St Werburgh's Road is a Manchester Metrolinktram stop in Manchester. It is historically located in the Hough End area, though it is now commonly regarded as being part of Chorlton. It is on the South Manchester Line and in fare zone 2 and 3.[1] This stop was constructed and opened as part of Phase 3a of the network's expansion on 7 July 2011, and has step-free access.[2]
This stop is located on a former railway trackbed, at the former Chorlton Junction where the Manchester South District Line and Fallowfield Loop Line converged. The railway lines were left derelict when they closed, however the Fallowfield Loop was converted to a shared use footpath in the early 2000s. Part of the Manchester South District Line's trackbed was restored and converted to Metrolink, however this tram stop itself is not a converted railway station.
History
[29 August 2009] Fallowfield Loop cycle path along the disused railway which is seen on the right.[23 July 2011] Whilst the extension to East Didsbury was under construction, trams turned around at St Werburgh's Road. A tram is seen stabled here.
The Manchester South District Railway began passenger service on 1 January 1880, and passenger services ceased after 1 January 1967. The line remained in use for freight and other uses until all of the MSDR's track east of Chorlton Junction was closed to all traffic after 17 August 1969 and lifted in 1970.[3][4] The Fallowfield Loop continued to operate as a freight line following this and closed later in 1988.[5][6]
Proposals to re-open the line were put forward[7] as early as the 1980s,[8] but remained unfunded until the 2000s. In 2006, it was announced that Phase 3a for Metrolink would go ahead, including extending the network as far as St Werburgh's Road.[9] Following the rejection of the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund in a public referendum in 2008, extension of this line further to East Didsbury (part of Phase 3b) went ahead with funding from national and local government.[7][10][11]
Construction of the line began in April 2009 and the line became operational as far as St Werburgh's Road on 7 July 2011.[12] Whilst the line to East Didsbury was being finished, trams continued about 100 metres after St Werburgh's Road and turned around at a siding there. They arrived back at St Werburgh's Road on the opposite platform via a track crossover. Services through to East Didsbury began on 23 May 2013.[13]
Layout
St Werburgh's Road has one island platform serving two tracks, and was constructed with accessibility in mind. There are two entrances to the station via pedestrian track crossings and ramps, both from the Fallowfield Loop footpath at either ends of the island platform.
Two dot matrix passenger information displays stand at the centre of the platforms serving one side each, showing estimated arrival times for trams in minutes up to 30 minutes prior (up to three at a time) and number of carriages.
There is a crossover track east of the stop which enabled trams to turn around when East Didsbury and Manchester Airport extensions were under construction. Today it enables trams to turn around at St Werburgh's Road in case there is a disruption to normal service.
Services
Every route across the Manchester Metrolink network operates to a 12-minute headway (5 tph) Monday–Saturday, and to a 15-minute headway (4 tph) on Sundays and bank holidays. Sections served by a second "peak only" route (like this stop) will have a combined headway of 6 minutes during peak times.
St Werburgh's Road is located on the border of Zone 2 and 3, and the stop itself has two platforms in an island layout which aren't named. Trams towards Victoria and Rochdale Town Centre depart from the inbound platform (northernmost) and an extra service runs direct to Shaw and Crompton during peak times. Trams to East Didsbury and Manchester Airport depart from the outbound platform (southernmost).
St Werburgh's Road tram stop was previously served directly by the 84A bus route, running from Davyhulme to Merseybank via Urmston, Stretford and Chorlton,[14] but this service has not been operational since around 2022 and the bus stops left out of use.
Train
This tram stop is not connected to or near to any railway stations, but the nearest is Trafford Park, approximately 2.5 miles away walking.
Fallowfield Loop path
[16 November 2012] The Fallowfield Loop shared use path facing St Werburgh's Road tram stop.
4 July 2015: A tram derailed at the stop after vandals attacked the tram and the tracks.[16]
21 July 2016: A man was badly injured at the stop when his leg became trapped between a tram and the platform.[17]
6 October 2022: At around 12:35 BST, a woman was struck by a tram approaching St Werburgh's Road heading to East Didsbury, at the pedestrian track crossing at the west side of the stop.[18][19]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
![[29 August 2009] Fallowfield Loop cycle path along the disused railway which is seen on the right. Cycle path along disused railway near Chorlton Junction.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Cycle_path_along_disused_railway_near_Chorlton_Junction.jpg/250px-Cycle_path_along_disused_railway_near_Chorlton_Junction.jpg)
![[23 July 2011] Whilst the extension to East Didsbury was under construction, trams turned around at St Werburgh's Road. A tram is seen stabled here. Signs at the south east end of St Werburgh's Road Metrolink station, Chorlton - geograph.org.uk - 2554434.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Signs_at_the_south_east_end_of_St_Werburgh%27s_Road_Metrolink_station%2C_Chorlton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2554434.jpg/250px-Signs_at_the_south_east_end_of_St_Werburgh%27s_Road_Metrolink_station%2C_Chorlton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2554434.jpg)
![[16 November 2012] The Fallowfield Loop shared use path facing St Werburgh's Road tram stop. Fallowfield Loop (8541036270).jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Fallowfield_Loop_%288541036270%29.jpg/250px-Fallowfield_Loop_%288541036270%29.jpg)
