There are various modes of transport available in Warrington.
Rail
Warrington has seven railway stations within its boundaries. The town has two main railway stations, Bank Quay on the London to Glasgow and Chester – Warrington – Newton-le-Willows – Manchester lines, and Central on the Liverpool – Widnes – Manchester line and the Transpennine route. Bank Quay is much altered, but Central (built 1873) is of some architectural merit, featuring polychromatic brickwork. However, both main railway stations have suffered from years of under investment. A new entrance and concourse has been built at Bank Quay, and similar work started in July 2010 at Central station. There are also stations in the suburbs at Warrington West, Sankey, Glazebrook, Padgate and Birchwood.
The station has an average daytime frequency of four trains per hour (three local trains operated by Northern and one fast train to Norwich (East Midlands Railway).
North to South (Carlisle-Preston-Warrington Bank Quay-Crewe-London)
East to West (Manchester-Warrington Bank Quay (low level)-Ditton Junction-Liverpool
Warrington Bank Quay to Chester and North Wales
and the Cheshire Lines Committee having one route from Liverpool Central via Warrington Central to Manchester Central. There was also a line avoiding Warrington Central (closed in 1968).
The Warrington Bank Quay low level route was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1962. Occasional freight services continue on the Ditton Junction-Warrington section but the line east towards Manchester has been closed and converted into the Trans-Pennine Trail.
Former stations in the Warrington area include
closed 1949 – Sankey Bridges
1950 – Fidler's Ferry and Penketh
1954 – Warrington Arpley
1962 – Heatley and Warburton, Lymm, Latchford, Thelwall
2023 - Sankey For Penketh
Buses
The town and its districts are fairly well served by bus services. Warrington's Own Buses is the main provider of services, operating most of the day time bus routes. Arriva North West, First Greater Manchester.
National Express also operate their long-distance services through Warrington. Most services that serve Warrington depart from and arrive at Warrington Interchange. However services can be caught from various points around the town centre, principally Rylands Street (for South and Eastbound routes), Academy Way (Inbound and Eastbound routes), Warrington Central for Northbound services, Sankey Street for Westbound, Eastbound and Southbound buses.
Warrington, Ryfields Village (some), Orford, Orange Grove (some), Cinnamon Brow, Birchwood, Oakwood, Gorse Covert Occasionally continues to or starts from Priestley College
Warrington, Penketh Lane Ends, Penketh, Widnes, Runcorn, Halton Lea, Murdishaw, Windmill Hill
Notes:
First buses are those leaving either Wilderspool Depot (in the case of Warrington's Own Buses) or the Town Centre, to start the full route.
Last buses are those leaving the outer terminus on linear routes, or arriving into Warrington on circulars; some last buses terminate elsewhere in the town centre, e.g. Garven Place.
A red background in the route number column denotes routes normally operated by Warrington's Own Buses
A teal background in the route number column denotes routes normally operated by Arriva North West
A green background in the route number column denotes routes operated by Link Network
A grey background in the route number column denotes routes operated by First Greater Manchester
Roads
There are three key motorways serving the town and surrounding areas. The town is located roughly halfway between Liverpool and Manchester.
The M6 has four junctions in Warrington. Junction 20 serves the rural south-eastern outskirts of Warrington (i.e. Lymm, Grappenhall, Appleton Thorn and Hatton), it also acts as the "Lymm Interchange" for the M56. Junction 21 serves Woolston, Padgate, Birchwood and the town centre. Junction 21A is the "Croft Interchange" for the M62. Finally, junction 22 serves the north-eastern rural suburbs (i.e. Kenyon, Croft, and Culcheth). To the North, the next exit is for Haydock, to the south the next exit is for Macclesfield, Knutsford and Northwich.
The M62 also has four junctions serving Warrington. Junction 11 serves the Eastern suburbs (Birchwood, Risley, and Culcheth). Junction 10 is known as the "Croft Interchange" and links to the M6. Junction 9 serves the town centre, and inner city areas (Orford, Winwick, and Longford). Finally, junction 8 serves the western suburbs (Westbrook, Sankey and Callands). To the west, the next junction serves St. Helens, Prescot, and Widnes. Towards the east, the next junction is known as the "Eccles Interchange", linking the M60.
The third motorway skirts the south-east of Warrington, the M56 interchanges with the M6 at junction 9. Junction 10 serves the very rural outskirts of Warrington (Stretton and Hatton).
The River Mersey runs through the heart of the town dividing it into two. There are only two main thoroughfares crossing the Mersey in Warrington: at Bridgefoot and at the Kingsway Bridge. Another crossing is planned from Lower Walton to Arpley.
Canals
Warrington is also divided by the Manchester Ship Canal but there are three swing bridges and a high-level cantilever bridge providing crossing points, and another high-level crossing is planned between Warrington and Runcorn.
The picturesque Bridgewater Canal runs through the Borough from the scenic village of Lymm to Walton Lea Gardens, a local park/leisure area.
The first modern canal is also located in Warrington. The Sankey Canal starts at Spike Island in Widnes, going through Sankey Valley Park past Bewsey Old Hall & Gullivers World theme park, on through Earlestown and ending at the old Safeway store (now Tesco) in St. Helens.
Air
Although Warrington itself does not have an airport, it is within half an hour (by road) of two international airports : Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport, each with a mix of various international, European, domestic and regional flights. You can reach Manchester Airport by train (via Piccadilly Station in Manchester).
At one point Warrington was home to a world-famous military airfield used intensively during World War Two at Burtonwood. Now the runway is part of the M62 and the area has now been transformed into Gemini business park. When driving down the M62 one can still see some of the old aircraft hangars that are now home to various businesses.
Cycling
Warrington is home to the Warrington Cycle Campaign, a cycling advocacy group that has received international attention with its 'Cycle facility of the month' feature.