Ardwick Station

[notspy]

When will Ardwick station get some proper signage and information on platforms? Just met a lad who was waiting for a train and had to tell him that only 2 trains call here per day and that there isn’t another till the next day!

And surely with new rolling stock for northern, there is time for at least an hourly service! The area could really do with some development.

 

[Merseysider]

And surely with new rolling stock for northern, there is time for at least an hourly service! The area could really do with some development.

It's less than a mile to Piccadilly, and the area is well served by buses. No point introducing an hourly service

 

[zwk500]

It's less than a mile to Piccadilly, and the area is well served by buses. No point introducing an hourly service

Then just close the station, it's the kindest thing to do.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

When will Ardwick station get some proper signage and information on platforms? Just met a lad who was waiting for a train and had to tell him that only 2 trains call here per day and that there isn’t another till the next day!

And surely with new rolling stock for northern, there is time for at least an hourly service! The area could really do with some development.

Is the station left open all day consistently (at least from first - last train)?
I've thought it might be a good trainspotting spot for the line out of Piccadilly (especially from the bridge) but I don't want to make my way all the way there just to be met with a locked gate.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Then just close the station, it's the kindest thing to do.

It's worth keeping it until the city centre expansion inevitably reaches the area, which is presently desolate.

 

[Trackman]

.... and the area is well served by buses ...

Yes, a lot quicker to go by bus and lots of them although I did it a long time ago. Better than faffing about at Piccadilly station.

It's worth keeping it until the city centre expansion inevitably reaches the area, which is presently desolate.

Yes and it's very gloomy, it needs help that area and its very close to the city centre - more than you think. It has big potential.

 

[notspy]

Is the station left open all day consistently (at least from first - last train)?
I've thought it might be a good trainspotting spot for the line out of Piccadilly (especially from the bridge) but I don't want to make my way all the way there just to be met with a locked gate.

As far as I'm aware it's open all day, there's no gate. However I wouldn't really want to stay there after dark!

Great location to spot, and it's surprisingly quiet so it's a nice spot to chill out in the sun.

Yes, a lot quicker to go by bus and lots of them although I did it a long time ago. Better than faffing about at Piccadilly station.

Yes and it's very gloomy, it needs help that area and its very close to the city centre - more than you think. It has big potential.

Quite a few newish office blocks there, and there's huge potential with the number of abandoned buildings and brownfield land. It's a shame no one knows the station exists - the entrance is hidden down an alley under a bridge!

 

[billh]

Ardwick Station is adjacent to what used to be Great Universal Stores HQ (catalogue shopping) . Years ago the station was busy at commutor times with employees at GUS. Since that place closed there's very little business' in the area.
My father used that station to get to school from Gorton pre WW2. I think that HS2 works will completely surround the station in the next century or so? Isn't the former Kobo sidings site, across the line ,discussed elsewhere, to become an HS2 worksite?
As to trainspotting there, yes the footbridge is pretty good. Used to see 47s on Transpennine, 379XX on Metalbox freight, or GCR A8s at the Ardwick carriage sidings!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

As to trainspotting there, yes the footbridge is pretty good.

Can't really see the point of keeping a scarcely-used inner-city station open just for use by spotters!

 

[Springs Branch]

Quite a few newish office blocks there, and there's huge potential with the number of abandoned buildings and brownfield land.

Look at Salford Central for how nearby redevelopment can produce a renaissance in a station's fortunes.

Admittedly Salford station never quite dropped to the depths that Ardwick has right now (had stops by most trains in the peak direction only M-F). And it's taken a good few years to get the platforms sorted, even after services had been restored first to last train 7 days per week.

But once a few more office blocks appear, apartment buildings start to sprout and developers see money to be made, I'm confident Ardwick station will eventually see some regeneration £££s.

 

[SJL2020]

It's the closest station to the Manchester Apollo venue. I'd be using it this Friday if there was a service.

 

[billh]

Can't really see the point of keeping a scarcely-used inner-city station open just for use by spotters!

A bit like nearby Reddish South and Denton then? Them's are more for the track bashers I suppose. They aren't inner city but equally useless, I mean the stations not the TBs

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's the closest station to the Manchester Apollo venue. I'd be using it this Friday if there was a service.

Off at Piccadilly and down on the 192 is fairly easy.

