Ashton-under-Lyne railway station

Ashton-under-Lyne
Location
Place	Ashton-under-Lyne
Local authority	Tameside
Coordinates	53°29′29″N 2°05′39″W / 53.4913°N 2.0943°WCoordinates: 53°29′29″N 2°05′39″W / 53.4913°N 2.0943°W
Grid reference	SJ938993
Operations
Station code	AHN
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.519 million
2011/12	0.581 million
2012/13	0.492 million
2013/14	0.471 million
2014/15	0.380 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Greater Manchester
History
Original company	Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
13 April 1846	Opened as Ashton
1874	Renamed Ashton (Charlestown)
6 May 1968	Renamed Ashton-under-Lyne
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ashton-under-Lyne from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Ashton-under-Lyne railway station serves Ashton-under-Lyne, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the Huddersfield Line 6½ miles (10 km) east of Manchester Victoria and is operated by Northern. It is the only station between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.

The station is a short walk from Ashton-under-Lyne bus station and Ashton-under-Lyne tram stop which is served by trams to Droylsden, Manchester, and Rochdale Town Centre.

History

Local train approaching Ashton (Charlestown) Station in 1951

The station, known originally as Ashton, was opened by the Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway (AS&LJR) on 13 April 1846.^[1][2] The AS&LJR was absorbed by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1847, which was then renamed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR).^[3] The LYR renamed it Ashton (Charlestown) in 1874.^[1] The LYR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway at the start of 1922, and these in turn amalgamated with several other companies on 1 January 1923, to form the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the 1923 Grouping. It then passed to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was renamed Ashton-under-Lyne on 6 May 1968.^[1]

When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways under arrangement with the Greater Manchester PTE until the Privatisation of British Railways. Usage at this time was relatively low and trains called only rarely (see BR timetable 1974, 1975 et seq.). The train service was not regular and in essence operated at peak times only.

Other stations in Ashton

1912 map of railway lines in the area

There were once three stations in the town: Charlestown, Park Parade and Oldham Road. Also, Guide Bridge, a few miles away, was known as Ashton & Hooley Hill and then Ashton in its earliest years.

Charlestown Station — the present Ashton-under-Lyne station — was owned by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, who ran services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge. The London and North Western Railway also ran services along the line, most only calling at Ashton and Stalybridge before continuing to Leeds. The station once sported a large booking hall, where the car park is currently, as well as a substantial canopy.^[4]

Park Parade Station was located on the Guide Bridge–Stalybridge line; the only remains of the station is the "Station Inn", a short stroll away.

Oldham Road Station was located on the line to Oldham (originally owned by the Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway), which continued to Park Bridge before reaching Clegg Street, Oldham.

Facilities

Ashton-under-Lyne station consists of a single island platform, accessible via a ramp from the underpass at street level, it is wheelchair accessible and also has a passenger lift. This was installed due to the 1-in-8 gradient between street level and platform level^[5] Facilities of the station include a waiting room, ticket desk, wheelchair-accessible toilet and a hot-drinks vending machine.

Services

Monday to Saturdays, there are regular links (currently two trains per hour, though not at even intervals) from Ashton-under-Lyne to and from Manchester Victoria westbound and to Stalybridge eastbound during daytime hours (reduced from three per hour since the May 2014 timetable change). One Stalybridge train each hour continues through to Huddersfield and one Manchester-bound service to Wigan Wallgate (with some peak period extensions to Southport).^[6] Passengers can also change at Stalybridge onto TransPennine Express services to Leeds, York and Scarborough.

During the evenings and on Sundays there is an hourly service to both Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield.

Gallery

• 

  The station's island platform, looking towards Manchester.

• 

  The station platform and building.

• 

  The waiting area on platform 1.

• 

  A Northern Class 150 waits at platform 2.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 20. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
2. Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 61, 63. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
3. Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. pp. 59, 90–91. CN 8983.
4. http://buffetbar.i8.com/photo.html - A selection of useful photographs showing this booking hall, as well as the platform.
5. The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society, LYR Branchline 14 - "The Ashton and Stalybridge Branch", by Robert F Hartley. (Page 44)
6. Northern Rail Timetable 25 - Huddersfield - Stalybridge - Manchester Northern Rail;Retrieved 7 January 2016

• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.
• The Manchester and Leeds Railway by Martin Bairstow
• The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society, LYR Branchiline 14 - "The Ashton and Stalybridge Branch", by Robert F Hartley.

External links

• Train times and station information for Ashton-under-Lyne railway station from National Rail
• "SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST BOYS AT ASHTON": Placing Obstructions on the Railway" (news story from 1901, describing vandalism at Oldham Road)

Tameside Lines
Legend
Oldham Lines to Oldham Oldham Lines to Saddleworth Mossley Micklehurst Loop Park Bridge Micklehurst Oldham Road Staley and Millbrook Manchester Lines North to Manchester Droylsden Stalybridge Ashton Charlestown Ashton West Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton Moss Metrolink | L&NWR Ashton Park Parade Audenshaw Dukinfield and Ashton Droylsden Dukinfield Central Cemetery Road Metrolink to Manchester Guide Bridge Hooley Hill Fairfield Manchester Lines South to Hyde Road Flowery Field Manchester Lines North to Manchester Hyde North Denton Hyde Central Stockport Lines to Stockport Newton for Hyde to Marple Godley Hattersley Broadbottom Glossop lines to Glossop & Hadfield