It's not just the fares that have increased - so has the size of
tickets issued by conductors - a return ticket is now 15 inches
long!
Fares shock (2)
Annoyingly, Northern Railway's off-peak fares within Greater
Manchester, already increased in
September 2016, were hiked up again from 2 January, meaning that
an
Off-peak return to Manchester has risen from £3.50 to
£4.50
since summer 2016, on top of the evening peak restrictions
imposed in
2014. Northern say that this is to 'bring them into line
with
other areas.' This will mean that if you are travelling to
Manchester
and back five times (or more) in a week,
even if all your
travel is
off-peak times, it will be cheaper to buy a Weekly Season
ticket.
02 January 2016
Christmas and New Year Changes
Engineering work for the 'Ordsall Chord' is making a big
impression on
local rail services this Christmas and New Year, in addition to
the
usual total closure on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and early
finishes
on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, there will be no trains
continuing
towards the Bolton and Newton-le-Willows routes across the whole
period. (Some trains will run from from Manchester Victoria. You
are
strongly recommended to
check
the
National
Rail
Website, espcially since a temporary
timetable for our services has not been provided, but a summary
(the
best we can do but may be wrong!) follows. Note: Trains
terminating /
starting at Oxford Road use Platform 1 there: this has no access
only
by stairs, with no access to the lift.
Travellers to Deansgate can use the Metrolink tram from
Piccadilly to
Deansgate-Castlefield, and for Salford Crescent and beyond you
can go
to Manchester Victoria by tram.
Saturday 24th: Trains will run at normal times but those that
normally
go beyond Oxford Road will terminate there and return from there
at
usual times. Last trains from Davenport to Manchester 21:08,
from
Manchester Piccadilly 19:49.
25th and 26th: no trains anywhere in our area. No Stagecoach
buses in
our area on 25th either.
On Boxing Day, 26 December. Bus 192 along the A6 to
Manchester will be running until approximately 20:30. See the
Stagecoach
website for details of routes which will operate.
Metrolink trams will be running a Sunday service.
Monday 27 December to Friday 30 September: Trains call at
Davenport
more or less as normal, but nearly all will terminate and start
from
Manchester Piccadilly. Oxford Road station is open and can be
reached
at some times of day by changing at Stockport to a Liverpool
service.
Saturday 31 December: Trains call at Davenport more or less as
normal,
but most will
terminate and start from Manchester Piccadilly. Last trains from
Davenport to Manchester 21:08, from Manchester Piccadilly 19:49.
Sunday 1 January: Trains call at Davenport as normal Sunday, but
most
will
terminate and start from Manchester Piccadilly.
Monday 2 January: Trains call at Davenport more or less as
normal, but
nearly all will
terminate and start from Manchester Piccadilly.
Tuesday 3 January: Normal service resumes.
23 December 2016
Christmas in the Park at Cale Green Park
Sunday December 4 at Cale Green Park, Heath Road, Cale
Green, SK2 6JN
The Friends of Cale Green Park are throwing their annual
Christmas
shindig with heaps of family-friendly festive entertainment from
12.30pm to 3pm.
Kids can enjoy donkey rides, a splat the snowball challenge and
visit
Santa in his bowling green hut grotto, and there'll also be
performances from the Elmfield Brass band and Cale Green Clog
Dancers,
a hog roast, hot dogs, homemade cakes and ice cream. Entry is
free.
Gardening news
The Carllion company, who are now contracted by Northern Railway
to
maintain the stations in our area, have applied some
supposedly-fatal
treatment to the Japanese Knotweed infesttation which has been
plaguing
the station for some years, and threatening to spread to the
gardens
behind. Let's hope that it has more effect than attempts
by
previous administrations, as its presence is a major deterrent
to any
expansion of our Station Friends' gardens.
01 December 2016
Winter timetable
11 December sees the official end of 'leaves on the line'
and a reversion to 'normal' departure times of trains from
Stockport.
