page_title: Churnet Valley Railway
section_title: Northwards — Leek
hierarchical_section_title: Churnet Valley Railway / Future extensions / Northwards — Leek
caption_attribution_description: English: Birchall Tunnel, North Staffs. The former Churnet Valley Railway, that ran between Uttoxeter and North Rode (south of Macclesfield), was originally intended as a secondary link between Manchester and Derby. Passenger trains were withdrawn in 1965 but part has reopened as a heritage line. This is the north portal of a short tunnel on the section between Leekbrook Junction and Leek that now forms part of the Staffordshire Way long distance path.
context_page_description: The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, that operates along a part of the former North Staffordshire Railway's Churnet Valley Line. Regular services travel between the two main stations at Cheddleton and Kingsley and Froghall. There is an intermediate station at Consall. Some trains also head beyond Cheddleton to Leek Brook Junction and on to Ipstones, but Ipstones station is not in use.
  The railway is roughly 10 ¹⁄₂ miles long from Kingsley & Froghall station to Ipstones. The land from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones is owned by Moorland & City Railways, a company aiming to run freight trains from the quarries at Cauldon to the national network at Stoke-on-Trent, and to re-introduce a commuter service between Leek and Stoke.
context_section_description: Also see "Leek (Churnet Valley) railway station" about the future of the proposed station.
  It has always been the CVR long-term aim to re-open the line back into the market town of Leek, and after the Froghall extension of 2001 the railway made it clear that the extension into Leek was the next priority in terms of physical expansion.
  The CVR have taken on the Leek project themselves, and after much dialogue with the Council received outline planning permission for their own proposal in May 2018. They then launched their own project publicly on 1st February 2020.
  A separate company are proposing redevelopments of the Barnfields estate in Leek, which is the mooted location for the new station. These plans were given Outline Planning Permission in December 2014, and include the construction of a new platform for the railway, new Marina connecting into the Leek branch of the Caldon Canal as well as a new restaurant and potentially a dedicated North Staffordshire Museum.
caption: The 69 yards (63 m) Birchall Tunnel, between Leek Brook Junction and Leek 53°05′19″N 2°01′44″W﻿ / ﻿53.088486°N 2.028969°W﻿ / 53.088486; -2.028969
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