Woodlands Road tram stop

Woodlands Road was a tram stop on the Bury Line of the Metrolink system in the Cheetham Hill area of north Manchester, England. It opened in 1913 as a heavy rail station and closed for conversion to light rail in 1991, opening with the new Metrolink system in 1992.

Woodlands Road
Metrolink
Woodlands Road tram stop in 2009
Woodlands Road Location of Woodlands Road in Greater Manchester
Location
Place	Cheetham Hill
Local authority	Manchester
Coordinates	53.5081°N 2.2326°W
Grid reference	SD846013
Platforms	2
Fare zone information
Metrolink Zone	C
Present status	Disused
Operations
Original operator	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Pre-grouping company	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping company	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail
History
Opened	3 March 1913
Closed as rail station	17 August 1991
Conversion to Metrolink operation	6 April 1992
Former name	Woodlands Road Halt
Renamed	after 1923
Closed	16 December 2013
Bury Line Bury Bolton Street East Lancashire Railway River Irwell Radcliffe River Irwell Whitefield Besses o' th' Barn  M60  Prestwich Heaton Park Bowker Vale Crumpsall Abraham Moss to Queens Road Depot Queens Road to Rochdale River Irk Manchester Victoria  to Altrincham & Piccadilly
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
A B C D-F G H-J K-L M-O P-R S T-V W-Z

Woodlands Road was the closest station to the Manchester Museum of Transport on Boyle Street. Two new stations opened nearby, (Abraham Moss and Queens Road), which led to the closure of the stop on 16 December 2013.[1]

History

The original railway line was opened in 1879 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway between Manchester Victoria and Bury.[2] Woodlands Road, Bowker Vale and Besses o' th' Barn stations were added to the line in 1913, in an attempt to fend off growing electric tramway competition in the Cheetham Hill area. The original halt had wooden platforms. The site is near the vanished junction of a former branch line to the chemical works in Blackley.

Closure

Map showing the developments to the Metrolink network; two new tram stops opened at Abraham Moss and Queens Road while Woodlands Road closed

The UK Government announced that £4 million from the Community Infrastructure Fund was awarded to two new stops on the Bury Metrolink line. This was part of £30 million allocated to transport projects to support thousands of extra homes being built across the country over the coming months. The Chairman of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority, Councillor Keith Whitmore, stated that the funding would help realise a long-held ambition to open new Metrolink stops in the area.

The two new stops were:

• Abraham Moss (opened 2011), situated close to the Abraham Moss Centre, the library and leisure centre and the City College Manchester; it is located approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km) from Woodlands Road station.
• Queens Road (opened 2013), providing a closer stop to the Museum of Transport. The site is close to the Queens Road tram depot and there was a small tram halt there for Metrolink staff only, which was replaced by a full passenger station. The station opened on 16 December 2013.[3]

[4]

These two new tram stops replaced Woodlands Road station, which was closed on 16 December 2013; the decision provoked some opposition from local residents who campaigned to retain the station.[5]

Services

Woodlands Road was located on the Bury Line with trams towards Bury stopping every 6 minutes between 9:59 am and 4 pm, Mondays to Fridays.[6] with no weekend or evening service. This was due to the opening of the nearby Abraham Moss Metrolink station further north along the Bury line.[7]

Connecting bus routes

Woodlands Road was a Metrolink station that was not served by any bus service. The nearest bus services were the 151, 156 and 165 on Hazelbottom Road or Smedley Road and the 88, 89 and 135 on Cheetham Hill Road.[8]

Woodlands Road railway station in 1989

References

1. "New Queens Road Metrolink stop to open". Transport for Greater Manchester.
2. Hindle, Paul. "Manchester Victoria to Bury: an historical trip on Metrolink" (PDF). Manchester Geographical Society. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
3. "New Queens Road Metrolink stop to open". Metrolink.
4. "Funding pledged for two new tram stops on the Bury Metrolink line". Transport for Greater Manchester. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
5. "Protesters fight to keep Woodlands Road Metrolink stop open". Manchester Evening News. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
6. "Metrolink - Tram Times - Woodlands Road". Metrolink / Transport for Greater Manchester. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
7. "18/04/2011 - Abraham Moss stop opens". Metrolink. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
8. "Transport for Greater Manchester - Journey Planning - Network Maps". Transport for Greater Manchester. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

External links

• Woodlands Road Stop Information
• Woodlands Road area map

Manchester railways
City Centre and North Past, present and future
Manchester Metrolink Main line services to Rochdale to Oldham Moston Newton Heath to Bury Newton Heath and Moston Bowker Vale to Tameside Crumpsall Clayton Bridge Abraham Moss Park Woodlands Road to Tameside Queens Road Central Park Monsall Edge Lane Miles Platting Clayton Hall Velopark Oldham Road Holt Town Manchester Victoria Etihad Campus Exchange New Islington to Ordsall Chord and to Salford Ardwick Shudehill Ashburys High Street │ Manchester Piccadilly Mayfield Market Street │ Piccadilly Gardens to South Manchester Exchange Square Gorton Mosley Street Manchester Oxford Road St Peter's Square to Belle Vue Manchester Central │ Deansgate- Castlefield Deansgate Liverpool Road to Hyde Road to Ordsall Chord and to Salford to Tameside Cornbrook Cornbrook Pomona to Eccles Trafford Bar to Trafford to Trafford Firswood to Altrincham to Chorlton