Greenfield railway station

Greenfield National Rail
Location
Place Greenfield
Local authority Oldham
Coordinates 53°32′20″N 2°00′51″W / 53.5388°N 2.0142°W / 53.5388; -2.0142Coordinates: 53°32′20″N 2°00′51″W / 53.5388°N 2.0142°W / 53.5388; -2.0142
Grid reference SD991046
Operations
Station code GNF
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 0.331 million
2013/14 Decrease 0.327 million
2014/15 Decrease 0.315 million
2015/16 Increase 0.339 million
2016/17 Increase 0.370 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE Transport for Greater Manchester
History
Original company London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 August 1849 (1849-08-01) Station opened
1 September 1851 Delph branch opened
5 July 1856 Oldham branch opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Greenfield from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Greenfield railway station in the village of Greenfield, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Huddersfield Line 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Manchester Victoria. It is the final station in Greater Manchester before the West Yorkshire boundary.

History

The line through Greenfield was constructed by the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway, which was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway on 9 July 1847 before any of it was opened.[1] The section between Huddersfield and Stalybridge was opened on 1 August 1849, and the station at Greenfield was opened the same day.[1][2]

On 1 September 1851, the branch to Delph opened, which left the main line at Delph Junction,[3] about a mile to the north of Greenfield; Greenfield was the last station before the junction until Moorgate Halt opened in 1912. A second branch, to Oldham, opened on 5 July 1856; it left the main line just to the south of Greenfield.

Passenger services on the Delph & Oldham branches were withdrawn in May 1955,[4] with complete closure following in 1964. A defunct bay can still be seen at the Stalybridge end of the station. This was used by some trains from the Oldham direction. For many years the station had a peak only service (see BR timetable 1974 et seq.).

The Beeching Report proposed closure of all stations between Stalybridge and Huddersfield. In 1968 half these stations were closed including Diggle and Saddleworth, leaving only Greenfield to serve the Saddleworth area. This means that Greenfield is Saddleworth's only remaining railway station.

Facilities

Planning permission for the refurbishment of Greenfield railway station was granted in early 2008. This was to provide a new ticket office, refurbished waiting areas, toilets, and possibly a small shop, and was due to be completed in the Winter of 2008. After some problems with planning regulations and the original building contractor going into administration,[5] the new facilities were finally completed in Spring 2009. The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis (Mondays to Saturdays, morning to early afternoon only) and there is also a ticket vending machine available. Step-free access is limited to the Manchester-bound platform only, as the Huddersfield-bound one can only be reached by footbridge.[6]

Services

Since the May 2018 timetable change, TransPennine Express provide the regular stopping service here (hourly each way to Huddersfield & Leeds and to Manchester Piccadilly), with Northern calls limited to a handful of stops at weekday peak periods.[7] There are also no direct trains to Manchester Victoria, so passengers wishing to travel there must change at Stalybridge. Other TPE services pass through without stopping.

The station is also handy for the nearby reservoirs of Dovestones, and Chew as well as the whole of Chew Valley in the Peak District National Park.

Since the closure of the Oldham Loop Line in 2009, Greenfield is now the only remaining railway station within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.

Notes

  1. 1 2 James, Leslie (November 1983). A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778-1855. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 57. ISBN 0-7110-1277-6. BE/1183.
  2. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 109. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. ↑ James 1983, p. 65
  4. ↑ "Delph Branch Closure Anniversary"Support The Rochdale Oldham Manchester rail lines group; Retrieved 10 June 2016
  5. ↑ Rail station revamp hits the buffers Oldham News website; Retrieved 2009-03-20
  6. ↑ Greenfield station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 28 November 2016
  7. ↑ Table 39 National Rail timetable, May 2018
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Stalybridge   TransPennine Express
North TransPennine		   Marsden
Disused railways
Grasscroft
Line and station closed		   London and North Western Railway
Delph Donkey		   Moorgate Halt
Line open, station closed
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