The City Line is the name given to local rail routes out of Liverpool Lime Street railway station, it appears on maps of the Merseyrail network as red, and covers the Liverpool–Wigan line as well as the two routes of the Liverpool–Manchester lines, which were once four direct railway routes between Liverpool and Manchester, in the North West of which location?
Liverpool–Manchester lines There were once four direct railway routes between Liverpool and Manchester in the North West of England. There are now only two remaining direct railway routes between the two cities. One line, the now northern route, is fully electric and the other, the southern route, is a diesel only line. A third line which is further north has been split with the western section electric and the eastern section diesel operation, requiring a passenger change between the two cities. The fourth route, the most southerly, is largely abandoned east of Warrington with the remaining section mostly catering for freight trains. The remaining two direct routes are:
Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&M) took place on 15 September 1830. Work on the L&M had begun in the 1820s, to connect the major industrial city of Manchester with the nearest deep water port at the Port of Liverpool, 35 mi away. Although horse-drawn railways already existed elsewhere, and a few industrial sites already used primitive steam locomotives for bulk haulage, the L&M was the first locomotive-hauled railway to connect two major cities, and the first to provide a scheduled passenger service. The opening day was a major public event. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, the Prime Minister, rode on one of the eight inaugural trains, as did many other dignitaries and notable figures of the day. Huge crowds lined the track at Liverpool to watch the trains depart for Manchester.