Reddish South railway station

Reddish South
Location
Place	Reddish
Local authority	Stockport
Coordinates	53°26′10″N 2°09′29″W / 53.4361°N 2.1580°WCoordinates: 53°26′10″N 2°09′29″W / 53.4361°N 2.1580°W
Grid reference	SJ895932
Operations
Station code	RDS
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2006/07	120
2007/08	47
2008/09	274
2009/10	76
2010/11	68
2011/12	56
2012/13	122
2013/14	26
2014/15	54
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Transport for Greater Manchester
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Reddish South from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Reddish South is a station in Reddish, Stockport, England, on the Stockport-Stalybridge Line, famous for having only one train a week in one direction. A single track serves a single, bare platform. Unlike Denton (another station on the line) which has a bench as its sole passenger facility, Reddish South has no facilities whatsoever, nor any lighting.^[1]

Originally the station consisted of two island platforms with four tracks. One of these track beds has been sold off, while another has been filled in. The second island is now inaccessible as there are no longer steps down to it. Prior to May 1989 the station had a regular (hourly) service in both directions on weekdays & Saturdays (as can be seen in the 1979 and 1988 British Rail National timetables), but following the re-routing of the Leeds to Manchester via Huddersfield expresses from Victoria to Piccadilly stations, the service was drastically reduced.^[2] Since May 1992, it has received only one train per week - the statutory minimum service level required to avoid formal closure proceedings (the line is however in regular use for other traffic, mainly freight and empty stock transfers).

The station is a request stop. In theory prospective passengers must flag down the train, as it approaches the station. However, in practice the train usually stops at every station, regardless of whether there are passengers waiting.

Quietest station in the UK

According to the 2007/8 National rail figures, Reddish South had only 47 entries and exits in a 12-month period, making it the UK's least used railway station. (2 stations were ranked lower than this but they were newly opened, and thus did not record patronage for the whole year.)

With 26 passenger entries and exits between April 2013 and March 2014, Reddish South is the third-least used station in Great Britain, after Teesside Airport railway station and Shippea Hill railway station.^[3]

In 2015, passenger figures from the Office for Rail and Road showed that Reddish South was Britain's 4th quietest railway station^[4]

The only service is the 09:22 Fridays-only train from Stockport to Stalybridge calling at 09:26, which then continues via Denton and Guide Bridge to Stalybridge.^[5]

Local campaigners have installed artwork, a flower-bed and a fence alongside the platform

Reddish does however have a second station, Reddish North railway station, which has a regular service. Heaton Chapel and Brinnington are both also nearby.

Closure

Network Rail, in their Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for the North West, have proposed closure of Reddish South and Denton stations and withdrawal of the remaining passenger service. The line itself would remain open for freight and diverted passenger workings. Open-access operator called Grand Northern Railway had proposed using the line for services between London and Bradford via the West Coast Main Line, using Guide Bridge or Stalybridge station as a stop. However, their application was rejected. There is a campaign for a regular service from Stockport to Manchester Victoria, stopping at Reddish South & Denton.

References

1. "Making a Denton it"The Station Master website article 16 July 2011; Retrieved 12 May 2016
2. "Point of No Return: All Aboard the Ghost Train" Vallantine, Stuart; East of the M60 7 March 2007; Retrieved 12 May 2016
4. "Revealed: Britain's busiest and quietest stations". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
5. GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 78A (Network Rail)

External links

• Train times and station information for Reddish South railway station from National Rail
• Friends of Reddish South Station
• Picture of Reddish South station sign - Tims Gallery
• Picture of the only train of the week - Tims Gallery
• The timetable of the service - Tims Gallery
• Pictures of Reddish South and Denton stations on Flickr

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Stockport		Northern Stockport-Stalybridge Line Friday only		Denton