The new timetable seems very similar to the Summer version.
All the new timetables can be downloaded in PDF format from the
Northern
website.
01 December 2016
(no) Steam through Davenport
A steam-hauled excursion was to pass through Davenport on
Saturday
17 September on the way from Preston to Buxton. Expected time
through
Davenport was about 10:30.
Unfortunately it seems that no steam locomotive was available,
and the
train passed Davenport behind a diesel loco.
17 September 2016
Fares rise again
With little advance warning, off-peak return train fares
within
Greater Manchester were increased, it seems mostly by a flat
rate of
50p, the maximum fare between two Greater Manchester stations is
now
£4.90. The idea, it seems, is to make fares within GM more
equivalent to those outside the area - in theory, Transport for
Greater
Manchester sets these fares, and they have been conspicuously
lower
than those outside the area. This comes on top of the 2014
imposition
of an evening peak period during which off-peak tickets cannot
be used.
(Anytime fares and season tickets are regulated by the
Government and
cannot be arbitrarily increased.)
The result of this is that a Davenport - Manchester Central Zone
off-peak ticket now costs £4.00, from £3.50. The
'anytime' return ticket remains at £5.90, whilst the off-peak
single seems to have disappeared, with only an 'anytime' version
of a
single available, at £3.70. One result of this is that if you
travel six days per week, even if your journeys are all in
off-peak, it
is cheaper to buy a seven-day season ticket (valid at all times)
at
£21.70.
To Stockport the Off-Peak day return is now £2.20.
Northern told the press:
Looking ahead we have just embarked on a £1
billion, four-year improvement programme at Northern.
Customers in the
Manchester area will see new and improved trains, with more
capacity
and more services that will deliver a better travel
experience.
They have also promised to reduce their annual subsidy
requirement by
over £100 million. At the moment there seems to be very little
for us in the proposed improvements, except possibly a more
frequent
Sunday service. The new trains will be used on services
elsewhere, and
our basic train frequency will still be half-hourly.
13 September 2016
Inflexibility - a rant
On 12 September we travelled on the 16:50 train from Manchester
to
Hazel Grove, which was running 8 minutes late. This train is one
of the
two extra trains provided in the evening peak, and on arrival at
Hazel
Grove it is timetabled to travel 'empty stock' to Stockport,
whence it
turns round and becomes a train to Chester.
At Hazel Grove, we arrived at 17:28 and noted on the opposite
platform
2 a large group of passengers who had been informed that their
17:35
service to Manchester and beyond had been cancelled.
Perhaps they
could have been carried to Stockport by the train that was
standing in
platform 1, to catch other trains to Manchester? No, off it went
empty
to Stockport. Perhaps the conductor signs off-duty at
Hazel
Grove, but it seems a shame that such an obvious chance to help
customers was missed.
13 September 2016
Floral Woodsmoor
Well done to the volunteers at Woodsmoor for the floral displays
than
now enhance the station. If you live near Woodsmoor and would
like to
help form a Friends Group for the station, you are invited to
email
woodsmoorstation@outlook.com
16 August 2016
Mirrlees Fields path
The useful walking and cycling route across Mirrlees Fields
between
Crossfield Grove and Bramhall Moor Lane (Path 124S) is currently
subject to a Footpath Closure Order for a 'maximum of six
months' for
safety reasons while building work progresses on the old
Mirrlees
factory site. The
alternative
route
map posted near the route and on the Council website shows
am
alternative route which ignores the fact that it is possible to
pass
through Stepping Hill Hospital grounds via the gate at the end
of
Ripley Avenue. It is also incorrect in that the part of the path
from
Crossfield Grove to the corner of the factory site, and then the
route
(Footpath 126S) across the fields to Kinross Avenue is still
available,
at least at the time of writing.
However it is to be hoped that the route to Bramhall Moor Lane
is
re-opened as soon as possible, as it forms a very safe
traffic-free
route for cyclists and walkers.
