Middlewood_railway_station Knowpia

Middlewood
Middlewood
	The station in 2013
General information
Location	High Lane, Metropolitan Borough of Stockport; England
Grid reference	SJ945848
Managed by	Northern
Transit authority	Transport for Greater Manchester
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	MDL
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	London and North Western Railway
Key dates
2 June 1879	Opened as Middlewood for Norbury
1 July 1899	Renamed Middlewood for High Lane
25 July 1951	Renamed Middlewood Lower
6 May 1968	Renamed Middlewood
Passengers
2018/19	32,386
2019/20	30,876
2020/21	7,784
2021/22	21,116
2022/23	18,758
Notes
	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Middlewood railway station serves the village of High Lane in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a stop on the Buxton Line between Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport and Buxton. The station is managed and served by Northern Trains; it is the last station on the line within the Transport for Greater Manchester ticketing area.

There is no vehicular access to the station. Access is only by woodland paths, with the nearest road being some 870 yards (800 m) away. It is one of the three stations that provide access to the Middlewood Way rail trail.

History edit

The station was opened in 1879 by the London and North Western Railway on the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway, which they had acquired in 1866. The construction and opening of the station was concurrent with the construction and opening of the adjacent Middlewood Higher station on the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway to provide an interchange for passengers wishing to travel between Macclesfield and Buxton with the two stations linked by a flight of steps.^[2] Originally called Middlewood for Norbury, the station was renamed three times. In 1899, it became Middlewood for High Lane; then it was retitled Middlewood Lower in 1951, before becoming simply Middlewood in 1968.^[1]

In July 2009, Poynton Town Council announced their intention to install a bicycle rack and improve signage in and around the station, partly funded with the aid of a grant from the High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership. These improvements were implemented, along with the installation of additional lighting, a new PA system and a Hearing Induction Loop.

Work to repair the 2016 landslip just past the station's platforms

In June 2016, a landslip at the station following heavy rain meant that all services were suspended between Hazel Grove and Buxton until 25 June. Parts of the track and platform were both affected.^[3]

Service edit

There is generally a two-hourly service in each direction, Mondays-Sundays; services run to Manchester Piccadilly northbound and to Buxton southbound. There are additional services at peak periods. Other trains pass through the station without stopping.^[4]^[5]

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Hazel Grove		Northern Trains Buxton line		Disley

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 314. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
^ Jeuda, Basil (1983). The Macclesfield, Bollington & Marple Railway: The Great Central and North Staffordshire Joint Railway. Eaton Press. pp. 16–17. ISBN 0904532-04-6.
^ "Flash floods close Buxton and Hazel Grove railway line until Sunday". BBC News. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
^ Table 86 National Rail timetable, Dec 2023
^ "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.