East Didsbury railway station

East Didsbury
View across to the southern platform in 2015
Location
Place	East Didsbury
Local authority	Manchester
Grid reference	SJ853903
Operations
Station code	EDY
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	0.310 million
2011/12	0.343 million
2012/13	0.339 million
2013/14	0.310 million
2014/15	0.254 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Transport for Greater Manchester
History
1909	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at East Didsbury from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

East Didsbury is a suburban railway station in south Manchester, England.

On the Styal Line between Longsight (Slade Lane Junction) and Wilmslow, it is served by Manchester-Crewe trains operated by Northern, and by some peak Manchester Airport services operated by TransPennine Express.

East Didsbury tram stop is close to the railway station.

History

East Didsbury Station was opened in 1909 by the London and North Western Railway and, until 6 May 1974, was called East Didsbury and Parrs Wood.^[1][2] From 1923 the line was operated by the London Midland and Scottish Railway. Following the formation in 1948 of British Rail, rail services were operated by the London Midland Region of British Railways, then North-Western Regional Railways. Upon privatisation of rail services in 1996/7, East Didsbury was served by the North Western Trains franchise. Services to Manchester Airport began in 1993 upon the opening of the Manchester Airport spur.

Other Didsbury stations

Before the Beeching Axe of the 1960s, the Didsbury area was served by three railway stations: East Didsbury, Didsbury, and Withington and West Didsbury.

Didsbury opened in 1880 in the centre of Didsbury Village on the Midland Railway line which connected with the Cheshire Lines Committee line into Manchester Central. This connected to the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee line from Chinley, and the Midland Railway used it for its express services from London St. Pancras. It closed in 1967 and, though the building was used for a while by a hardware dealer, it has now disappeared, apart from the platforms, a clock tower and a drinking fountain dedicated to the memory of a local philanthropist, Dr. D.J. Wilson (1847–1900).^[3]

There was also Withington and West Didsbury, the next station on the line, the two being so similar in appearance that passengers sometimes alighted at the wrong one. Originally it was called "Withington", then from 1884 "Withington and Albert Park", receiving its final name in 1915. All that remains is a boundary wall; a block of flats (Brankgate Court) has been built on the site.

Services

There is a basic half-hourly service in each direction, northbound to Piccadilly and southbound to the Airport; these call at all intermediate stations.^[4] Alternate southbound trains run through to Crewe via Wilmslow and Alderley Edge. Some weekday peak period through trains to other destinations (Liverpool Lime Street and Blackpool North) also stop here.

On Sundays, there is an hourly service each way with two-hourly extensions southbound to Alderley Edge.

There is now an hourly off peak service to and from Llandudno provided by Arriva Trains Wales, this service starts at Manchester Airport.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens.
2. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine. London: IPC Transport Press. 120 (879): 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
3. Radford, J.B. (1988). Midland through the Peak: A pictorial history of the Midland Railway main line routes between Derby and Manchester. Paddock Wood: Unicorn Books. ISBN 978-1-85241-001-8
4. Northern Rail Timetable 21 – Manchester to Manchester Airport www.northernrail.org; Retrieved 2013-08-20

External links

• Train times and station information for East Didsbury railway station from National Rail

Coordinates: 53°24′33″N 2°13′18.50″W / 53.40917°N 2.2218056°W