16 August 2016
(november 2016: path re-opened but will close again later for
resurfacing)
Future uncertain
We wrote to the Managing Director of Northern regarding the
train
services from December 2017 as specified by the
Government
franchise
contract, there is an implication in the figures given in
the document that we will lose our all-day direct service to
Buxton,
with trains running through Davenport and Woodsmoor non-stop.
However,
no facts or promises are in the offing at present: here is the
reply
from the Stakeholder Manager:
The work relating to the future timetable changes is
well under way. As part of this process, the operations and
planning
team are working through Arriva's winning bid, of which their
response
to DfT's train service specification is included.
While doing that we are also identifying what else is
possible, in
terms of enhancing services further where it is commercially
and
operationally feasible. We are, as you might expect, receiving
various
external enquiries like yours from stakeholders across the
network.
In terms of providing a detailed response, and indeed
identifying where
additional services may be incorporated into the overall
timetable
changes, we will be undertaking external briefings later this
year. By
liaising with Transport for Greater Manchester and the
Community Rail
Partnership, there will be opportunities for groups such as
yours to
feed into this process, ensuring that your aspirations are
captured and
explored.
So there we are (or not). They have signed up for something but
don't
yet know yet how to do it. We've also been in contact
about the
dreaded Japanese Knotweed on the Buxton-bound platform, which is
blooming just as much as before it was treated last year, and
spreading
towards our little station garden. Northern's contractors are to
visit.
04 August 2016
Middlewood Update
Although
trains are
now running (at reduced speed) past the site of the landslip at
Middlewood, Network Rail contractors are still working,
rebuilding the
footpath which leads down towards the dwellings at Norbury
Hollow and
reinstating the land at the caravan site below. We wonder
whether
there are plans to make this a public footpath as part of the
Ladybrook
Valley
Interest
Trail, and remove the very awkward foot-crossing of
the line (pictured here) which is the official right-of-way, a
short
distance down towards Hazel Grove.
This would remove the risk of crossing the line, and the effort
of
climbing the daunting flight of steps. It's hard to imagine
anyone
complaining about such a change. Perhaps some body could also do
some
repairs on the rest of the trail, which is sadly neglected.
23 July 2016
Summer events
We've noticed some interesting events taking
place in our area on these summer weekends:
Saturday 23 July: St Andrews Church, Cheadle Road,
Cheadle Hulme. Concert by the
Robins
Singers:
summer favourites, with soloists and guest singers. 7.30 pm,
Tickets
£10.
Saturday 30 July: Reinbek care home on Bramhall Lane is
holding a
'Fun Day' from 1.30 to 4pm with the usual children's
attractions - see
the poster in the left column. Incidentally, 'Reinbek' has an
interesting history which we have chronicled in one of our
local history
articles.
: Flowery Fields Allotments Association
are advertising open day from 10.30 to 2pm. Recommended for the
refreshments and sales of produce; get there early, we advise.
Access
via the footpath at the end of Flowery Field.
Sunday 31 July: Stockport Railway Station: Annual
'Railshow' from 10.00am to 4.00pm. There will be a special
display by
the Hazel Grove & District Model Railway Society in
celebration of
their fiftieth anniversary. Among the many stalls and societies
supporting this years event will be the
Manchester Locomotive
Society
which is celebrating its eightieth anniversary year.
Also planned to attend will be a visiting diesel locomotive,
stalls,
and an open top bus (subject to availability).
19 July 2016
Out of the Garden of Eden
It appears that yet again the 'Garden of Eden' greengrocery on
Bramhall
Lane has ceased to trade. Let's hope that some further use
can be
found for this site in the centre of our shopping area soon.
