Curve in 2012 prior to commencement of upgrade work
Overview
Type	Regional rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational in one direction only
Locale	Cheshire, Halton, (North West England)
Termini	Chester Runcorn
Stations	4, (Chester, Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn)
Operation
Closed	5 May 1975 (local traffic)
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Northern Rail
Rolling stock	Class 150 Sprinter Class 156 Super Sprinter
Technical
Line length	1.7 mi (2.7 km)
Number of tracks	Single (1)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Loading gauge	W8
Electrification	Not electrified
Operating speed	40 mph (64 km/h) maximum
Route map [ ] Halton Curve to Manchester Runcorn East to Crewe Sutton Tunnel Runcorn Halton Jct Halton Curve Frodsham Jct Frodsham Helsby to Ellesmere Port Chester with connections to Wirral Line and North Wales

Halton Curve is a short railway line that links the North Wales Coast Line to the Liverpool section of the West Coast Main Line within the borough of Halton, Cheshire. The route, which is from Frodsham Junction (north of Frodsham) to Halton Junction (south of Runcorn), is 1 mile 54 chains (2.7 km). It is formally known as the "Frodsham Branch" and coded NW 3021 by Network Rail.

The line, which was constructed for commercial reasons, created a direct link between North Wales industries and the factories of south Lancashire and wharves on the River Mersey. Passengers services also used the route. However, the Great Depression in the 1930s began the steady decline in heavy industry and manufacturing in this part of Lancashire. Although the line escaped the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, all passengers services were withdrawn in the mid 1970s. The curve, which had been a double-tracked, was reduced to a single line in the early 1990s. After it was nearly closed by Network Rail in the early 2000s, a concerted campaign was launched to improve services on the line.

In 2015 upgrade work began to reinstate the line for passenger services as part of a transport plan to provide rail links between south Liverpool and Liverpool John Lennon Airport with Vale Royal, Chester and North Wales. In October 2016, the government announced that services would run from Liverpool to Chester via the Halton Curve from December 2018, following completion of work in the curve in May 2018 as part of the 2017 upgrade to Liverpool Lime Street.