Rochdale railway station

Not to be confused with Rochdale Town Centre tram stop, a light rail stop in central Rochdale.

Rochdale
Rochdale railway station in 2013
General information
Location	Rochdale, Rochdale England
Grid reference	SD899126
Managed by	Northern
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	RCD
Classification	DfT category C2
Key dates
1839	Original station opened
1889	Current station opened
1979	Reduced to 3 platforms
Passengers
2018/19	1.488 million
Interchange	39,508

Legend

0:00 Rochdale Town Centre 0:04 Rochdale Railway Station Calder Valley line 0:07 Newbold Rochdale Canal 0:08 Kingsway Business Park 0:10 Milnrow  M62  0:12 Newhey 0:16 Shaw and Crompton 0:19 Derker 0:21 Oldham Mumps 0:23 Oldham Central 0:24 Oldham King Street 0:26 Westwood 0:29 Freehold 0:31 South Chadderton  M60  0:32 Hollinwood Rochdale Canal 0:34 Failsworth 0:36 Newton Heath and Moston Calder Valley line 0:39 Central Park 0:40 Monsall to Queens Road Depot to Queens Road River Irk to Victoria

This diagram: view talk edit

Location

Proposals to link Rochdale to a light rail system were put forward in the 1980s, ^[5] but remained unfunded until the 2000s. Plans to extend Greater Manchester's Metrolink light rail network to Rochdale were part expansion project Phase 3A, ^[6] began in 2009. Under these plans, most of the Oldham Loop line was converted to light rail operation. Northern Rail services via Oldham ceased in October 2009, when the line closed to allow this conversion work to start. ^[7] The Metrolink stop at Rochdale Railway Station opened to passengers on 28 February 2013. ^[8] Trams now pass over the main Caldervale line on a flyover before descending to street level, en route to the new stop at the front of the main line station.

A further phase of the project (Phase 3B) proposed the addition of a Metrolink branch via the old branch line via Oldham Central and the extension of the northern end of the line via a line to Rochdale Town Centre. Following the rejection of the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund in a referendum in 2008, Phase 3B of the project was in doubt until new funding from national and local government enabled the project to go ahead. ^{[6] [9] [10]} These extensions were completed through to Oldham in January 2014 and the extension to the centre of Rochdale was completed in late March 2014.

Services

National Rail Services

Northern Trains Route 9
v t e
Calder Valley Line and East Lancashire Line
York Ulleskelf Church Fenton Micklefield East Garforth Garforth Cross Gates Leeds Bramley New Pudsey Bradford Interchange Low Moor Halifax Sowerby Bridge Mytholmroyd Hebden Bridge Manchester Victoria Moston Mills Hill Castleton Rochdale Smithy Bridge Littleborough Walsden Todmorden Colne Nelson Brierfield Burnley Central Burnley Barracks Burnley Manchester Road Rose Grove Hapton Huncoat Accrington Church and Oswaldtwistle Rishton Blackburn Mill Hill Cherry Tree Pleasington Bamber Bridge Lostock Hall Preston Salwick Kirkham and Wesham Poulton-le-Fylde Blackpool North Moss Side Lytham Ansdell and Fairhaven St Annes-on-the-Sea Squires Gate Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool South
Burnley Barracks, Hapton and Pleasington are request stops.

The services on this route have been revamped significantly at the December 2008 timetable change and again in May 2018. There are now six trains per hour to Manchester Victoria and three to Leeds during the daytime (Monday to Saturday) plus a fourth that runs through to Blackburn via Burnley Manchester Road following the full commissioning of the Todmorden Curve from 17 May 2015.

Four of the six Manchester trains run non-stop; the other two serve all intermediate stations. Two of the fast trains (one of which starts from Blackburn, the other from Leeds via Dewsbury) continue to Wigan Wallgate  ; via Walkden and a third now runs through to Chester, whilst the two stopping trains continue to Bolton and thence Blackburn via Darwen.

Eastbound there are two trains via Bradford Interchange (one calling only at Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Halifax, the other calling at all stations east of Todmorden) to Leeds and one via Brighouse and Dewsbury plus the Blackburn service. ^[11]

In the evenings there is a half-hourly service eastbound, with alternate trains extended to Leeds via Bradford or to Blackburn. Westbound there are two non-stop and two stopping trains to Manchester, with the latter continuing through towards Bolton. On Sundays there are three trains per hour each way - one Southport and Manchester to Todmorden and Blackburn service (serving all stations) and two per hour Calder Valley services that run non-stop to/from Manchester. One of these now runs to/from Chester.

