All aboard!

Photo: Pictures by DARREN ROBINSON

PROUD moment . . . Councillor Richard Knowles (left) and Lee Wasnidge and other guests at the opening of the refurbished station

New station finally arrives

The station now arriving at platform one is the delayed Manchester service which is running three months late . . .

The much-vaunted refurbishment of Greenfield railway station, funded by Greater Manchester Integrated Passenger Transport Authority (GMIPTA), hit the buffers last November after the construction firm went into liquidation.

But transport bosses marked the completion of the £580,000 refurbishment when the ticket office was officially opened by Councillor Richard Knowles, chairman of the authority’s development and operations committee, and representatives of Northern Rail.

Councillor John Dillon, Oldham Council spokesman for GMITA, Oldham Councillor Jackie Stanton, Saddleworth parish councillor Royce Franklin, Lee Wasnidge, Northern Rail area director, and Paul Spencer, station manager, Northern Rail, inspected the facilities.

The smart new stone-built ticket office has a seating area and automatic doors. Along with a new staff office, there is also a fully-accessible toilet with baby-changing facilities.

Two well-lit, sheltered waiting areas with seating have also been built on the Manchester-bound platform.

A continuously-recording digital CCTV system, which can be monitored by staff, has also been installed. Improvements have also been made to the front of the station to make it easier for buses to drop off and collect passengers.

Councillor Knowles said: “Greenfield is the only railway station in Saddleworth and is very well used, but the previous passenger facilities were antiquated and inadequate.

“I’m delighted to open these impressive new facilities which give the station a much more welcoming new look, and Saddleworth a modern building to be proud of.”

Councillor John Dillon said: “We’ve now got first-rate facilities to be proud of and which, I’m sure, will be of great benefit to passengers.

“Greenfield is already a popular station for Saddleworth commuters and I hope that this investment will encourage even more people to consider travelling by train.”

Northern Rail’s Lee Wasnidge said: “More and more people are using Greenfield station with passenger numbers growing by over 10 per cent every year.

“These new facilities will provide a welcoming environment for passengers and will no doubt encourage more people to try taking the train.”

And Royce Franklin, who is also chairman of Saddleworth Parish Council’s transport and traffic sub-committee, said: “The new building is a considerable improvement.

“The next steps need to include access for the disabled and other modifications on the Huddersfield platform, hourly trains to Manchester during the week and an abolition of the ludicrous differential in fares when crossing into Yorkshire.”

Around 80 parking spaces are available at nearby Saddleworth Rangers Rugby Club. The free car park, funded by GMIPTA, is staffed during opening hours from 7am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

Greenfield is the final station in Greater Manchester before the West Yorkshire boundary.