West Didsbury is a

tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...

on the

South Manchester Line The South Manchester Line (SML) is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester running from Manchester city centre to Didsbury. The line was opened as far as St. Werburgh's Road in 2011 and then to East Didsbury in 2013 as part ...

(SML) of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

's light-rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 23 May 2013, in West

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

, South

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. The Metrolink stop sits some 300m south east of the former

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...

station of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

, which opened 1 January 1880 as Withington; was renamed on 1 July 1884 to Withington and Albert Park; renamed again on 1 April 1915 to Withington and West Didsbury; and closed 3 July 1961. The route was earmarked for redevelopment with a light rail system during the 1980s, and was confirmed and funded as part of Metrolink's Phase 3b of expansion in 2006.

Service pattern

*12 minute service to , with double trams at peak times; *12 minute service to , with double trams at peak times; *6 minute service to , with double trams at peak times.

History

Railway station

Withington and West Didsbury railway station Withington and West Didsbury railway station (previously named Withington railway station and Withington & Albert Park railway station) is a former station in West Didsbury, in the southern suburbs of Manchester, England, United Kingdom. The s ...

opened in 1880 as "Withington" when the

opened its new

Manchester South District Line Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

out of

Manchester Central Station Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester city centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it has been converted into an exhibition and conference centre, originally know ...

. The station was renamed "Withington & Albert Park" in 1884 and then "Withington & West Didsbury" in 1915. The station closed in July 1961, although local services to other stations on the Manchester South District line continued to pass through until January 1967, and express trains continued to use this route until 1969, when the entre line was closed as part of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised British Rail, railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Develop ...

. By the 2000s, the original cobbled station approach road and wall were still visible off Lapwing Lane, and the remains of the station platforms could still be seen at the bottom of the overgrown embankment.

Metrolink stop

In 1984,

Greater Manchester Council The Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilities for roads, public transport, planning, emergency services ...

and

GMPTE Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive was the public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SELNEC PTE Until 1969, the conurbati ...

announced the ''Project Light Rail'' scheme to develop a new light rail/

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

system by re-opening use of disused railway lines in the region, including the route through West Didsbury. The first phase of the

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kin ...

system opened in 1992, but it was not until 2013 that the network was expanded to reach as far as East Didsbury, as part of Phase 3b of the Metrolink expansion project. Tram tracks were laid along the former

trackbed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast a ...

and a new tram stop was constructed in the railway cutting on the opposite side of Palatine Road from the original railway station. The West Didsbury Metrolink stop opened on 23 May 2013. File:Midland to Manchester.jpg, Midland Railway lines out of Manchester, showing the Manchester South District line File:West Didsbury map 1911.jpg, 1911 OS map of West Didsbury, showing the old railway station to the north of the present tram stop File:West-didsbury-station2.jpg, The disused railway line (pictured in 2008) File:Site of the soon to be West Didsbury Metrolink station - panoramio.jpg, The disused railway line (pictured in 2011) File:Construction of West Didsbury Metrolink Station (geograph 4292632).jpg, Construction of the new West Didsbury Metrolink strop in 2011 File:Didsbury transport map.png, Map of Didsbury showing the locations of the old station and the tram stop

References

External links