are provided on each side and train running details are offered via digital CIS displays, telephone and timetable posters. Step-free access is provided to both platforms. The signal box is situated to the north of the station - this supervises the line from Cuddington through to and the various branches & siding connections from it (including the line to Sandbach and the now-disused link into the defunct Brunner-Mond chemical works at Winnington). Hartford's main station is about one mile (1.6 km) to the west along the main A559 road - a 20-minute journey on foot or 5 minutes by car or taxi. Trains are available from there to Liverpool Lime Street, , Winsford, and Birmingham New Street. Services The station gets one train per hour westbound to Chester and one train per hour eastbound to Manchester Piccadilly. 18 trains per day run to Chester, with 17 running towards Manchester. On Sundays, there is a two-hourly service each way, with 7 trains in each direction. The majority of services are run by Northern Class 150 trains, with some Class 156's also serving the station. There have been repeated plans for a half-hourly service in each direction - it was a part of the 2015 franchise agreement - though this has been repeatedly delayed due to capacity constraints between Stockport and Manchester and is yet, as of January 2022, to be implemented. Proposed future developments As part of Northern's proposed December 2022 timetable (which focuses on additional services within the Manchester area), an additional 4 trains per day between Chester and Stockport (2 in each direction) have been proposed during peak hours on Mondays to Saturdays. These services are aimed at those who are commuting to and/or working in Manchester and Stockport. This change will increase the number of trains departing Chester on the line to 20 per day, with the number departing Stockport also increased to 20 per day. The 2 hourly Sunday service will remain the same, at 7 trains per day. References Notes Bibliography Further reading Gallery External links Mid-Cheshire Community Rail Partnership Railway stations in Cheshire DfT Category F1 stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1870 Northwich Former Cheshire Lines Committee stations Northern franchise railway stations