Stockport railway station

## History

The Manchester and Birmingham Railway, opened from Manchester to Stockport in 1840, was only 5.5 miles (8.9 km) long at the time and ran into a temporary station at each end. Stockport's stood at the north end of the uncompleted Stockport viaduct, a temporary station which was later renamed as Heaton Norris, and remained Stockport's only station for more than two years. After the viaduct's completion, the M&BR decided to build a new station at the south end of the viaduct, on an experimental basis. The decision was prompted by complaints that the existing station was a long way from the industrial parts of town and even farther from the residential districts on the south side. The station was opened on the current site on 15 February 1843, under the name **Edgeley**. By 1844, it had become the principal station and the one at the north end of the viaduct eventually closed in 1959. After operation by the London and North Western Railway, it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway, in 1923. In 1948 British Railways ran the system.

The lines into the station were electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires, under the British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan, However not all the local lines were electrified.

## Facilities

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.

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. 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):

* KeolisAmey Wales (Wales & Borders)
	+ 1 tph to Manchester Piccadilly
	+ 1 tph to Carmarthen/Milford Haven via Shrewsbury and Cardiff Central
* CrossCountry
	+ 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
* Transpenine Express
	+ 1 tph to Cleethorpes
	+ 1 tph to Manchester Airport via Manchester Piccadilly
* Northern
	+ 6 tph to Manchester Piccadilly (with 1 tph continuing to Preston & Blackpool North)
	+ 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 - 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.

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. 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).

The 07:48 Buxton to Manchester Piccadilly train also does not stop at Stockport.

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.

## External links

Template:Greater Manchester railway stations