Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England, has a public rail network of 130 route miles (209 km) and 92 National Rail stations.[1][a] Transport for Greater Manchester is responsible for specifying fares and service levels of train services operating in the county.[2] The Northern train operating company provides most of these services.[3] The four main railway stations in Manchester city centre are Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Deansgate which all form part of the Manchester station group.
Most services run to or through one of Manchester city centre's major stations, Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly. The network is effectively divided into two operating halves based on these stations,[2] although the opening of a connecting line in 1988 improved operational flexibility by joining the north and south halves.[4] This was further improved by the Ordsall Chord (opened to traffic on 10 December 2017), creating a direct link between Piccadilly and Victoria.
Services radiate northwards from Manchester Victoria, providing stopping services to West Yorkshire and Liverpool as well as local suburban services to Rochdale and Wigan.[2] The south side's services radiate from Manchester Piccadilly and run to Manchester Airport, south Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Leeds, North East England, London and other major destinations.[2]
The region's rail network started to develop during the Industrial Revolution, when it was at the centre of a textile manufacturing boom.[5] Manchester was at the forefront of the railway building revolution during the Victorian era. The world's first passenger railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened on 15 September 1830.[2] Its original terminus, Liverpool Road railway station, was closed to passengers in 1844, but still exists and is the oldest surviving passenger station in the world.[6] Since the Beeching cuts many of Greater Manchester's stations have closed and many station facilities have been removed. Others, however, have been converted to the Manchester Metrolink, Greater Manchester's light-rail network, or preserved as part of the East Lancashire Railway heritage route.[b] The expansion of the Metrolink is set to continue at least through 2020, with the planned opening of the Trafford Park Line.[7][8] In October 2009, nine stations on the former Oldham Loop Line closed for conversion,[9] and future plans include the use of tram-trains to allow Metrolink to serve existing National Rail stations.[10]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Manchester_Piccadilly_Inside.jpg/220px-Manchester_Piccadilly_Inside.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Greater_Manchester_Railways_without_Metrolink.svg/220px-Greater_Manchester_Railways_without_Metrolink.svg.png)
In preparation for the 2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester Piccadilly, the principal station for the City of Manchester, was extensively redeveloped and as a consequence has been voted as having the highest customer satisfaction rating of all the main stations in the United Kingdom.[11] As of 2013, Manchester Victoria is under renovation with the construction of a new £20 million roof while Oxford Road will see redevelopment as a result of the Northern Hub plan in 2014. The construction of the Ordsall Chord linked Greater Manchester's three busiest stations for the first time in December 2017.
Railway stations currently in use
[edit]See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- a The total of 98 given at www.gmpte.com excludes Reddish South and Denton, which have one service per week, but includes Dean Lane, Failsworth, Hollinwood, Oldham Werneth, Oldham Mumps, Derker, Shaw and Crompton, New Hey and Milnrow, which closed on 3 October 2009.
- b Of the stations on the East Lancashire Railway operational as of the 2015 season, three (Bury Bolton Street, Heywood and Summerseat) are located within Greater Manchester.[20]
- c Two other platforms are used by Manchester Metrolink services.[21][22]
- d Originally opened in 1839 and closed in 1842. Reopened 25 March 1985 on the same site.[16]
- e One other platform is used by Metrolink services.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (n.d.). "GMPTE - Trains". gmpte.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Roughley, Malcolm (1986). Railways in Greater Manchester (1974-1986); Volume One. M.R. Roughley. ISBN 0-9511246-0-9.
- ^ "Network Map" (PDF). Northern Rail Network Map. FWT (part of the Cook Hammond & Kell Group). 22 March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ^ Sanderson, Kathy (1989). "Manchester–Glossop–Hadfield". In Andrew Macfarlane (ed.). Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 42. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5.
- ^ Clarke, John (1976). Railways: It Happened Round Greater Manchester. Greater Manchester Council.
- ^ "About us". Science and Industry Museum. 2008.
- ^ "Metrolink second city crossing 'vital' for Manchester". BBC News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Trafford Park Line". TFGM Website. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "Oldham Loop rail line closure" (PDF). GMPTE information poster. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. September 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Charlotte Cox (22 January 2015). "Transport bosses reveal plans to use special 'tram-train' to connect Stockport to Metrolink system". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ "Revamped station tops train poll". BBC. BBC News. 2 August 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
- ^ "Part D: Annexes" (PDF). Better Rail Stations. Department for Transport. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Station usage". Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Brackenbury, Allan (2005). Railway passenger stations in Greater Manchester: a chronology. Cheadle: Railway and Canal Historical Society North West Group.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Alan Bevan, ed. (1998). A—Z of Rail Reopenings. Railway Development Society. Warwick: Warwick Printing Company. ISBN 0-901283-13-4.
- ^ Reid, T. D. W.; Lee, Irene (1979). Cheadle in 1851. Stockport Libraries. p. 40. ISBN 0-905164-00-8.
- ^ a b Sanderson, Kathy (1989). "Manchester–Glossop–Hadfield". In Andrew Macfarlane (ed.). Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 34. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5.
- ^ Macfarlane, Andrew (1989). "Manchester–Warrington–Liverpool". In Andrew Macfarlane (ed.). Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 43. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5.
- ^ "Timetables and Information 2015". East Lancashire Railway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ "Station Facilities for Altrincham". National Rail Enquiries website. ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ "Metrolink in the City Centre". Light Rail Transit Association website. Tony Williams, Manchester Area Officer, Light Rail Transit Association. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ "Station Facilities for Navigation Road". National Rail Enquiries website. ATOC Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.