Runcorn - Transport

Transport

When plans for Runcorn New Town were drawn up, they included three distinct types of road: local roads, expressways and the Busway. The expressways are intended to keep all through traffic off the local roads. This system links to the north by the A533 over the Silver Jubilee Bridge to Widnes and Merseyside, to the northeast to Warrington by the A56, to the east to Northwich and north Cheshire by the A533, and to the southeast by the A557 to the M56 and to Frodsham. The M56 links to the M6 and, to the north of Widnes, the A557 links to the M62. The Busway is a system of roads for use by buses only, and bears no resemblance to guided busways or bus lanes in use elsewhere, as it is a totally separate road system, not running alongside (or down the middle of) existing roads. In addition, there is a network of dedicated cycleways in the town.

There are two railway stations. Runcorn, located in the old town, is on the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line, and has 15 Virgin Trains a day (weekdays) between Liverpool and London, as well as an hourly 'semi-fast' service of London Midland trains between Liverpool and Birmingham. (Incidentally, when it was built the nearby railway bridge across the Mersey incorporated a footpath running alongside the tracks.)

Runcorn East station, located in the Murdishaw district of the new town, is on the Chester to Manchester line, with an hourly service to Chester, Warrington, and Manchester, provided by Arriva Trains Wales and Northern Rail.

There are two bus stations, one in the old town centre and the other at Halton Lea, with buses running locally within Runcorn, and also to Widnes, Warrington, Chester and Liverpool, provided by Halton Transport and Arriva.

National Express coaches call at Runcorn, on the Hoylake–Liverpool–London and Southport–Cambridge services. Coach services are provided by Selwyns and Anthony's Travel.

The Silver Jubilee Bridge was widened in the mid-1970s by bolting a new pedestrian way to the side of the original structure and widening the roadways over the old footpaths. It is a bottleneck and becomes congested at peak travel times, and in the event of a breakdown or accident on the bridge, traffic in the area comes to a standstill. To resolve this problem, a second crossing of the Mersey is planned, to be known as the Mersey Gateway.

Runcorn is 8 miles (13 km) from Liverpool John Lennon Airport and 22 miles (35 km) from Manchester Airport.