Jump to content

Stockport railway station

Coordinates: 53°24′18″N 2°9′46″W / 53.40500°N 2.16278°W / 53.40500; -2.16278
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Delusion23 (talk | contribs) at 21:03, 11 February 2016 (update passenger numbers). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Stockport
General information
LocationMetropolitan Borough of Stockport
Managed byVirgin Trains
Platforms6 (Numbered 0-3, 3a, 4)
Other information
Station codeSPT
History
Opened15 February 1843

Stockport railway station in the town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England is 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston.

History

44444 shunting just south of the station in 1950

The station was opened on 15 February 1843, by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large railway viaduct just to the north.

After operation by the London and North Western Railway, it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway, in 1923. The station was renamed as Stockport Edgeley. This was to differentiate the station from Stockport Tiviot Dale, which closed in 1967.

The lines into the station were electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires, under the British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan.

Facilities

Main entrance

The station is high above the valley of the river Mersey in which Stockport lies and is linked to both central Stockport and Edgeley by a pedestrian underpass.

The station has many of the various facilities of a modern mainline station including full staffing during opening hours, a ticket office and ticket machines, customer service points, shops, toilets, waiting rooms and step-free access to the platforms with the use of lifts from the station subway.[1][2]

In 2009, the station was identified as one of the ten worst category B interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment and it is set to receive a share of £50m funding for improvements.[3] Some improvements to the station have begun with changes to the signs to make them clearer.

Services

Current passenger routes

Trains running north-west all serve Manchester Piccadilly, with some continuing to Manchester Oxford Road and beyond to Liverpool, Preston, Blackpool, Wigan, Southport and Barrow-in-Furness.

South-east from Stockport, express services run to Sheffield and onwards to Cleethorpes, Nottingham and Norwich with local services running to Hazel Grove and Buxton.

The two southern (West Coast Main Line) routes are via Cheadle Hulme. The first continues via Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent to London and Birmingham and the second via Wilmslow and Crewe also with through services to London and Birmingham as well as via Shrewsbury and the Welsh Marches Line to Cardiff, Carmarthen, Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven. Many trains to Birmingham continue to destinations in the south of England such as Bournemouth via Reading and Bristol Temple Meads.

The Mid-Cheshire Line runs westerly through Altrincham, Knutsford, Northwich and Chester.

The line running north-east from Stockport via Guide Bridge to Stalybridge no longer has a regular passenger service, being reduced in the early 1990s from an hourly shuttle service to a once a week, one direction only skeleton service. (See Stockport to Stalybridge Line).

The main concourse was opened in September 2004, as part of a development including a new platform (platform 0). This platform had been dubbed by many as "the white elephant" because it was hardly ever used and the new track which was installed was rusting. However, at the beginning of March 2008 platform 0 came into operation mid-timetable. A pedestrian subway leads to the two older island platforms, which include a buffet and newsagent.

The weekday service pattern is as follows (tph = trains per hour):

  • Arriva Trains Wales
    • 1 tph to Manchester Piccadily
    • 1 tph to Carmarthen/Milford Haven via Shrewsbury and Cardiff Central
  • CrossCountry Trains
    • 2 tph to Manchester Piccadilly
    • 1 tph to Bournemouth via Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham New Street
    • 1 tph to Bristol Temple Meads via Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham New Street
  • East Midlands Trains
    • 1 tph to Liverpool Lime Street
    • 1 tph to Norwich via Sheffield and Nottingham
  • First Transpenine Express
    • 1 tph to Cleethorpes
    • 1 tph to Manchester Airport via Manchester Piccadilly
  • Northern Rail
    • 6 tph to Manchester Piccadilly (with 1 tph continuing to Preston)
    • 2 tph to Alderley Edge (with 1 tph continuing to Crewe)
    • 2 tph to Hazel Grove (with 1 tph continuing to Buxton)
    • 1 tph to Chester
    • 1 tph to Stoke-on-Trent via Macclesfield
    • 1 train per week to Stalybridge
  • Virgin Trains
    • 3 tph to Manchester Piccadilly
    • 2 tph to London Euston via Stoke-on-Trent
    • 1 tph to London Euston via Crewe

Platform use

Platform 0
File:Stockport railway station - platform 3.jpg
Stockport station Platform 3
Platforms 2 and 3

Platform 0 - Hazel Grove, Buxton, Sheffield, Norwich, Nottingham and Cleethorpes (opened in 2003).

Platform 1 - southbound services to Macclesfield, Crewe, Stoke-on-Trent and Alderley Edge. It is also signalled for use by trains in the Manchester direction and is used by services to Southport on Sundays.

Platform 2 - southbound platform for services to Stoke-on-Trent, Chester, Crewe, Alderley Edge, services to South Wales, London, Bristol, Bournemouth, Paignton and Plymouth.

Platform 3 - mainly used by Fast services to Manchester Piccadilly along with services to Manchester Airport, Liverpool Lime Street, Blackpool North, Preston, Salford Crescent,Bolton, Wigan, Southport and Barrow-in-Furness.

Platform 3a - used by a small number of services to Wigan and Southport as well as the once per week Parliamentary train to Stalybridge.

Platform 4 - mainly used by stopping services to Manchester Piccadilly along with services to Manchester Airport, Liverpool Lime Street, Blackpool North, Preston, Salford Crescent, Bolton, Wigan, Southport and Barrow-in-Furness.

Non-stopping trains

It is often claimed that the building of Stockport’s railway viaduct was on the condition that any passenger train using the structure is required to stop at Stockport station.[4][5][6]

The draft December 2008 West Coast Main Line timetable drawn up by the Department for Transport had Arriva CrossCountry's Manchester to Bristol via Birmingham trains passing through Stockport without stopping. This resulted in a 2,600 signature petition against such a move. However, the government did not change its mind.[7] Monday-Saturday Stops in the Cross Country services withdrawn in December 2008 were, however, reinstated at the May 2009 timetable change (Sunday calling patterns remained unchanged).[8]

The 07:49 Buxton to Manchester Piccadilly train also does not stop at Stockport.[9]

Additionally, the 18:57 service from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly (which runs Thursdays & Fridays only) does not call at Stockport, calling only at Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ National Rail Enquiries - Station facilities for Stockport Accessed 2014-06-03
  2. ^ Stockport Station Plan Accessed 2014-06-03
  3. ^ "£50m revamp for 'worst stations'". BBC News. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  4. ^ Andrew Macfarlane (ed.). "Manchester–Buxton". Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 19. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |origmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "Concern over proposed train cuts". BBC News. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Register your viaduct vote online for trains to stop". Stockport Express News Website. MEN. 26 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008. [dead link]
  7. ^ King, Ray (3 November 2008). "Downing St. snubs Stockport". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media.
  8. ^ Reinstatement Of Additional Rail Services For Stockport[dead link] Stockport MDC press release; Retrieved 2009-04-23
  9. ^ "Timetable 20, Manchester to Buxton" (PDF). Northern Rail. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Timetable B, London-Manchester" (PDF). Virgin Trains. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Off-Peak Restrictions from 2 January 2012" (PDF). Virgin Trains. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stockport railway station.
Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
Arriva Trains Wales
CrossCountry
CrossCountry
East Midlands Trains
Limited Service
First TransPennine Express
Limited Services
Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Stoke-Manchester Line
Northern Rail
Stoke-Manchester Line
Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail
TerminusNorthern Rail
Friday only
Virgin Trains

53°24′18″N 2°9′46″W / 53.40500°N 2.16278°W / 53.40500; -2.16278

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stockport_railway_station&oldid=704478556"