List of railway stations in Greater Manchester

Manchester Piccadilly

Manchester Victoria

Stockport

Manchester Airport

Bolton

Wigan Wallgate

Rochdale

Stalybridge

Altrincham

Cheadle Hulme

Ashton-under-Lyne

Marple

Horwich Parkway

Bury

Railways in Greater Manchester

  Primary route

  Secondary route

  Rural route

  Goods only

  Heritage railway

  Metrolink

  Disused railway

Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England, has a public rail network of 130 route miles (209 km) and 91 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 Rail train operating company provides most of these services.^[3] The four main railway stations in Manchester city centre are Piccadilly, Victoria, Oxford Road and 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] 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 Axe 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 2017:^[7] in October 2009, nine stations on the former Oldham Loop Line closed for conversion,^[8] and future plans include the use of tram-trains to allow Metrolink to serve existing National Rail stations.^[9]

Manchester Piccadilly, the principal station for the City of Manchester and busiest station in Greater Manchester by number of passengers.

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.^[10] 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 will link Greater Manchester's three busiest stations for the first time in 2016.

Railway stations currently in use

Station (and code)	Managed by	Lines served	Station users 2013/14[11]	Year opened	Platforms	Borough
Altrincham (ALT)	Northern Rail	Mid-Cheshire Line	474,362	1881[12]	2 + 2 Metrolink^[c]	Trafford
Ardwick (ADK)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line Hope Valley Line	568	1842[12]	2	Manchester
Ashburys (ABY)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line Hope Valley Line	91,330	1846[12]	2	Manchester
Ashton-under-Lyne (AHN)	Northern Rail	Huddersfield Line	470,580	1846[13]	2	Tameside
Atherton (ATN)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	433,766	1888[13]	2	Wigan
Belle Vue (BLV)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	10,122	1875[12]	2	Manchester
Blackrod (BLK)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	589,026	1841[13]	2	Bolton
Bolton (BON)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line Ribble Valley Line Manchester to Preston Line TransPennine North West West Coast Main Line	3,695,050	1838[13]	4	Bolton
Bramhall (BML)	Northern Rail	Stafford to Manchester Line	274,442	1845[13]	2	Stockport
Bredbury (BDY)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	214,550	1875[12]	2	Stockport
Brinnington (BNT)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	74,722	1977[14]	2	Stockport
Broadbottom (BDB)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line	155,826	1842[12]	2	Tameside
Bromley Cross (BMC)	Northern Rail	Ribble Valley Line	386,130	1848[13]	2	Bolton
Bryn (BYN)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Wigan Line	165,120	1869[13]	2	Wigan
Burnage (BNA)	Northern Rail	South TransPennine Styal Line	213,146	1910[12]	2	Manchester
Castleton (CAS)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line	143,506	1875[12]	2	Rochdale
Chassen Road (CSR)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Liverpool Line	43,492	1934[13]	2	Trafford
Cheadle Hulme (CHU)	Northern Rail	Crewe to Manchester Line Stafford to Manchester Line	762,294	1845*[15]	4	Stockport
Clifton (CLI)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	298	1847[13]	2	Salford
Daisy Hill (DSY)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	280,194	1888[13]	2	Bolton
Davenport (DVN)	Northern Rail	Buxton Line Hope Valley Line	286,326	1858[12]	2	Stockport
Deansgate (DGT)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines Manchester to Preston Line Stafford to Manchester Line TransPennine North West	370,515	1849[12]	2 + 3 Metrolink	Manchester
Denton (DTN)	Northern Rail	Stockport to Stalybridge Line	110	1851[13]	2	Tameside
East Didsbury (EDY)	Northern Rail	South TransPennine Styal Line	301,386	1909[12]	2	Manchester
Eccles (ECC)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	159,254	1830[13]	2	Salford
Fairfield (FRF)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	22,498	1841[12]	2	Tameside
Farnworth (FNW)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	41,358	1838[13]	2	Bolton
Flixton (FLI)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	93,018	1873[13]	2	Trafford
Flowery Field (FLF)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line	212,498	1985[14]	2	Tameside
Gathurst (GST)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	92,464	1855[13]	2	Wigan
Gatley (GTY)	Northern Rail	South TransPennine Styal Line	308,810	1909[12]	2	Stockport
Godley (GDL)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line	76,662	1986[16]	2	Tameside
Gorton (GTO)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line Hope Valley Line	118,916	1842[12]	2	Manchester
Greenfield (GNF)	Northern Rail	Huddersfield Line	327,072	1849[13]	2	Oldham
Guide Bridge (GUI)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line Hope Valley Line Stockport to Stalybridge Line	275,970	1846[12]	2	Tameside
Hag Fold (HGF)	Northern Rail	Manchester-Southport Line	52,618	1987[14]	2	Wigan
Hale (HAL)	Northern Rail	Mid-Cheshire Line	164,314	1862[12]	2	Trafford
Hall i' th' Wood (HID)	Northern Rail	Ribble Valley Line	138,646	1986[14]	2	Bolton
Hattersley (HTY)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line	56,228	1978[16]	2	Tameside
Hazel Grove (HAZ)	Northern Rail	Buxton Line Hope Valley Line	672,504	1857[13]	2	Stockport
Heald Green (HDG)	Northern Rail	South TransPennine Styal Line TransPennine North West	517,478	1909[12]	2	Stockport
Heaton Chapel (HTC)	Northern Rail	Buxton Line Crewe to Manchester Line Stafford to Manchester Line	705,726	1852[13]	2	Stockport
