M6 motorway from the beginning of A14 in Catthorpe near Rugby in central England, passes between Coventry, Bedworth and Nuneaton, through Birmingham, Walsall and Stafford and near the smaller cities of Wolverhampton and Stoke-on-Trent. The motorway has major junctions with the M55 at Junction 32, north of Preston ending just before Blackpool, the M65 at Junction 29, south of Preston, towards Blackburn and then Burnley, the M56 and M62 at Warrington, giving access to Chester, Manchester and Liverpool. The M6 then heads north past Wigan, Preston and Lancaster. After the latter two cities it passes through Cumbria with some parts very close
East Lancashire Railway (1844–1859) the Blackburn to Accrington connection (), and, in August, the Stubbins junction to Accrington section. The line was extended east to Burnley () by September 1848, and, in February 1849, from Burnley to Colne, where it made an end-on junction with the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway, providing the ELR with a connection to Bradford and Leeds. The LO&PR line to Lostock Hall () was completed on 2 April 1849, and the () extension into Preston station opened on 2 September 1850. The line ran into new platforms built on the east side of the NUR's station, which were managed