I think it is worth keeping it open (as long as the rusty footbridge doesn't fall over) because looking at what Salford was 20 years ago and what it is now it'll be soon surrounded by blocks of flats containing mostly non-car-owners and could, with a half hourly service on the Hadfield line, become useful.

 

[zwk500]

Can't really see the point of keeping a scarcely-used inner-city station open just for use by spotters!

Could build a scaffold tower for the spotters, whilst building a tram line turning off down London Road and under the Mancunian Way before heading down Hyde road. It actually serves the areas better and gets them into the heart of Manchester at a 10/12-minute frequency. You'd need new tram platforms on London Road outside Piccadilly but that's not the end of the world.

 

[FManc]

As far as I'm aware it's open all day, there's no gate. However I wouldn't really want to stay there after dark!

Great location to spot, and it's surprisingly quiet so it's a nice spot to chill out in the sun.

Quite a few newish office blocks there, and there's huge potential with the number of abandoned buildings and brownfield land. It's a shame no one knows the station exists - the entrance is hidden down an alley under a bridge!

There’s a new housing development going up just by Ardwick station where all the storage containers used to be.

 

[185]

There’s a new housing development going up just by Ardwick station where all the storage containers used to be.

Not sure where that is but I do know the HS2 tunnel is emerging there.

 

[edwin_m]

Not sure where that is but I do know the HS2 tunnel is emerging there.

The HS2 plan is here, assuming it ever happens. extension://bfdogplmndidlpjfhoijckpakkdjkkil/pdf/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1050071%2F2DE01-MWJ-CV-DPP-M003-320060_watermarked.pdf

I think the route was originally proposed to surface in the container handling area (in the fork between the lines towards Ashburys and Stockport) but it now does so north of both lines, just west of the Transpennine depot. The stub of the route towards Leeds is in the same area, although there's still room for some urban development between these facilities and Ardwick station.

 

[Pinus contorta]

The HS2 plan is here, assuming it ever happens. extension://bfdogplmndidlpjfhoijckpakkdjkkil/pdf/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1050071%2F2DE01-MWJ-CV-DPP-M003-320060_watermarked.pdf

I think the route was originally proposed to surface in the container handling area (in the fork between the lines towards Ashburys and Stockport) but it now does so north of both lines, just west of the Transpennine depot. The stub of the route towards Leeds is in the same area, although there's still room for some urban development between these facilities and Ardwick station.

Is the bus garage listed? I wouldn't be surprised if that gets sold on for housing if they can downsize further away from town eventually. Has the land which used to be part of the bus garage complex, got sold on for redevelopment? Is that what @FManc is referring to? It all looks like its prime for redevelopment eventually. And the station is ideally placed to serve it. So why close it?

 

[urbophile]

Inner-city stations need to have a frequent metro-style service to be of any use. The proposed Baltic station in Liverpool will have 4tph which isn't really enough: if you just miss one it will be quicker to walk or get a bus. One an hour is pointless unless every potential random user knows the timetable, and one or two a day is just ridiculous.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Not sure where that is but I do know the HS2 tunnel is emerging there.

It's the old olympic container place. Also I'm pretty sure the tunnel is now emerging on the other side so they don't have to demolish Ardwick TMD.

 

[jfollows]

The HS2 plan is here, assuming it ever happens. extension://bfdogplmndidlpjfhoijckpakkdjkkil/pdf/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1050071%2F2DE01-MWJ-CV-DPP-M003-320060_watermarked.pdf

I think the route was originally proposed to surface in the container handling area (in the fork between the lines towards Ashburys and Stockport) but it now does so north of both lines, just west of the Transpennine depot. The stub of the route towards Leeds is in the same area, although there's still room for some urban development between these facilities and Ardwick station.

Can you repost the link, please, I’d like to see this but your link isn’t usable!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Inner-city stations need to have a frequent metro-style service to be of any use. The proposed Baltic station in Liverpool will have 4tph which isn't really enough: if you just miss one it will be quicker to walk or get a bus. One an hour is pointless unless every potential random user knows the timetable, and one or two a day is just ridiculous.