Hindley (HIN)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	340,780	1848[13]	2	Wigan
Horwich Parkway (HWI)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	654,266	1999[12]	2	Bolton
Humphrey Park (HUP)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	30,782	1984[17]	2	Trafford
Hyde Central (HYC)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	87,128	1858[12]	2	Tameside
Hyde North (HYT)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	44,346	1862[12]	2	Tameside
Ince (INC)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	22,300	1863[13]	2	Wigan
Irlam (IRL)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	269,294	1893[13]	2	Salford
Kearsley (KSL)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	43,724	1838[13]	2	Bolton
Levenshulme (LVM)	Northern Rail	Buxton Line Crewe to Manchester Line Stafford to Manchester Line	504,692	1843[12]	2	Manchester
Littleborough (LTL)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line	368,598	1839[12]	2	Rochdale
Lostock (LOT)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	273,610	1988[14]	2	Bolton
Manchester Airport (MIA)	TransPennine Express	North TransPennine South TransPennine Styal Line TransPennine North West	3,321,876	1993[14]	4 + 2 Metrolink	Manchester
Manchester Oxford Road (MCO)	Northern Rail	Chester to Manchester Line Liverpool to Manchester Lines Manchester to Preston Line North TransPennine Stafford to Manchester Line TransPennine North West	7,555,439	1849[12]	5	Manchester
Manchester United (MUF)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	N/A Only open on matchdays	1935[12]	1	Trafford
Manchester Piccadilly (MAN)	Network Rail	Buxton Line Chester to Manchester Line Crewe to Manchester Line CrossCountry Glossop Line Hope Valley Line Liverpool to Manchester Lines Manchester to Preston Line Mid-Cheshire Line North TransPennine Stafford to Manchester Line Styal Line TransPennine North West Welsh Marches Line West Coast Main Line	24,476,101	1842[12]	14 + 2 Metrolink	Manchester
Manchester Victoria (MCV)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line Huddersfield Line Manchester to Liverpool Line Manchester to Preston Line Manchester to Southport Line Ribble Valley Line	7,240,990	1844[12]	6 + 4 Metrolink	Manchester
Marple (MPL)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	475,192	1862[12]	2	Stockport
Mauldeth Road (MAU)	Northern Rail	South TransPennine Styal Line	347,672	1909[12]	2	Manchester
Middlewood (MDL)	Northern Rail	Buxton Line	18,340	1879[13]	2	Stockport
Mills Hill (MIH)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line	302,726	1985[14]^[d]	2	Rochdale
Moorside (MSD)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	38,064	1888[13]	2	Salford
Moses Gate (MSS)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line	26,336	1838[13]	2	Bolton
Mossley (MSL)	Northern Rail	Huddersfield Line	317,552	1849[13]	2	Tameside
Moston (MSO)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line	125,902	1872[12]	2	Manchester
Navigation Road (NVR)	Northern Rail	Mid-Cheshire Line	93,994	1931[12]	1^[e]	Trafford
Newton for Hyde (NWN)	Northern Rail	Glossop Line	190,808	1841[12]	2	Tameside
Orrell (ORR)	Northern Rail	Kirkby Branch Line	112,236	1848[13]	2	Wigan
Patricroft (PAT)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	43,852	1830[13]	2	Salford
Pemberton (PEM)	Northern Rail	Kirkby Branch Line	69,790	1848[13]	2	Wigan
Reddish North (RDN)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	173,908	1875[12]	2	Stockport
Reddish South (RDS)	Northern Rail	Stockport to Stalybridge Line	26	1859[13]	1	Stockport
Rochdale (RCD)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line	1,059,282	1839[12]	3 + 2 Metrolink	Rochdale
Romiley (RML)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	318,916	1862[12]	2	Stockport
Rose Hill Marple (RSH)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	158,066	1869[12]	1	Stockport
Ryder Brow (RRB)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	34,574	1985[14]	2	Manchester
Salford Central (SFD)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line Manchester to Southport Line Ribble Valley Line	315,860	1838[12]	2	Salford
Salford Crescent (SLD)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Preston Line Manchester to Southport Line Ribble Valley Line TransPennine North West	1,076,770	1987[14]	2	Salford
Smithy Bridge (SMB)	Northern Rail	Caldervale Line	146,980	1985[14]	2	Rochdale
Stalybridge (SYB)	TransPennine Express	Huddersfield Line North TransPennine Stockport to Stalybridge Line	1,104,882	1845[12]	5	Tameside
Stockport (SPT)	Virgin Trains	Buxton Line Crewe to Manchester Line CrossCountry Hope Valley Line Mid-Cheshire Line South TransPennine Stafford to Manchester Line Stockport to Stalybridge Line West Coast Main Line	3,505,408	1843[12]	6	Stockport
Strines (SRN)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	21,728	1866	2	Stockport
Swinton (SNN)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	138,006	1887[13]	2	Salford
Trafford Park (TRA)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	43,586	1904[13]	2	Trafford
Urmston (URM)	Northern Rail	Liverpool to Manchester Lines	305,570	1873[13]	2	Trafford
Walkden (WKD)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	315,710	1888[12]	2	Salford
Westhoughton (WHG)	Northern Rail	Manchester to Southport Line	226,390	1848[13]	2	Bolton
Wigan North Western (WGN)	Virgin Trains	Blackpool to Liverpool Line Liverpool to Wigan Line West Coast Main Line	1,154,040	1838[12]	6	Wigan
Wigan Wallgate (WGW)	Northern Rail	Kirkby Branch Line Manchester to Southport Line	1,688,758	1896[12]	3	Wigan
Woodley (WLY)	Northern Rail	Hope Valley Line	48,692	1862[13]	2	Stockport
Woodsmoor (WSR)	Northern Rail	Buxton Line Hope Valley Line	208,856	1990[14]	2	Stockport

