Place Greenfield Station code GNF DfT category E Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SD991046 Managed by Northern 2011/12 0.306 million | |
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Address Greenfield, Oldham OL3 7JZ, United Kingdom Original company London and North Western Railway Pte Transport for Greater Manchester Similar Huddersfield railway station, Stalybridge railway station, Birchwood railway station, Smithy Bridge railway st, Mossley railway station | ||
Greenfield railway station featuring lner a3 60103 4472 flying scotsman
Greenfield railway station in the village of Greenfield, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Huddersfield Line 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Manchester Victoria. It is the final station in Greater Manchester before the West Yorkshire boundary.
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Greenfield railway station
History
The line through Greenfield was constructed by the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway, which was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway on 9 July 1847 before any of it was opened. The section between Huddersfield and Stalybridge was opened on 1 August 1849, and the station at Greenfield was opened the same day.
On 1 September 1851, the branch to Delph opened, which left the main line at Delph Junction, about a mile to the north of Greenfield; Greenfield was the last station before the junction until Moorgate Halt opened in 1912. A second branch, to Oldham, opened on 5 July 1856; it left the main line just to the south of Greenfield.
Passenger services on the Delph & Oldham branches were withdrawn in May 1955, with complete closure following in 1964. A defunct bay can still be seen at the Stalybridge end of the station. This was used by some trains from the Oldham direction. For many years the station had a peak only service (see BR timetable 1974 et seq.).
The Beeching Report proposed closure of all stations between Stalybridge and Huddersfield. In 1968 half these stations were closed including Diggle and Saddleworth, leaving only Greenfield to serve the Saddleworth area. This means that Greenfield is Saddleworth's only remaining railway station. After the Oldham Loop Line closed in 2009, it was also Oldham's only remaining railway station.
Facilities
Planning permission for the refurbishment of Greenfield railway station was granted in early 2008. This was to provide a new ticket office, refurbished waiting areas, toilets, and possibly a small shop, and was due to be completed in the Winter of 2008. After some problems with planning regulations and the original building contractor going into administration, the new facilities were finally completed in Spring 2009. The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis (Mondays to Saturdays, morning to early afternoon only) and there is also a ticket vending machine available. Step-free access is limited to the Manchester-bound platform only, as the Huddersfield-bound one can only be reached by footbridge.
Services
From Monday to Saturday, Greenfield is served by an hourly Northern service from Manchester Victoria station to Huddersfield station, with some additional service in the peaks. There is also an hourly Sunday service each way since the 2008-9 timetable came into effect. A few services are extended to/from Leeds eastbound and to Wigan Wallgate or Southport westbound.
The more frequent TransPennine Express service, from Manchester Piccadilly station passes through Greenfield without stopping. However, these trains will stop at Greenfield and Marsden in the future as part of the Northern Hub project.
The station is also handy for the nearby reservoirs of Dovestones, and Chew as well as the whole of Chew Valley in the Peak District National Park.
Since the closure of the Oldham Loop Line in 2009, Greenfield is now the only remaining railway station within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.