The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is a significant railway corridor in the United Kingdom, which connects the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of inter-city rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 399 miles (642 km) and was opened between 1837 and 1881; this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km) by including its many branches. The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh; however, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line via York. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
It is one of the busiest rail freight routes in Europe, carrying 40% of all UK traffic. The line is the principal rail freight corridor linking the European mainland (via the Channel Tunnel) through London and South East England to the West Midlands, North West England and Scotland. The line has been declared a strategic European route and designated a priority Trans-European Networks (TENS) route. A number of railway writers refer to it as "The Premier line".