10 July 2016
Re-opened to Buxton
After a slightly shaky start due to a faulty train, normal train
services are now running to and from Buxton. Why not
visit our local Spa town:
there's a lot to see and do, and the train journey is rather
scenic. A
Cheap Day return from Davenport to Buxton, valid all day at
weekends,
is £9.60, or two can travel together on a 'Duo' ticket for
£14.40. If you are aged 60 or over, the £6 '
Wayfarer'
ticket
is
the
best
value
for
this
trip,
and
indeed
many
others.
You
don't
need
a railcard or bus pass to buy one, although some proof of
age might be asked for.
25 June 2016
Out of the ordinary
Saturdays 25 June saw a steam-powered special pass through
Davenport,
quite a rare occasion these days. In the picture, 'Jubilee'
class loco
45690
Leander accelerates through the station, steam
from the
chimney and safety valves mingling with the clouds in the sky on
the
way from Manchester Victoria to Scarborough via Sheffield.
There
seems to a a craze at the moment for painting preserved locos in
British Railways black, which in this case makes it hard to
distinguish
from the less powerful and more common 'Black 5' type.
Not so rare, but quite impressive, is the trainload of limestone
which
makes its way through our station most weekdays from Tunstead
quarries
to an unloading terminal at Hope Street, Salford, travelling via
Chinley, Stockport and Manchester Victoria. The loaded train
passes
Davenport at around 11 am, and after unloading it returns by the
same
route, usually passing Davenport soon after the departure of the
16:05
to Buxton. Like our passenger trains, this train is operated by
a
subsidiary of the Deutsche Bundesbahn.
25 June 2016
Repairs at Middlewood
Repairs in progress at Middlewood, 19 June.
Temporary service = cuts
Travellers should note that duing the emergency engineering work
at
Middlewood, a number of services calling at Davenport have been
cancelled, with just an hourly service running during the middle
part
of the day. The
Temporary
timetable shows the situation. Among the trains
cancelled is
the 15:49 from Manchester, the last train before the 'peak' on
which
Off-Peak fares are available. This clearly has an effect on the
availablity of off-peak tickets, a matter which we have taken up
with
Northern. Here is their cryptic reply:
'There
is no time easement on the route, just a route easement.'
So we have to pay extra for the pleasure of having to wait half an hour
for a train.
Updated 21 June 2016
Line blocked
Update 16 June:
Northern
Railway now say that they do not expect the line through Middlewood
to re-open before Saturday 25 June at the earliest.
Temporary
timetables
for
weekday
and
weekend including the bus services are
now available. It appears that a drainage culvert passed under
the line at this point. As the picture shows, Network Rail are unable
to get their heavy equipment across the gap.
Flash flooding in the Disley, Middlewood and Hazel Grove areas on the
afternoon of 11 June led to problems on both railway and road. A
landslip at Middlewood has made the railway impassable, and trains are
not running beyond Hazel Grove, with bus replacement now in operation.
Times between Davenport and Manchester are as normal, but do check
before travelling.
The ground in the Middlewood area is known to be unstable, due to the
local geology and the presence of old coal workings and spoil heaps; in
1955 one of the platforms of the former 'upper' station there was
carried away, with its waiting room, in a landslip.
All trains to/from Manchester will run at (mostly) normal times but
turn back at Hazel Grove. On Mondays - Fridays a train service is
running between Furness Vale and Buxton.
The Brookside Garden Centre in Poynton (including its railway) was also
flooded, as a picture on the
BBC
website shows.
16 June 2016
Electric trains are back (just)
Our first electric train for two years: 323 239 calls with the 17:23
(Mon-Fri) Manchester Piccadilly - Hazel Grove on 16 May. This replaces
the previous 'Pacer' train and and be the only electric service of the
day this summer - better than none we suppose. The new 'Northern still
have not branded any trains, although some posters have appeared.
Incidentally, although this train no longer continues to Chinley,
someone has forgotten to change it in the new version of
Timetable
leaflet
23 (Manchester to Sheffield) which still shows it going to
Chinley.
