West Didsbury tram stop

West Didsbury is a tram stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 23 May 2013,[1][2] in West Didsbury, South Manchester, England.[3][4]

West Didsbury
Metrolink
The first Metrolink passenger service
at West Didsbury, 23 May 2013
West Didsbury
Location of West Didsbury in Greater Manchester
Location
PlaceDidsbury
Local authorityManchester
Coordinates53.425741°N 2.23678°W / 53.425741; -2.23678
Grid referenceSJ842921
Platforms2
Fare zone information
Metrolink Zone3
Present statusIn operation
Operations
Original operatorSouth District Railway
Pre-grouping companyMidland Railway
Post-grouping companyLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
History
Opened1880
Closed as rail station1961
Conversion to Metrolink operation23 May 2013[1]
Former nameWithington and Albert Park (1880)
Withington and West Didsbury (1895)
Renamed1895

South Manchester Line
to Rochdale
0:00
 Deansgate-Castlefield (
Deansgate)
Bridgewater Canal
0:03
 Cornbrook
to Eccles, MediaCityUK
& Trafford Centre
Manchester-Liverpool Line
0:06
 Trafford Bar
to Altrincham
0:09
 Firswood
0:10
 Chorlton
0:12
 St Werburgh's Road
to Manchester Airport
0:14
 Withington
0:15
 Burton Road
0:16
 West Didsbury
0:18
 Didsbury Village
Styal Line
0:20
 East Didsbury (
East Didsbury)

The Metrolink stop sits some 300m south east of the former heavy rail station of the Midland Railway, which opened 1 January 1880 as Withington; was renamed on 1 July 1884 to Withington and Albert Park; renamed again on 1 April 1915 to Withington and West Didsbury; and closed 3 July 1961. The route was earmarked for redevelopment with a light rail system during the 1980s, and was confirmed and funded as part of Metrolink's Phase 3b of expansion in 2006.


Service pattern

History

Railway station

Withington & West Didsbury railway station opened in 1880 as "Withington" when the Midland Railway opened its new Manchester South District line out of Manchester Central Station. The station was renamed "Withington & Albert Park" in 1884 and then "Withington & West Didsbury" in 1895.[5][6]

The station closed in July 1961, although local services to other stations on the Manchester South District line continued to pass through until January 1967 and express traffic until 1969.[6] By the 2000s, the original cobbled station approach road and wall were still visible off Lapwing Lane, and the remains of the station platforms could still be seen at the bottom of the overgrown embankment.

See also: History of Manchester Metrolink

The West Didsbury Metrolink stop opened on 23 May 2013, on the opposite side of Palatine Road from the original railway station.[1][2][7]

  • Midland Railway lines out of Manchester, showing the Manchester South District line
  • 1911 OS map of West Didsbury, showing the old railway station to the north of the present tram stop
  • The disused Manchester South District line in Didsbury
  • West Didsbury
  • The first Metrolink passenger service to stop at West Didsbury, at 5.53 a.m. on 23 May 2013

See also

References
  1. "Early doors for East Didsbury's new Metrolink line". Transport for Greater Manchester. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  2. "First passengers travel on tram extension to East Didsbury". Manchester Evening News. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  3. "Tram line extension is approved". BBC News. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  4. "Metrolink: back on track?". BBC Manchester. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  5. Sussex, Gay; Helm, Peter (1988). Looking Back at Withington and Didsbury. Timperley: Willow Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-946361-25-8.
  6. "Withington and West Didsbury". Disused Stations: Closed Railway Stations in the UK. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  7. "Metrolink - South Manchester line". Transport for Greater Manchester. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
Preceding station   Manchester Metrolink   Following station
towards East Didsbury
East Didsbury – Shaw and Crompton Line
towards East Didsbury
East Didsbury – Rochdale Town Centre Line
Disused railways
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Line closed, station open		   Midland Railway
South District Railway		   Didsbury
Line and station closed
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