Fairfield railway station (Greater Manchester)

Fairfield National Rail
Location
Place Droylsden
Local authority Tameside
Grid reference SJ904971
Operations
Station code FRF
Managed by Northern Rail
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05  6,488
2005/06 Increase 7,945
2006/07 Decrease 7,690
2007/08 Decrease 6,998
2008/09 Increase 9,010
2009/10 Increase 10,832
2010/11 Increase 16,016
2011/12 Increase 21,234
2012/13 Increase 23,690
2013/14 Decrease 22,498
2014/15 Increase 23,992
History
Key dates Opened 1892 (1892)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Fairfield from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Fairfield railway station serves the Fairfield area of Droylsden, Tameside, Greater Manchester and is 3.1 miles (5 km) east of Manchester Piccadilly station. It was opened by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1892, when the branch to Chorlton-cum-Hardy opened, and replaced an earlier station that had opened with the line in 1841. The original station was east of the present station. For a suburban station Fairfield has very low passenger usage (see figures right).

The station has two platforms. At one stage it had six with two lines one on each side of the current railway track, with the current two platforms operated as island platforms. This configuration was unusual as nearby stations on the line were built with four lines - two for local trains and two for express services. Remnants of the closed platforms can still be seen. Before Beeching this station, known as Fairfield for Droylsden, was a junction with a pair of lines from the east breaking off and running to the south thereby facilitating a route to Longsight and south Manchester. By means of a switchback to Gorton & Openshaw this branch enabled the turning round of locomotives without need for a turntable in the area, which could have been invaluable for servicing both the Guide Bridge yards and the facilities of "Gorton Tank" and Beyer, Peacock loco factories.

The station was renamed from Fairfield for Droylsden to Fairfield on 6 May 1974.[1]

Services

At Fairfield there is a half-hourly service to Manchester Piccadilly and towards Rose Hill Marple with no Sunday service.[2]

Manchester-Glossop Line trains pass Fairfield stopping at Gorton and Guide Bridge instead.

References

  1. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine (London: IPC Transport Press Ltd) 120 (879): 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
  2. GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 78

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairfield railway station (Greater Manchester).
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern Rail
Mondays-Saturdays only
Disused railways
Guide Bridge
Line and station open
  Great Central Railway
Fallowfield Loop
  Hyde Road
Line and station closed

Coordinates: 53°28′16″N 2°08′42″W / 53.471°N 2.145°W / 53.471; -2.145


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.