The Cheshire Midland Railway was opened to passengers between Altrincham and Knutsford on 12 May 1862 (1862-05-12), then completed to Northwich on 1 January 1863 (1863-01-01).

Services were operated by the CLC until nationalisation on 1 January 1948, when the line became part of British Railways London Midland Region.

Between 1880 and 1969, CLC trains from Chester via Altrincham terminated at Manchester Central railway station.

The frequency of trains over this section led to a large section of the MSJ&A route between Manchester and Altrincham being quadrupled, and the whole route (from Manchester to the former Bowdon railway station, which was used as carriage sidings and repair depot) was electrified at 1500 volts DC in 1931.

Local services between Manchester London Road and Altrincham were then provided by electric multiple unit trains.

The journey time by the electric trains from Oxford Road to Altrincham was typically 20 or 21 minutes.

The CLC trains typically took 13 minutes to travel between Manchester Central (Oxford Road from 1969) and Altrincham with one stop at Sale.

The original electric trains, built in 1931, were withdrawn in 1971 and the system was changed to 25 kV AC.

1990 saw further changes as Mid-Cheshire line trains were diverted via Stockport in preparation for conversion of the Sale route to Metrolink.

The electrification system between Manchester and Altrincham was changed for the second time, to 750 V DC, and the electric trains replaced by trams.

One service was required by the terms of the invitation to tender to run semi-fast and must call at Stockport, Altrincham, Knutsford and Northwich only, between Greenbank and Manchester in both directions.

The announcement of Arriva as the franchise winner in December 2015 indicated that the future operator has gained agreement for the additional service to call at Hale although this was not specified in the invitation to tender.

Due to growing numbers of passengers, the new Northern franchise planned to include increased services.

[11][12] Reopening the Northwich to Sandbach line to passenger trains This would allow a direct train service from stations along the line to access Crewe, without the need to change at Chester, which will should reduce journey times to destinations south of Chester, as well as reducing fares to those destinations.

From the start of operations, motive power was provided by the MSLR and later the GCR, although locomotives and stock from the other CLC constituent companies could also be seen.

This gave the Mid-Cheshire line a very "cosmopolitan" feel until well into the 1960s when older locomotives were replaced by British Railways (BR) standard designs.

The 'Directors' and C13s lasted well into the nationalisation era and were eventually displaced by LMS and BR standard tank engines.

works at Winnington and Lostock attracted much traffic, in particular heavy trains consisting of custom-built bogie hoppers, which carried limestone from Derbyshire.

The primary source of traffic for many years was limestone from quarries near Buxton, Derbyshire, to Brunner Mond's works at Winnington.

Some limestone traffic from Buxton to the former ICI terminal near Lostock Gralam (serving Tata's other chemical plant in the area) continues to run.