Hourly service back on track at Styal

This spring will see the return of regular rail services at Styal railway station after a quarter of a century.

Arriva Northern has incorporated the hourly stopping services into its summer timetable, which comes into effect on Sunday 20th May.

The station, on the Manchester to Crewe line was, opened in 1909 and had frequent stopping services but in 1993 a "skeleton" rail service was introduced. Friends of Styal Station's campaign, supported by the likes of HMP Styal, Styal Village Association, Crewe-Manchester Community Rail Partnership and local residents, prompted 
Serco-Abellio, the Northern franchise operator at the time, to restore Sunday services and make modest improvements to weekday services. The introduction of hourly services this year, however, is a game-changer for residents and visitors.

Stephen Forde, the Community Rail Officer for the Crewe to Manchester Community Rail Partnership (CRP), said; "The CRP has long supported the work of the Friends of Styal Station in their campaign to bring viable train service to the communities that the station serves. We're delighted that Arriva Northern have been able to provide such a service. Styal Station is close to two major trip generating locations in Quarry Bank and Styal Prison. We look forward to working with both locations, helping them to encourage their visitors to use the train as often as possible. I'm sure any reduction in vehicular traffic passing through Styal village will be warmly welcomed by its residents."

A spokesperson for Friends of Styal Station said: "We are delighted with this outcome and thank Arriva Northern. The restoration of regular stopping services at Styal is the culmination of ten years of hard work and we are very grateful to the people and organisations that have supported us in our endeavours."

Trains for Manchester will typically depart Styal at around 45 minutes past the hour, calling in the Wilmslow-bound direction at around 11 minutes past the hour. 

Tags:
Friends of Styal Station, Styal Station
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Russell Young
Tuesday 8th May 2018 at 3:08 pm
Just as well. The bus service (130) is withdrawn from 18 June.
https://bit.ly/2K3bqOM
Neda Metcalfe
Wednesday 9th May 2018 at 5:39 pm
They will all be running empty as the service offered now is not even used. They pass near my house usually with less than 6 people on
Bob Bracegirdle
Wednesday 9th May 2018 at 6:02 pm
About time. Used to be every 30min when electrics were introduced in 1960. Once against n though it may be too late. You’ve managed to lose your customers.
Raymond Walker
Thursday 10th May 2018 at 7:57 am
This is good news and will assist Wilmslow residents living on the north side of Wilmslow needing a place at a station to park. The council planners made a mess of Wilmslow station 25 years ago by allowing an office block to be built instead of dedicating the precious ground area for commuter parking. Now they should compensate by making generous parking space at Styal, initially free of charge to encourage use of the station.
Peter Highfield
Thursday 10th May 2018 at 5:44 pm
What an odd reaction from Neda Metcalfe! Something which Styal residents have wanted for a long time finally happens and she feels the need to pour cold water on it. The fact that the current 'service' consists of about 3 trains a day in each direction does mean that very few people could consider using the train. For example you couldn't go from Styal to Manchester and back for work but the trains weren't even that suitable for a shopping trip either. I will certainly use the train at least some of the time to get to my office in Manchester and I'll be able to make connections in Wilmslow or Crewe for longer journeys without having to drive and park in Wilmslow. Also the fact that she doesn't see many people on the train as it passes her house isn't relevant to very much because I believe most of the trains are travelling between Manchester to Crewe via the Airport and they probably don't depend on having the train full on the section between the Airport and Wilmslow. That is the point, there only needs to be enough usage to justify adding in the stop rather than support the entire train service.