Reddish South together with Denton railway station on the Stockport to Stalybridge line are famous for having one train a week (the "Denton flyer") in one direction only. This means they are technically still open.
The "Denton flyer" is what is known as a "Parliamentary ghost", a train that operates a Parliamentary service - that is to say a token service to a given station, thus maintaining a legal fiction that either the station in question is in fact open, whereas in reality the train operating company in question has almost completely abandoned the station. These services run at all only because rail transport is heavily regulated in the United Kingdom and it is therefore considerably cheaper for a train operating company to run a parliamentary service than it is to go through the full legal process of applying for a station or line to be permanently closed.
Originally Reddish South 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. 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.
Network Rail, in their Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for the North West, were proposing 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.
This mural was unveiled on October 8th 2011 by the Friends of Reddish South Station who have been running a campaign to bring more passenger trains onto this line since 2008. The object of the campaign is to secure a frequent service running between Stockport and Manchester Victoria.
I'll show you details of the individual panels next week.
A contribution to Monday Murals.
I had to read it twice before I understood what you were saying. I hope that the action will have success.
ReplyDeleteFantastic place, I hope that the action will end well, I am waiting for the next post:) Greetings
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I love taking trains when I'm in the UK.
ReplyDeleteI wish them luck with their campaign!
ReplyDeleteThe mural is nice and bright and definitely catches the eye. But it doesn't sound like the cause has much of a chance. It seems like your once fabulous train system is slowly atrophying. Looking forward to the close-ups of the panels. Thanks for contributing to this week's Monday Mural.
ReplyDelete