Two trains per week? Make that two trains per hour

Gorton & Denton MP Andrew Gwynne has called for two trains per hour to stop the UK’s least-used railway station.

Although freight trains are a regular sight on line, the stations at Denton and Reddish South only have one passenger service in either direction on Saturday mornings. 

Mr Gwynne and neighbouring Stockport MP Navendu Mishra insist the effective mothballing of the link between Stockport and Guide Bridge for commuters is “stifling growth, employment and educational opportunities, and access to health care” for resident of both boroughs. 

In a joint letter to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, the MPs said: “There is significant scope to unlock these areas through proper investment and more regular train services that would deliver a stronger economy and public transport system for East Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the Northwest of England. 

“Currently, a theoretical local, stopping service of two trains an hour would be possible, with some potential disruption for to the WCML [West Coast Main Line]. However, due to the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2, now necessitating that HS2 trains run on the existing WCML, this theoretical service will not be possible without investment and restructuring of the surrounding railways.” 

“There have been calls and efforts to reform this line for decades now, under various schemes such as the Rail Utilisation Strategy lunched by Network Rail in the late 2000s, the Restoring Your Railways ideas fund, which produced a study supported by TfGM, Tameside MBC, and the MPs who represent areas of the line.  

“We must also pay tribute to the Friends of Reddish South Station, who have tirelessly campaigned on this issue for many years. 

“Unfortunately, the outcome of this bid was unsuccessful under the previous Conservative government. TfGM is presently exploring the feasibility of Train-Tram services utilising the line. This is also not to mention the schemes such as Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 that both failed to come to fruition. 

“Over the last 14 years, there have been promises of renewal, of ‘Levelling Up’ and improving access to public transport within East Manchester.  

“The railways in Manchester should act as they do in London and other major European cities, as a driver of growth, of connectivity and in service of the communities through which they run. 

"Presently the railways in Manchester hold back and restrict the city and region from becoming the economic powerhouse we all know and want it to become.” 

Both Denton and Reddish South stations had a single ‘parliamentary train’ calling at them on Fridays to keep the line open to passengers, until Arriva introduced the Saturday morning return service in 2018. 

Reddish South is the fifth least used railway station in the country, with 128 passengers either entering or leaving it in the 2023/24 figures. 

Denton, meanwhile, is now officially the UK’s least used station, with just 54 passenger entries and exits during the same period. 

It took this honour from Teesside Airport station, which closed in May 2022 after authorities condemned its platforms as unsafe.  

This is the second time Denton has been the UK’s least used station, following on from 2018/19, when it shared the accolade with Stanlow and Thornton in Cheshire. Both had 46 passengers that year.