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Greater Manchester
• Transport in Manchester

Footnotes

^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.^[18]

^c Two other platforms are used by Manchester Metrolink services.^[19][20]

^d Originally opened in 1839 and closed in 1842. Reopened 25 March 1985 on the same site.^[14]

^e One other platform is used by Metrolink services.^[21]

References

1. GMPTE (Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive) (n.d.). "GMPTE - Trains". gmpte.com. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
2. Roughley, Malcolm (1986). Railways in Greater Manchester (1974-1986); Volume One. M.R. Roughley. ISBN 0-9511246-0-9.
3. "Network Map" (PDF). Northern Rail Network Map. FWT (part of the Cook Hammond & Kell Group). 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
4. Sanderson, Kathy (1989). "Manchester–Glossop–Hadfield". In Andrew Macfarlane. Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 42. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5.
5. Clarke, John (1976). Railways: It Happened Round Greater Manchester. Greater Manchester Council.
6. "History of the Museum". Museum of Science and Industry. Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
7. "Metrolink second city crossing 'vital' for Manchester". BBC News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
8. "Oldham Loop rail line closure" (PDF). GMPTE information poster. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. September 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
9. Charlotte Cox (22 January 2015). "Transport bosses reveal plans to use special 'tram-train' to connect Stockport to Metrolink system". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
10. "Revamped station tops train poll". BBC. bbc.co.uk. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
11. "Station usage". Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
12. Butt, R. V. J. (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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
13. Brackenbury, Allan (2005). Railway passenger stations in Greater Manchester: a chronology. Cheadle: Railway and Canal Historical Society North West Group.
14. Alan Bevan, ed. (1998). A—Z of Rail Reopenings. Railway Development Society. Warwick: Warwick Printing Company. ISBN 0-901283-13-4.
15. Reid, T. D. W.; Lee, Irene (1979). Cheadle in 1851. Stockport Libraries. p. 40. ISBN 0-905164-00-8.
16. Sanderson, Kathy (1989). "Manchester–Glossop–Hadfield". In Andrew Macfarlane. Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 34. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5.
17. Macfarlane, Andrew (1989). "Manchester–Warrington–Liverpool". In Andrew Macfarlane. Peaks and Plains by Rail. Railway Development Society. Norwich: Jarrold Colour Publications. p. 43. ISBN 0-7117-0429-5.
18. "Timetables and Information 2015" (PDF). East Lancashire Railway. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
19. "Station Facilities for Altrincham". National Rail Enquiries website. ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
20. "Metrolink in the City Centre". Light Rail Transit Association website. Tony Williams, Manchester Area Officer, Light Rail Transit Association. 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
21. "Station Facilities for Navigation Road". National Rail Enquiries website. ATOC Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-10.