Congleton railway station

by Alec and Val Scaresbrook

Staffed mornings, Mon-Sat, Congleton station is run by Northern Rail. Waiting room and toilets when staffed. Canopies on both platforms. There is an intercom system on the platform for recorded announcements of the next train due.

On the Stoke-on-Trent-Macclesfield-Manchester line. All north-bound trains stop at Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester Piccaddilly, with Northern Trains calling at intermediate stations too. South-bound stop at Stoke andKidsgrove.

Most trains are Northern Rail with cycle space in the centre carriage by the tip-up seats. There are a few Arriva Cross-Country trains, which are usually the modern Voyagers, which means there's a bike space at one end of the train. How to spot which end of the train? Easy - look at the front of the train for a bar, low down. The yellow bar is fitted to the first class (and no bike space) end of the train. The black bar is fitted to the second class (with bike space) end. Update: some of these trains now use the cycle store end for a buffet trolley, with the cycle space further down the train.

Road and cycle access to both platforms, plus footbridge.

Also see: The Congleton Cycle network

See the map below