Double trouble over Greenfield rail

RICHARD KNOWLES... “quite clear that people want to go to the Victoria end of Manchester”.

A railWAY action group eager to double the train service in their village has been dealt a double blow.

Greenfield Rail Action Group has been told service to the village will not only not increase for another five years, but that the train’s route is also likely to change.

The group has been campaigning for two trains an hour — rather than the current one — from the Saddleworth station, but a meeting with Transport for Greater Manchester revealed a double service would be “very unlikely” before 2018, when line electrification is completed.

TfGM is also proposing that trains leaving Greenfield from 2016 will travel to Manchester Piccadilly rather than the current Victoria. These trains will only stop at two of the four stations along the journey, alternating between Marsden, Slaithwaite, Greenfield and Mossley.

Royce Franklin, chair of the Saddleworth and Lees transport and traffic sub-committee said: “These proposals are totally unacceptable. The need for trains to Victoria is greater than to Piccadilly.

“With regards to electrification, services are supposed to improve, not deteriorate. The proposals mean not only the direct service to Victoria would be lost but the link to Ashton would also go.

“Though the pairing of stops for the skip-stopping trains has yet to be decided, some direct contact will be lost. To not have direct contact between Mossley and Greenfield is ludicrous.”

Richard Knowles, Professor of Transport Geography at the University of Salford and former Oldham councillor, described the proposals as “monstrous”.

He said: “2018 is a very long time for people to wait. The reality is that the electrification process is going to be very disruptive. Until that is complete there is no capacity to put an extra train on the line per hour. But we could do with the extra train now. A huge number of people use it. Every other service as crowded as Greenfield has eventually been given two trains an hour.

“But what we are really concerned about is that trains won’t stop at all the stations along the line and will end up at Piccadilly rather than Victoria. Piccadilly is not where people want to go.”

Transport for Greater Manchester said: “The rail network around Greater Manchester is very close to capacity, particularly at peak periods, which limits the services that can be provided — and the number of changes that can be made.”