Reddish South railway station

Reddish South National Rail
Location
Place Reddish
Local authority Stockport
Coordinates 53°26′10″N 2°09′29″W / 53.4361°N 2.1580°W / 53.4361; -2.1580Coordinates: 53°26′10″N 2°09′29″W / 53.4361°N 2.1580°W / 53.4361; -2.1580
Grid reference SJ895932
Operations
Station code RDS
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 1
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12 Decrease 56
2012/13 Increase 122
2013/14 Decrease 26
2014/15 Increase 54
2015/16 Decrease 38
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE Transport for Greater Manchester
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Reddish South from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Reddish South is a station in Reddish, Stockport, England, on the Stockport-Stalybridge Line, famous for having only one train a week in one direction. A single track serves a single, bare platform. Unlike Denton (another station on the line) which has a bench as its sole passenger facility, Reddish South has no facilities whatsoever, nor any lighting.[1]

Originally the station consisted of two island platforms with four tracks. One of these track beds has been sold off, while another has been filled in. The second island is now inaccessible as there are no longer steps down to it. Prior to May 1989 the station had a regular (hourly) service in both directions on weekdays & Saturdays (as can be seen in the 1979 and 1988 British Rail National timetables), but following the re-routing of the Leeds to Manchester via Huddersfield expresses from Victoria to Piccadilly stations, the service was drastically reduced.[2] Since May 1992, it has received only one train per week - the statutory minimum service level required to avoid formal closure proceedings (the line is however in regular use for other traffic, mainly freight and empty stock transfers).

The station is a request stop. In theory, prospective passengers must flag down the train as it approaches the station however in practice the train usually stops at every station, regardless of whether or not there are passengers waiting.

Quietest station in the UK

According to the 2007/8 National rail figures, Reddish South had only 47 entries and exits in a 12-month period, making it the UK's least used railway station. (2 stations were ranked lower than this but they were newly opened, and thus did not record patronage for the whole year.)

With 26 passenger entries and exits between April 2013 and March 2014, Reddish South was the third-least used station in Great Britain, after Teesside Airport railway station and Shippea Hill railway station.[3]

In 2015, passenger figures from the Office for Rail and Road showed that Reddish South was Britain's 4th quietest railway station[4]

The only service is the 09:22 Fridays-only parliamentary train from Stockport to Stalybridge calling at 09:26, which then continues via Denton and Guide Bridge to Stalybridge.[5]

Local campaigners have installed artwork, a flower-bed and a fence alongside the platform

Reddish does however have a second station, Reddish North railway station, which has a regular service. Heaton Chapel and Brinnington are both also nearby.

Closure

Network Rail, in their Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for the North West, have proposed closure of Reddish South and Denton stations and withdrawal of the remaining passenger service. The line itself would remain open for freight and diverted passenger workings. Open-access operator Grand Central had proposed using the line for services between London Euston and Bradford Interchange via the West Coast Main Line, using Guide Bridge or Stalybridge station as a stop however their application was rejected. There is a campaign for a regular service from Stockport to Manchester Victoria, stopping at Reddish South and Denton. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "Making a Denton it"The Station Master website article 16 July 2011; Retrieved 12 May 2016
  2. ↑ "Point of No Return: All Aboard the Ghost Train" Vallantine, Stuart; East of the M60 7 March 2007; Retrieved 12 May 2016
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Revealed: Britain's busiest and quietest stations". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  5. ↑ GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 78A (Network Rail)
  6. ↑
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern
Stockport-Stalybridge Line
Friday only
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