17 May 2016
Essential Local History reading
A newly-published book full of essential history is 'A History of
Woodsmoor' by Sue Bailey. 101 pages packed with pictures, information
and stories about the Woodsmoor area, researched by Sue over the last
four years. We heartily recommend a purchase of the book which costs
just £10 from Woodsmoor Post Office, Stockport Heritage Trust,
Staircase House, or 'Simply Books' in Bramhall.
30 April 2016
New Timetable from 15 May
New Timetables apply from 15 May: a PDF of our local booklet can be
downloaded from the
Northern
website. The basic pattern of service remains unchanged, including
the absurd lack of a train to Manchester between 08:06 and 08:40. One
notable change is that the 17:23 train from Manchester, which has been
continuing beyond Hazel Grove to Chinley, will terminate at Hazel
Grove. We have heard suggestions that an electric train may appear on
this service, which is true will be the first electric train we have
seen for some time.
30 April 2016
Oakfield Road access update
As mentioned earlier, last month we prepared a report, which we have
sent to Councillor Wendy Wild on the difficulties encountered by
pedestrians needing to negotiate the Oakfield Road Garages area on the
way to and from the station or village.
Download your copy here (PDF
600KB).
Councillor Wild has responded by raising the matter with the Council:
she writes:
I discussed the issues you raised and the following
is a summary of the actions that I've agreed with officers to progress.
Feasibility study on walking routes along Oakfield Road from Beechfield
Road to Bramhall lane:
Check condition of footways and if on maintenance
list;
Traffic Regulation Orders:
Check existing bus stop – lines and sign
Investigate junction protection at the junction of Beechfield Road and
Oakfield Road
Investigate the one way system to determine if anything can be proposed
to discourage drivers using the wrong way.
Contact UTC to discuss pedestrian crossing timings on the junction
of Bramhall Lane and Garners Lane.
We await any further developments.
28 April 2016
All Northern trains are currently running with all the 'Niorthern Rail'
logos and web addresses removed.
Welcome to the new 'northern'
The new rail franchise operated by Arriva (a
subsidiary of the German state railway) is operating our trains from 1
April. Their website is at
www.northernrailway.co.uk.
It's
nice
that
Whaley
Bridge
has
been
chosen
as
an
illustration
for
their
List of
Stations page.
01 April 2016
Shopping news
Davenport Post Office's new look, March 2016
Bus replacements
Reminder: trains between Hazel Grove and Buxton are replaced by buses
for all four days of the Easter weekend 25 - 28 March while the new
bridge over the A555 road is moved into place. The 21:29 and 23:10
Manchester - Buxton trains are also replaced by buses beyond Hazel
Grove on 21 - 24 March. Arrivals and Departures from Davenport will be
at the usual times, but expect much longer journeys.
Elsewhere, and not directly affecting our trains, Manchester Victoria
and Salford Crescent stations are closed from Thursday 24 March
to Sunday 3 April while Network Rail carries out preparation work for
the new 'Ordsall Chord' line. Full details of the many changes to
times, and temporary timetables, can be found on the
Northern Rail website.
14 March 2016
It seems that the (slightly
unimpressive) image seen here represents the brand logo to be used in
future for the train services of what has recently been Northern Rail,
the idea being that - as in Scotland - there will be a branding
independent of the company operating the franchise. From 1 April, that
company will be Arriva Rail North, whose fancy website is now online at
www.arrivarailnorth.org.
They have followed the lead of Northern Rail in using the .org domain,
intended originally for non-profit organisations.
12 March 2016.
More problems...
The new Arriva North company must be wondering what they are taking on,
following yet another major disruption of the service on the morning of
10 March by another 'broken down train' incident, this time near
Levenshulme. The 06:49 train from Hazel Grove to Manchester left
Stockport on time at 07:00, and appears from the railway database to
have finally reached Manchester Piccadilly at 09:45. Many other trains
were heavily delayed: one of the passengers affected was Ian
McMillan, celebrity poet and railway lover, probably on a train from
Sheffield, who took to Twitter in the hope of getting
information. As usual, the details of what happened will not be made
public.
