‘We’ve got one train a week – the area is crying out for more’
It's Saturday morning in Reddish and the start of a weekly ritual that has caused frustration and bemusement for years.
At exactly 9.10am the one passenger service a week departs from the platform at Reddish South station, bound for Stalybridge in Tameside.
The only other connection at this station is the opposite journey, which pulls in at 8.45am the same day.
After that the station, which is managed by Northern, is not used by passenger trains for the rest of the week until the process starts again, while the buzz of daily life in Reddish continues around it.
The next nearest stations for trains to Manchester are either Heaton Chapel or Reddish North, both of which can be a 20 to 30 minute walk away, adding up to an hour of walking to the journey on a return trip.
It's a situation which left locals in the neighbourhood fuming with the lack of public transport options other than buses.
Amid growing concern, calls have been made for transport bosses to finally sort out the situation and restore 'proper' services to the area.
But what can be done and how realistic is it to change things?
Some want to start with a connection from Reddish South to Stockport town centre, which offers wider access to the railway network and a busy transport interchange with buses – not forgetting a tram stop on the way.
But a link to Manchester Victoria has also been put forward, which would benefit commuters and anyone else trying to get into the city centre.
Those behind the Friends of Reddish South and Denton Stations have been campaigning on this very matter, proposing that a service from Stockport to Manchester Victoria via Reddish South and Denton could include the stations at Ashton Moss, Droylsden and Phillips Park.
People living in Reddish say more services in the station are long overdue.
Kelsey Overton is from Oregon in the United States but now lives in Reddish with her husband.
With a smile she says that when the couple were house hunting closeness to a train station was a key consideration.
They assumed Reddish South would meet their needs – as anyone reasonably would – but soon learned the reality of the skeleton service.
"The services at Reddish South could definitely be better," she said. "It'd be amazing if there were more train services to Manchester, I'd definitely use it.
"My husband works in Lancaster and has to walk to Heaton Chapel for the train, which is about a mile away.
"It's so important to have these services, if it was here people would use it, it's a built up area and we should have the resources available to use for things like this."
Many others in the neighbourhood agreed.
Colin Livingstone used to work in Manchester city centre but he had to travel out of Reddish to get there, adding time to the journey.
He said: "This area is crying out for a train service to Manchester Victoria, people would use it, even if it was just a half-hour service, it would have a huge impact.
"I used to work near Victoria and I had to go to Heaton Chapel station and take a train to Manchester Piccadilly and walk the rest of it.
"There are a lot of people who live in this area and are working in Manchester, we're miles away from the tram so we're relying on the bus service."
Retiree Cath Bradshaw lives just metres from Reddish South station, and said she's come to depend on the Bee Network buses.
"I don't use trains, I use the bus instead, I'm retired so it doesn't affect me as much personally, but there are loads of cars here and more trains could help with that.
"People are very used to their cars now and it has made some people very lazy. If you're going to Stockport you'd have to walk or take a bus or taxi."
What's being done about the situation?
Cllr Grace Baynham is the cabinet member for transport at Stockport council and said it has been a 'long term ambition' to bring back services at the station to Stockport and beyond.
The recent announcement that Stockport will finally be getting a Metrolink stop be the answer to solve the problem, she added.
"The stumbling block we have reached is that there is currently limited rail capacity at Stockport station itself, which has knock on effects for Reddish South.
"Our huge campaign win of delivering Metrolink to Stockport provides an opportunity to rectify this.
"This has the potential to increase the capacity of the rails through Stockport station which could unlock access to Reddish South and further afield to Marple and elsewhere."
The calls for better services made it to Parliament in May, when they were raised by Stockport's MP Navendu Mishra.
Praising the friends of Reddish South group, he said: "They are a brilliant community group in the Reddish part of Stockport who have worked tirelessly to improve their local railway station. They have been campaigning for years for proper rail services at Reddish South. Currently, Reddish South station has one train a week. Imagine having a local train station with one train a week—it is just ridiculous."
Local councillors in Reddish have also thrown their voices behind the campaign enthusiastically.
Cllr Rachel Wise said a service to Manchester Victoria could be a win-win by taking pressure off the rail network in other places.
"Reddish South station provides a genuine opportunity to both reliably connect Reddish to Stockport by rail, but also to move some commuter traffic off the very congested Reddish Road/Gorton Road stretch by restoring the rail line to Manchester Victoria," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"This could alleviate some of the existing pressure on the Stockport – Manchester Piccadilly stretch, as well as providing a vital commuting link, not just to the other side of Manchester, but also to the strategic employment opportunities proposed for Ashton Moss.
"As the current connections from Reddish to both Stockport and Ashton are only by bus, incidents on the M60 between junctions 24 and 27 can mean that it's almost impossible to get out of Reddish, even where people have made the sustainable choice to leave the car at home."
Coun Gary Lawson added: "I know there are some technical issues to overcome, but it would be really good for Reddish. Your only way of getting into Stockport if you live in south Reddish is on the bus and the buses are not as frequent or as reliable as they ought to be. It would be really good to have a train service from the station, absolutely."
Is anything likely to change?
Despite the pressure, transport bosses have warned that simply putting on new services is a complicated matter.
A prime example of this is nearby in Cheadle, where work to open a new train station has been held up by the logistical task of figuring out how adding more trains on the network could impact services in other places.
It also throws several different organisations into the mix, including Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), train operating companies who also manage train stations, Network Rail, and politicians.
In response to calls for better services at Reddish South, TfGM highlighted its ongoing work on the railways.
Simon Elliott, network director for rail, said: "Following the successful launch of the Bee Network, bringing together journeys by bus, tram and active travel, focus is now very much on our three-phase plan to bring-in eight key rail commuter lines by 2028.
"We continue to work with the government on its Railway Bill and the reform needed to give us greater local accountability and influence over local services.
"Our ambition is to improve the reliability and frequency of services, fares and connectivity with other modes of transport, ensuring our railways work for everyone and support wider ambitions for growth."
A spokesperson for Northern said: "We recognise that there is a local appetite for more trains to run to Reddish South.
"Nearby Reddish North station currently has two trains an hour linking Reddish with Manchester city centre, and we continue to work closely with partners at Transport for Greater Manchester and the Department for Transport to look at how services across the area can be improved."
A spokesperson for Stockport council said: "Metrolink coming to Stockport is a huge opportunity for our borough.
"Not only will it give residents better connections into Manchester and beyond, it will also open the door to exploring future orbital routes that could link communities right across Stockport, including Reddish.
"We want every part of the borough to feel the benefits when Metrolink does come to Stockport, from making travel to work easier, to boosting our local economy and helping people choose more sustainable ways to get around."
Network Rail was approached for comment.
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