Metrolink Services

There is a basic service of five trams per hour (every 12 minutes) to Oldham and Manchester Victoria tram stop, continuing on to East Didsbury tram stop, each weekday from 06.00 until 00.30 Monday–Thursday and until 01.20 Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays between 09.00 and 18.00, a 12-minute frequency operates and a 15-minute service outside these times.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Manchester Victoria		Northern Calder Valley Line		Todmorden
Mills Hill
				Smithy Bridge
Castleton
Preceding station	Manchester Metrolink			Following station
Newbold towards East Didsbury		East Didsbury–Rochdale		Rochdale Town Centre Terminus
Historical railways
Milnrow		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Oldham Loop Line		Terminus
Disused railways
Terminus		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Rochdale to Bacup Line		Wardleworth Line and station closed

Park and Ride

The station is served by a 217 space Park and Ride car park. This is located on Hare Street to the rear of the railway station. This car park is available for users of both Metrolink and rail services.

Northern Hub

See also: Northern Hub

Following Metrolink enhancements, £300,000 has been jointly invested by Network Rail, Northern and the GMITA to renovate the station, as part of the Department for Transport's National Station Improvement Programme. The CCTV system will be extended, and there will be upgraded toilets, improved flooring and work on the subway. ^[12]

A further round of upgrades and improvements to the station was announced by government in July 2012 as part of the Northern Hub rail upgrade scheme for the Manchester area. ^[13] These will include the provision of a new turnback facility (bay platform) for terminating trains from the Manchester direction at the south end of the station (due for completion in May 2016) and the refurbishment and recommissioning of the disused Miall St subway; this was duly reopened in July 2015. ^[14] Completion of the works in the Manchester area could then permit through running from the station to Manchester Airport via the new Ordsall chord as well as to Liverpool and Blackpool via Manchester Victoria.

Several of these proposals have since been included in the new Northern franchise, which became active in April 2016. The operator's new Northern Connect network will serve the station and offer through services to Liverpool and Chester via Warrington Bank Quay; there will be also extra evening and Sunday trains on the existing routes. ^[15]

Notes

1. Rochadale Station by John Cole www.link4life.org; Retrieved 22 August 2013
2. "Disused Stations - Rochdale (First station)" Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 16 May 2016
3. "New bay platform at Rochdale Train Station". Rochdale Online. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
4. "First phase of work to upgrade railway between Littleborough and Manchester Victoria completed". Rochdale Online. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
5. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (1984), Light Rapid Transit in Greater Manchester - publicity brochure
6. Linton, Deborah (13 May 2009). "£1.4bn transport deal unveiled". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
7. "Metrolink Oldham and Rochdale line". Transport for Greater Manchester. 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
8. "Next stop: Rochdale!". Transport for Greater Manchester. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
9. "Tram line extension is approved". BBC News. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
10. "Metrolink: back on track?". BBC Manchester. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
11. Table 37 and 105 National Rail timetable, May 2023
12. "UK News in Brief" (PDF). Railway Herald. No. 215. Scunthorpe. 15 March 2010. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
13. "Rochdale Station to be main Line in £322 million Northern Hub railway plan". Rochdale Observer. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
14. Wilson, Sammi (10 July 2015). "Rochdale station subway re-opens after 36 years". Rochdale News. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
15. "Northern Franchise Improvements" Archived 24 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine . Department for Transport.

Gallery

• 
  1959
• 
  1977
• 
  1980
• 
  2007

References

• The Manchester and Leeds Railway by Martin Bairstow
• Lost Railways of Lancashire by Gordon Suggitt ( ISBN   1-85306-801-2)

External links

• Train times and station information for Rochdale railway station from National Rail
• Metrolink stop information
• Rochdale railway station area map
• David Hey's Steam Collection - "Rail Cameraman Barry Hilton's 'Railways Around Rochdale'"
• Rochdale Railway Station Metrolink station plans

v t e Railways in Rochdale
Legend
Past, present and future
Rossendale Lines to Bacup Calderdale Lines to Calderdale Broadley Littleborough Shawclough and Healey Smithy Bridge Wardleworth Rochdale Newbold Rochdale Town Centre Kingsway Business Park Milnrow East Lancs Rly to Bury Newhey Broadfield Oldham Lines to Oldham Heywood Castleton Mills Hill Middleton Manchester Lines North to Manchester

53°36′36″N2°09′15″W / 53.610°N 2.1541°W / 53.610; -2.1541