However, we have found out from local contacts what happened on the
morning of Friday 4 March (see item below). The 'broken down train' was
not a train at all, despite Northern Rail's comment, which is why such
a train never appeared on the Network Rail database. It was a road/rail
contractor's machine which had been working overnight on preparations
for the installation of the new bridge over the A555 at Simpson's
Corner.
12 March 2016
New Franchise - the Union view
Somewhere in the small print of the new franchised documents is statem
ent that the Department of Transport is expecting a large saving saving
in Government subsidy over the period of the franchise. Here is what
the RMT Trade Union thinks of it all:
There is no basis for cost cutting on the North’s
railways. According to Rail North’s own estimates passenger demand for
the north’s railway will soar by 50% over the next fifteen years.
Despite this, and the clear need for investment, the Government has
stated that annual subsidy will be cut by £160m, or 53% by the
final year of the franchise.
Furthermore, through Rail North
there is now a real opportunity to bring decision making closer to the
passengers who use the services because Rail North has responsibility
for overseeing and developing the franchises on key issues such as
train service levels and what station and train staff will be available
to assist passengers and protect their safety. This is despite the
German state railway winning the contract to operate the franchise,
through a cuts-driven tender process.
RMT will continue to argue for a publically owned People’s Railway for
the North.
The Union believes there will be 'attacks on supervisory and clerical
jobs, the introduction of Driver Only Operation and increased
casualization arising from the re-franchising processes.' Whether
they are right remains to be seen: the idea of 'Driver Only Operation'
has been bandied about in Government reports recently. Passengers might
well welcome it as it would avoid the irritating waits for the
conductor to finish selling a ticket, return to the cab and open the
doors, but a lot of work would need to be done on station
infrastructure - mirrors, or cameras/screens - to make this feasible.
11 March 2016
Snow in Spring
Spring scene, 4 March.
Road Rage
If you are thinking of travelling by train to sample the attractions of
Buxton Spa over the Easter weekend, be prepared to travel by
replacement bus on any of the four days, as the line beyond Hazel Grove
is closed while a bridge is installed to carry the line over the new
green-belt-destroying A555 road at Simpson's corner. The allocated
running time of the bus between Hazel Grove and Buxton is a wearying 61
minutes (less than 40 minutes by rail), which may prove optimistic
given the congestion of the A6 road common on Bank Holiday evenings. To
this must be added the 10 minutes allowed for the transfer between
train and bus. Dogs and bikes are not carried on the buses, and of
course the bus stop for Midlewood is on the main road, reached by a
half-mile footpath from the station.
06 March 2016
Another bad week
The first week of March 2016 turned out to be another troublesome week
for passengers on our line. Wednesday 2 March was a traumatic day, with
cancellations and delays in the middle of the day followed by
'signalling problems at Hazel Grove' (again) in the afternoon which
left Davenport passengers for the 16:08 to Manchester stranded on the
station with no information about what was happening, and no train
until 17:20. On 3 March the 10:49 Manchester - Buxton was
terminated at Stockport due to 'traction equipment problems'. Worst of
all, on Friday 4 March, a 'broken-down train' led the a complete
abolition of the morning peak service between Hazel Grove and Buxton,
with trains turning back at Hazel Grove with
ad hoc
timings. The first train of the day to leave Buxton was at 10:18.
How a single 'broken down train' could lead to this, given that a
number of trains spend the night at Buxton ready for the morning peak,
and the line is double-track, isn't obvious; we thought it might be
snow-related, but Northern Rail's 'Twitterer' denied this. As usual,
don't expect details to be made public.
Metrolink passengers are allowed free parallel bus routes during
disruption, but local rail passengers are expected to pay for the
bus trip. Yet both are in the fiefdom of Transport for Greater
Manchester. Why is this?
06 March 2016
What will Arriva do for us?
