Manchester–Southport line
The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of England, operated by Northern Trains. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Atherton Line. Starting at the city centre stations of Manchester Victoria (also serving Salford Central on the fringe of the city centre) and Manchester Piccadilly (also serving Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate), it runs in a north-western direction through the towns, villages and suburbs of the City of Salford and Wigan. It then proceeds in the  same direction through the small rural villages of West Lancashire, before ending on the Irish Sea coast at the resort town of Southport. Rolling stock. Services on the line use , and Class 158 DMUs as well as Class 769 BMUs, although 150s and 156s are the most common. DMUs are banned from operating on this route because the steps below the doors on these units foul the platform coping stones at station. Tram train. There is ongoing feasibility into the conversion of parts of this line (Wigan–Atherton–Manchester) to operate as a Manchester Metrolink service with a higher frequency  metro service for the Greater Manchester Boroughs of Wigan and Salford into the city centre. In November 2013, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority approved a recommended strategy for reconfiguring existing commuter services into tram-train operation, identifying the Atherton line as providing an opportunity for extending potential tram-train services from the south-east (Marple, Glossop) across the city centre and outwards to the north west. Southport and Kirkby services on this line would be diverted to operate via Bolton. Additionally, Network Rail has identified electrification of Wigan to Southport, together with the Ormskirk–Preston line and the Burscough Curves  as a possible source of new services. External links. Manchester Metrolink extension & conversion proposals