The first railway to reach the town was the Cheshire Midland Railway route from, which opened to traffic on 1 January 1863. The CMR was one of the constituent routes of the Cheshire Lines Committee from its formation, and the WCR was built by the CLC. The original CMR terminus station in Northwich was likely the building that became the goods station but was replaced early, in 1869, as the continuing line towards Hartford was being constructed as part of the West Cheshire Railway. Further lines to via Middlewich, Helsby and a short goods branch to Winnington would complete the network of routes serving the area, with being served from May 1875. As a result, Northwich station was served by no fewer than four different pre-grouping railway companies. The LNWR also operated a number of its Sandbach & Crewe trains forward from here to via Greenbank and the curve down to the West Coast Main Line at Hartford Junction. The station expanded as the railway grew and by 1910 there were three platform faces, a bay for loading cattle, extensive goods sidings with a five ton crane and a goods station. The CMR built a two-lane engine shed and turntable in 1869, the shed was doubled in size in 1877 and rebuilt around 1948 before closing to steam engines in 1968 and diesel in 1982. Services were available to a variety of destinations, in 1872 most of the services were mainly local with nine daily trains each way to Manchester, both via the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway and via,, through services were available to Derby and London St Pancras. Additional destinations were gradually added as they became available including Chester, Liverpool Central, Manchester Central, Sheffield and London Kings Cross. Following the 1923 Grouping, Northwich remained a joint station. Services to Acton Bridge ended during World War 2, but the primary routes to Chester, Crewe & Manchester continued in use up to and after nationalisation in January 1948. B.R withdrew passenger services from the Sandbach line and closed station on 4 January 1960 - thereafter the outer face of the southern island platform at the station fell out of use, though the branch itself has continued in use for freight traffic and periodic passenger diversions. Services on the main Manchester to Chester route would continue, but from 1969 both terminals for this service would change following the closure of Manchester Central station on 5 May and Chester Northgate on 6 October that year. Trains henceforth ran to eastbound and to the former GWR & LNWR Joint station at Chester General westbound. Since 1990 though, Manchester-bound trains have been diverted beyond Altrincham to run via Northenden & Stockport to reach Manchester Piccadilly as the former route via Sale is now part of the Metrolink tram network.
Facilities
The main buildings on the Manchester-bound platform are still in use, with the ticket office open six days per week from early morning until early afternoon. Two self-service ticket machines are also provided for use outside these times and for collecting advance purchase tickets. The remaining parts of the building are used as a cafe and community centre. A waiting shelter is provided on the Chester-bound side, whilst train running details are offered via CIS displays and timetable posters. Step-free access is only possible from the main entrance to platform 1, as platform 2 access is via a stepped footbridge.
Services
Monday to Saturday there is an hourly service westbound to Chester and eastbound to Manchester Piccadilly. On Sundays there is now a two-hourly service to Chester and Manchester, with the latter continuing to Wigan Wallgate and Southport. Through trains to Manchester had not previously operated on Sundays since the early 1990s, passenger instead having to change at Altrincham onto the Manchester Metrolink to continue their journeys to Manchester.
Proposed future developments
The Northern Hub proposes an additional hourly service to run between Greenbank and Stockport. Re-instating the passenger service between Northwich and Sandbach has been proposed. This would allow direct trains to Crewe from Knutsford, giving a better connection to the Midlands and the South of England. Proposals for a direct link to Manchester Airport from Northwich were first put forward in the 1990s, not much had seemed to materialise from this. However, in 2009 Network Rail stated that the creation of the third platform has meant that the capacity at Manchester airport will become constrained by the layover of the trains and congestion at the throat. To solve this issue they have recommended building a line underneath the Airport towards Northwich in the 2019 to 2024 period. The running of tram-trains directly in to Manchester, in addition to the existing rail service, has been estimated as being able to cut about 10 minutes off the overall journey time to and from Manchester. Network Rail and the Department for Transport have indicated that they are keen to carry out a trial for tram-trains in the UK, which will be between Rotherham and Sheffield. Carrying out the trial would provide the information Network Rail and the DfT require on reliability, frequency and costs.
