Kirkby Branch Line

The Kirkby Branch Line is a railway line running from Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, to Kirkby, Merseyside. It is operated by Northern Rail.

The railway stations on the branch line are;

*Wigan Wallgate
*Pemberton
*Orrell
*Upholland
*Rainford
*KirkbyThe connection at Kirkby, which is an electrified railway and part of the Merseytravel network, provides a fast link into the centre of the city of Liverpool.

This line was originally promoted as the Liverpool and Bury Railway, and opened on 20 Nov 1848. Later, as the main line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, express trains ran from Liverpool Exchange to Manchester Victoria in 40 minutes and continued over the Pennines to Leeds, Newcastle and Hull.