With one month to go before the German State Railway subsidiary 'Arriva
North' takes over the running of our trains, the present company seems
to be keen to wash its hands of the place already, as orders have gone
out to cover up the Northern Rail logo on signs and posters.
The new owners have been promising lots of improvements, including
scrapping the 4-wheeled 'Pacer' carriages which appear here
occasionally, although they have never been allowed to venture beyond
Hazel Grove towards Buxton. 98 new trains (some diesel, some electric)
to be built by CAF in Spain will be hired, but that doesn't necessarily
mean we will see them, as it's likely they will be used on a promised
new network of faster trains between main cities, and we'll get the
current diesels - refurbished, but will the Class 150 units still have
those dreadful 3 + 2 seats that your editor is too wide over shoulders
to fit into without intimacy with the adjacent passenger? Probably,
since the politicians are obsessed with counting seats, however useless.
Of more concern is the frequency of train service which is to be
provided. The requirement agreed to by Arriva have now been published
online and can be
downloaded
from
this
link. The information is quite hard to interpret,
especially as it concentrates on the number of trains to/from
Manchester in given parts of the day, ignoring any other journeys
people might wish to make, such as Davenport to Buxton.
The document lists the requirements for December 2017 and December
2019. We'll look here at the table for the Buxton line, December 2017,
and the numbers of trains in the Monday - Friday weekday off-peak
period between 10:00 and 15:59 - six hours in other words - these are
arrival times in Manchester.
Buxton 6
Dove Holes 4
Chapel-en-le-Frith 6
Whaley Bridge 6
Furness Vale 6
New Mills Newtown 12
Disley 6
Middlewood 3
Hazel Grove 24
Woodsmoor 12
Davenport 12
So it seems we will still have the inadequate half-hourly service we
have today. Buxton retains its hourly service as now, but New Mills
gets an improved service from one to two per hour, and Hazel Grove
jumps from two to four per hour. All these trains must pass through
Woodsmoor and Davenport, but which ones will be the 12 that stop here?
It's impossible to tell from the information available.
However, remarks in the press about faster trains from Buxton might
imply a revival of the idea that Buxton trains will be the among ones
missing our stops, an idea which was implemented in the 1990s and
eventually abandoned after many complaints and has surfaced again
recently, condoned by Transport for Greater Manchester officials - who
one might think would favour their own stations over those in
Derbyshire. One of the benefits of living here is the easy access by
train to the Peak District, and of course Davenport and Woodsmoor
stations are used by pupils from the High Peak attending local schools.
One of the reasons for opening Woodsmoor station was access to Stepping
Hill Hospital for High Peak residents. We are trying to get the facts,
but it's hard to know who to ask.
The speed limit for all trains on the Hazel Grove - Edgeley section is
just 40mph, with 25mph round the curve into Stockport, and the trains
which run non-stop over that section at present do not gain significant
time over those that stop, so why deprive us of a useful service? In
the past, Davenport has had three, and sometimes four, trains per hour
each way. Davenport was once busier than Hazel Grove, but the opening
of Woodsmoor in the early 90s has divided the figures, as many
passengers previously walked from Woodsmoor to Davenport to catch their
trains. Hazel Grove station has also benefited from people who drive
there to take advantage of the car park and Greater Manchester's
cheaper rail fares.
New Mills Newtown does not now have a crossover between tracks, nor any
signals, so any train terminating there will need to continue to
Furness Vale before returning. However, as things stand the crossover
there, north of the station, is not equipped with the safety devices
for trains containing passengers, so trains will have to return empty
to New Mills to pick up. Perhaps there will improvements made to the
signalling arrangements before December 2017; the extra New Mills train
is going to need some smart working to avoid delays, which may be why
it apparently doesn't call at Disley.
Official estimates are
available
from
the
Office
of
Rail
Regulation for the combined total of
'entries and exits' at all stations for the financial year 2014-15.
