Styal - why so poorly served

[G0ORC]

Killing time today whilst waiting for a delayed flight to land at the airport, I parked up in a desolate car park at a very tidy and seemingly well kept Styal Station.

Looking at the station timetables to pass the time, I hadn't realised just how poorly this station is served with 8 trains in each direction per week-day. Indeed the Sunday service is better with, if I counted correctly 9 services in each direction.

Additionally the timetable appears to concentrate solely around peak hours i.e. after the 0817 northbound there is a 3-hour gap until 1117 and then its 1317 and 1559. The southbound service is just as poor with a three hour gap between 0746 and 1046 and then 1246, 1530 and 1646 from Manchester Piccadilly.

To a stranger (me) the area (not just Styal but the area around as well) seems very well populated and gives the impression it could support a better service. Counting against this appears to be the affluence of the area with, it appears Range Rovers and large BMW Chelsea tractors being "de rigueur" on almost every house frontage.

Whilst I was there the 1818 service to Crewe departed - not a particularly busy train and no-one got on or off at Styal.

Am I missing something here or is it an obvious case for a service improvement which would lead to a much increased patronage?

 

[12CSVT]

Looking at a map of the local area will give a clue.

Apart from a prison, there's hardly anything there.

Maybe there is a case for replacing Styal station with a station about a mile further south at Lacey Green.

 

[snowball]

From another point of view the answer is "because the airport line was built".

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Looking at a map of the local area will give a clue. Apart from a prison, there's hardly anything there.

There is the National Trust large grounds, gardens and the iconic Quarry Bank Mill in Styal.

The prison is for female offenders.

 

[Ash Bridge]

There is the National Trust large grounds, gardens and the iconic Quarry Bank Mill in Styal.

The prison is for female offenders.

I seem to recall seeing literature over the last few years advising passengers to travel to Manchester Airport Rail Terminal,then take a connecting bus service to Quarry Bank Mill. Shame they don't promote more use of Styal Station, think it is kept in good order by a "friends of" group.

 

[Southern Dvr]

I was there last week, it's about a 15-20 min walk from Handforth on the Cheadle Hulme Line. Lovely station, beautifully tranquil despite the nearby airport!

 

[G0ORC]

Looking at a map of the local area will give a clue.

Apart from a prison, there's hardly anything there.

Maybe there is a case for replacing Styal station with a station about a mile further south at Lacey Green.

Thanks for all of the interesting contributions.

What was particularly strange for me was seeing a pleasant, clean station, within easy communting distance of Manchester, in a well populated area so patently under-used as this one. It actually surprised me greatly watching a train, still in peak hours, arrive and depart with no-one getting off and on at a station that is so easily commutable from Manchester.

I see many comments on just how over-crowded the rail system is around Manchester so this place is obviously very much of an anachronism. I still don't understand why its so under-used and why a bit of good old fashioned marketing allied to an increase in service frequency couldn't yield major improvements in patronage.

Seems a wasted opportunity to me.

 

[Albatross]

It is a lovely tranquil place. I used to do some 'courting' on the car park when I was younger.

It's best known amongst Northern staff as a fail to call disaster zone, been done many times, no doubt because of the infrequent stopping pattern.

Never seen more than 3 or 4 people get on or off in my life.

 

[theshillito]

Last time I visited this station, I missed an earlier train and was told to get the bus instead. The bus takes 13 minutes to get from Styal to right in front of Wilmslow station. Otherwise, 8 minutes to get to Manchester Airport station from Styal. That bus is hourly 7 days a week, though only between 8am and 6pm so you couldn't rely on it for a night out. I'd assume that's a major reason why Styal station isn't used much even with a more frequent stopping pattern. The train would likely be more expensive than the bus too for a minimal time saving.

 

[Darren R]

Back in the days before Metrolink was built (is that violins I hear? ) Styal used to enjoy half-hourly trains between Alderley Edge and Altrincham. Even with that level of service, patronage was poor, so the conclusion can be drawn that the present level of service matches the demand. I don't honestly believe there is any latent demand at Styal, waiting to be unleashed by an enhanced level of service.

Nice part of the world to visit though - so long as you ignore the sound of aeroplanes!

 

[muz379]

is there any chance the same as what happens at hazel grove happens whereby people drive from styal to another station inside the tfgm boundary with a decent sized free car park and then hop on the train into MCR from there to continue the journey ,either that or they travel to wilmslow which is much better served and has loads of parking , albeit parking you have to pay for

if that is the case I dont know if the people of styal would use an increased service at styal itself because they would like to drive their range rover to the station and park there and styal doesn't have a big car park

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I was there last week, it's about a 15-20 min walk from Handforth on the Cheadle Hulme Line. Lovely station, beautifully tranquil despite the nearby airport!

Indeed this is the case, going down Stanneylands Road, but since the large cobbled areas outside the Stanneylands Hotel have been resurfaced with a tarmacadam surface, this road now carries a large amount of road traffic from the B5358 (formerly A34) to the airport and M56, rather than using the much-used Finney Lane route through Heald Green.
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Last time I visited this station, I missed an earlier train and was told to get the bus instead. The bus takes 13 minutes to get from Styal to right in front of Wilmslow station. Otherwise, 8 minutes to get to Manchester Airport station from Styal. That bus is hourly 7 days a week, though only between 8am and 6pm so you couldn't rely on it for a night out. I'd assume that's a major reason why Styal station isn't used much even with a more frequent stopping pattern. The train would likely be more expensive than the bus too for a minimal time saving.

The service 200 bus also calls in both directions into the National Trust car park area at Quarry Bank Mill, which saves quite a long walk from the Styal village area.

 

[Crossover]

Me and starmill visited Styal earlier in the year - lovely little place which, as someone earlier mentioned, looks rather affluent.