Nobody uses Merseyrail to travel within Liverpool city centre, it is too compact for it to be of benefit, you just walk, from one extreme end to the other takes maybe 15 minutes on a bad day. The purpose of Baltic is to add it as a destination for the existing Southport service. Some might change onto the ex-Southport service to reach it, but as those services are all 4tph too nothing is gained by making it more frequent.

Similarly, hardly anyone is going to travel by train from Ardwick to Manchester, it too is walkable in 15 minutes or so. The station would be used for going elsewhere, which may mean stopping the Sheffields brings more benefit than the Hadfields, thinking on.

The couple of times a day thing was probably timed around shifts at the place above that used it.

 

[notspy]

Nobody uses Merseyrail to travel within Liverpool city centre, it is too compact for it to be of benefit, you just walk, from one extreme end to the other takes maybe 15 minutes on a bad day. The purpose of Baltic is to add it as a destination for the existing Southport service. Some might change onto the ex-Southport service to reach it, but as those services are all 4tph too nothing is gained by making it more frequent. Similarly, hardly anyone is going to travel by train from Ardwick to Manchester, it too is walkable in 15 minutes or so. The station would be used for going elsewhere, which may mean stopping the Sheffields brings more benefit than the Hadfields, thinking on. The couple of times a day thing was probably timed around shifts at the place above that used it.

Bang on. It's my closest station, and as I travel to Sheffield and the peaks quite regularly, I would use it quite frequently if the Sheffield stopper called here. As it's a lot closer to actually quite a large population centre (Ardwick, Longsight, Plymouth Grove etc) than Picc, given some signage and time I think it could be quite well used.
I wonder if some services do get "devolution", this station could be included in plans.

 

[dosxuk]

Can you repost the link, please, I’d like to see this but your link isn’t usable!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1050071/2DE01-MWJ-CV-DPP-M003-320060_watermarked.pdf

 

[jfollows]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1050071/2DE01-MWJ-CV-DPP-M003-320060_watermarked.pdf

Many thanks, that is very helpful to answer some questions I’d been asking myself recently.

 

[edwin_m]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1050071/2DE01-MWJ-CV-DPP-M003-320060_watermarked.pdf

Don't know why that didn't work when I tried it!

 

[urbophile]

Nobody uses Merseyrail to travel within Liverpool city centre, it is too compact for it to be of benefit, you just walk, from one extreme end to the other takes maybe 15 minutes on a bad day. The purpose of Baltic is to add it as a destination for the existing Southport service. Some might change onto the ex-Southport service to reach it, but as those services are all 4tph too nothing is gained by making it more frequent.

Similarly, hardly anyone is going to travel by train from Ardwick to Manchester, it too is walkable in 15 minutes or so. The station would be used for going elsewhere, which may mean stopping the Sheffields brings more benefit than the Hadfields, thinking on.

The couple of times a day thing was probably timed around shifts at the place above that used it.

Sorry to prolong the digression from Manchester to Liverpool, but I think it is a helpful parallel. The 'city centre' used to be limited by Chinatown to the south and Leeds Street to the north. Withe the development of the Baltic Triangle, and the area between Pier head and the new football stadium, it is now arguably larger. And you can't quickly or comfortably walk from Baltic to Stanley Dock. Just as I am sure many people in Manchester use the tram to get from one end of the city centre to another, so Merseyrail Northern Line will come into its own as a convenient way to connect the city, and not just the suburbs. Or it would with double the frequency of trains, and a new station at Vauxhall as well as Baltic.

I don't know Manchester well enough to know if the Ardwick area is developing similarly, but I'd be very surprised if it were not. It might only be 15 minutes walk to Piccadilly but Oxford Road or Deansgate adds at least another ten minutes.

 

[The exile]

The proposed Baltic station in Liverpool will have 4tph which isn't really enough: if you just miss one it will be quicker to walk or get a bus.

That assumes that the traffic flow is the short one to the city centre station which explains why some close in stations are well used and others not.

 

[urbophile]

True. I'm sure someone has done a survey of projected traffic. In this case I'd think it would be mixed; Baltic will be as much a destination station as an originating one. However assuming a reasonable frequency it's far enough away from the business quarter to make a short hop by train an attractive alternative to schlepping in the drizzle.

 

[Rail Ranger]

The former Olympic container yard was previously the skid pan at the back of Hyde Road bus garage and, until 1923, was the site of Manchester City's football ground.