These are calculated by tickets sold plus (gu)estimates of the use of
concession passes, wayfarers, etc:
Davenport 274,848 (down from 286,326 in 2013-14)
Woodsmoor 219,366 (up from 208,856)
Hazel Grove 658,226 (down from 672,504)
Why Woodsmoor seems have bucked the trend is a mystery: it's probably
due to changes in the way the statistics are compiled, or maybe since
the fares are the same, conductors have not changed their machine
settings. A fall in usage might well have been expected since the
restrictions in off-peak fares which came into effect in September
2014, but who knows? Our station certainly isn't the quiet
backwater that some officials seem to imagine.
01 March 2016
From our history file...
A press cutting from 24 April 1994. Guess who placed and paid for the
notice in the Post Office window?
01 March 2016
A troubled week
The first week of February saw our early daffodils open, but in other
ways it was a troubled week for the local rail network. On Wednesday,
the locomotive of a DB Schenker freight train from Trafford Park to
London gateway gave up the ghost while passing through Oxford Road
station, blocking the junction at Castlefield used by our Hazel Grove -
Blackpool trains for over an hour until a loco from the Freightliner
company was commandeered to drag the train out of the way.
Worse was to come the following day - around 08:30 all the signalling
in the Hazel Grove area suffered a major power failure, with the result
that no trains at all ran through Davenport for several hours.
Noticeably (above) even the signal light at the signal by Davenport car
park, which is actually controlled by Edgeley Junction signalbox, was
showing no light at all.
None of these problems are under the control of our train company
Northern Rail, but it would be good to see some explanation or apology
online. Replacement buses were supposedly provided, but of course why
would a Davenport passenger wait for one rather than catch an ordinary
bus to Stockport even if buying a ticket is needed. When there are
problems on Metrolink, arrangements are quickly made to accept their
tickets on buses, so why cannot the same apply to trains within
Transport for Greater Manchester's area?
Elsewhere, the damage due to storms was still having its effect on the
main line network through the week, with the Carlisle - Glasgow,
Newcastle - Carlisle, and Settle - Carlisle main lines all closed for
emergency repairs.
07 February 2016
Alterations ... to Alterations (update)
We have been informed that the closure for engineering work of the
Hazel Grove - Stockport line planned for
Sunday 24 January has
been cancelled, and trains will now run as normal, except that the
09:04 train to Manchester is replaced by a bus at 08:59 to Stockport
for onward connections.
However, there will still be replacement buses running between
Stockport and Alderley Edge (calling at Wilmslow) and Stockport and
Stoke-on Trent. Trains between Manchester and London, South Wales and
the South-West will be running via the Styal line, calling at Wilmslow,
Crewe and also - in some cases - at Stoke-on Trent.
The changes to train schedules (below) on
Saturday 23 January
still apply: the line between Manchester Oxford Road and Bolton is
closed and replacement buses for that section will run all weekend.
Check your journeys carefully on the
National Rail website.
22 January 2016
Weekend Alterations
Although not as well publicised as they might have been, there are some
changes to Davenport's train services for the weekends of 9/10, 16/17
and 23/24 January.
Those
Saturday trains which normally run beyond Manchester
Oxford Road station are terminating at, or starting from, Manchester
Oxford Road, running in the normal timings.
9 January 2016
Fares rise
As usual, the new year sees an increase in train fares. Day return
fares to Manchester Central Zone from Davenport are now £3.50
'off-peak' and £5.90 'peak'. The 'Peak' fare (which has not
increased) applies to any journey, out or return, starting on Mondays -
Fridays before 09:30, and/or between 16:01 and 18:30. (At weekends
'off-peak' fares apply all day.) Remember that these times apply in
both directions, so although the 16:08 to Manchester may appear not to
be full of commuters, it is still a 'peak' train. The last train in the
afternoon from Piccadilly before the 'peak' is the 15:49, the first
train after the 'peak is the 18:49.
9 January 2016
