There will be no Sunday trains at Slaithwaite and Marsden from 1st April. The information is available, via Metro or Northern Rail’s timetables, but not particularly easy to find and rather vague as to where the replacement buses call.
Why?
Stalybridge station is to be remodelled, creating two extra platforms. One is to be a bay platform facing towards Manchester Victoria, next to the buffet bar. This will be for the Stalybridge to Liverpool trains which will no longer have to cross the main line. There will be one additional through platform, which will enable express trains to overtake local trains at Stalybridge, in either direction. This gives more flexibility to reduce the impact of delays.
The construction process will cause some disruption.
When?
There will be no Sunday trains from 1st April to 24th June and again from 16th September to 3rd December. [Actually that’s not quite true, there will be one mid-evening train from Huddersfield to Marsden and back.]
During October half term the line will be closed (a “complete blockade” at Stalybridge, as it has been described) with Trans Pennine expresses sent along the Calder Valley route through Todmorden & Rochdale and a replacement bus between Victoria and Huddersfield. SMART has requested that during that week, trains should continue to run from Huddersfield to Marsden and back.
Replacement bus services
Where from?
According to the timetables published by Metro and by Northern Rail, buses will call at Marsden “town centre” and Slaithwaite “town centre”.
If you were to assume, as well you might, that Marsden town centre meant somewhere near the Mechanics Hall, you’d be wrong. Actually the replacement buses will call on Manchester Road, next to the New Inn.
- Services towards Manchester use bus stop 45019367, opposite the New Inn.
- Services towards Huddersfield use bus stop 45015146, outside the New Inn.
Likewise, if you were to assume that Slaithwaite town centre means somewhere near either the circular car park, the roundabout or the library, you’d be wrong again. Actually the rail replacement buses will call at the bus stops outside the Star Hotel on Manchester Road.
- Services towards Manchester use bus stop 45028140, opposite the Star Inn
- Services towards Huddersfield use bus stop 45019392, outside the Star Inn.
At all other intermediate stations – Greenfield, Mossley, Stalybridge, Ashton – the replacement bus calls on the station forecourt.
Having discovered where the replacement bus calls, when?
| Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Train | Bus | |
| Huddersfield | 0910 | 1010 | 1110 | 1210 | 1310 | 1410 | 1510 | 1610 | 1710 | 1810 | 1910 | 2010 | 2110 | 2119 | 2210 |
| Slaithwaite | 0926 | 1026 | 1126 | 1226 | 1326 | 1426 | 1526 | 1626 | 1726 | 1826 | 1926 | 2026 | 2126 | 2126 | 2226 |
| Marsden | 0931 | 1031 | 1131 | 1231 | 1331 | 1431 | 1531 | 1631 | 1731 | 1831 | 1931 | 2031 | 2131 | 2133 | 2231 |
| Manchester Victoria | 1038 | 1138 | 1238 | 1338 | 1438 | 1538 | 1638 | 1738 | 1838 | 1938 | 2038 | 2138 | 2238 | 2338 |
| Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Bus | Train | Bus | |
| Manchester Victoria | 0817 | 0917 | 1043 | 1143 | 1243 | 1343 | 1443 | 1543 | 1643 | 1743 | 1843 | 1943 | 2119 | |
| Marsden | 0924 | 1024 | 1150 | 1250 | 1350 | 1450 | 1550 | 1650 | 1750 | 1850 | 1950 | 2050 | 2147 | 2150 |
| Slaithwaite | 0931 | 1031 | 1155 | 1255 | 1355 | 1455 | 1555 | 1655 | 1755 | 1855 | 1955 | 2055 | 2151 | 2155 |
| Huddersfield | 0945 | 1045 | 1211 | 1311 | 1411 | 1511 | 1611 | 1711 | 1811 | 1911 | 2011 | 2111 | 2157 | 2211 |
One thing which is worthy of note is how much slower the bus is than the train. The train can get from Victoria to Marsden in 32 minutes. The replacement bus takes 67 minutes. Another reason why our local train service is so valuable.
You’d thing that the bus would of least drop people off at Slaithwaite and Marsden train stations. Not happy at all. Sunday is the main day of the week that I use the train.
First of all, thank you for submitting a real, relevant comment. Every day we delete large numbers of adverts for Canadian pharmaceuticals and fake passports, nonsense in pidgin English from people who don’t know what a preposition is, and comments in Cyrillic script (never bothered getting a translation – possibly Russian pharmaceuticals). It’s a rare pleasure to receive something intelligible and relevant.
In previous years when there has been a Sunday closure in the Autumn (for tunnel maintenance), there have been trains running from Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield via the Calder Valley. This year, the Sunday timetable is a rather strange effort, with westbound trains going into Huddersfield, then going on to Manchester and Liverpool via the Calder Valley. Eastbound trains, however, don’t call at Huddersfield. It’s not clear why.
Passengers travelling from Manchester to Huddersfield (in that direction) are being advised to go to Victoria and catch the bus. So the bus is trying to take longer distance passengers as well as travellers to local stations.
I had the privilege – if such it be – of travelling on the rail replacement bus yesterday.
It was not what I would call a satisfactory experience.
The bus I travelled on from Victoria was full, and left early. I didn’t see a second bus for any extra passengers. It took 35 minutes to get from Victoria to Ashton, a distance of 6½ miles, which is not a satisfactory replacement. It’s quicker by bike.
Usually Sunday afternoon trains have a decent number of university students with bulky luggage. There did not appear to be any, so come term time, there could be some serious chaos.
Replacement buses do not provide the same standard of service as trains, in terms of
· Journey time
· Luggage space
· Ride quality
and should be used as little as necessary.
Whilst accepting that some disruption is inevitable to allow the rebuilding of Stalybridge station, we would argue that there are ways of minimising the inconvenience to passengers, involving the following:
1. Eastbound Trans-Pennine trains to call at Huddersfield
2. local service to operate between Victoria and Ashton
3. local service to operate between Huddersfield and Marsden
4. replacement bus to run between Marsden and Ashton, calling at all stations
Gav, and anyone else who stumbles on this website and who travels on the replacement buses, please let us know of your experiences. It could be done a lot better, and if no-one points out the problems then the railway companies, TfGM and Metro will think that everything is working fine.
My problem is work. Living in Ashton and Working in Marsden is a pain ona Sunday when it takes an hour to replace a journey that takes 20mins by train. Roll on end of June.
Afraid it’s only a temporary reprieve. The Sunday chaos starts again in September and continues until December. Whilst accepting that the engineering works at Stalybridge have to be done (and in the long term will benefit passengers), we are not at all convinced that the train operating companies and Metro are doing their best to minimise the disruption to people living and working along the Huddersfield to Stalybridge route.