Burton Road is a stop 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 ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

's light rail Metrolink system. It is located on Burton Road, on the border of the suburbs of

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...

and West Didsbury in

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 tram stop was opened on 23 May 2013. It was built in a

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

on a section of

abandoned railway An abandoned railroad is a railway line which is no longer used for that purpose. Such lines may be ''disused railways'', ''closed railways'', ''former railway lines'', or ''derelict'' railway lines. Some have had all their track and sleepers ...

which was re-opened for light rail operation. The line was originally opened in 1880 as the

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 ...

, which ran trains from

Manchester Central railway 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 route was closed in 1967, but was re-opened in the 21st century as part of the Metrolink network. Trams now run from through Burton Road to Manchester city centre tram stops and on to . - publicity brochure

Service pattern

*12 minute service to with double trams in the peak *12 minute service to with double trams in the peak *6 minute service to with double trams in the peak

History

In 1880 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 ama ...

opened the new

which ran from Throstle Nest Junction, Old Trafford to

Heaton Mersey Heaton Mersey is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the north-western border of Stockport, adjacent to Didsbury and Burnage in Manchester. Heaton Mersey is a mostly residential area and commuter zone for Manche ...

. The line north of Chorlton Junction (with the

Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

's line to

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

) was later operated by the

Cheshire Lines Committee The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire a ...

from 1891 when the Fallowfield line opened, and rail service ran 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 ...

to the southern suburbs. South of

Chorlton-cum-Hardy railway station Chorlton is a stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) and Airport Line of the Metrolink light-rail system in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England. It was built as part of Phase 3a of the network's expansion, and opened on 7 July 2011 on a ...

, the line ran south-east through the area with the first station at Withington railway station on the corner of Lapwing Lane and Palatine Road (Withington station was renamed Withington & Albert Park in 1884 and then Withington & West Didsbury in 1915). Withington & West Didsbury station closed in July 1961, although British Rail 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 railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

. 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

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

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 from Chorlton to East 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 Ki ...

system opened in 1992, but the Manchester South line was not included. Plans to re-open the line for light rail use were proposed in the early 1980s,but these proposals failed several times due to problems securing funding. With limited funding available, re-opening the former Midland line took place in segments; in 2006, it was announced that the Metrolink network would extend as far in Chorlton (opened 2011), and in 2008 with funding from the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, the line was extended to . 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 by the Burton Road bridge in Withington. Burton Road Metrolink stop opened on 23 May 2013. Further south along the line, the original Withington railway station was not re-opened, but was replaced with a new Metrolink stop, , in close proximity to the old station site.

Location

Burton Road tram stop is located in the area between

and West Didsbury next to Burton Road. It is the closest Metrolink stop to Withington Village; the preceding stop on the line is named but is located approximately from the suburb of Withington. It is the closest stop to

Withington Community Hospital Withington Community Hospital is a hospital in south Manchester, England, managed by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. History Originally known as the Chorlton Barlow Moor Work House, the hospital was purpose-built in 1854–55 a ...

Gallery

File:Midland to Manchester.jpg, Midland Railway lines in Manchester File:Burton Road Metrolink station.jpg, The station, on its opening day File:Burton Road tram stop (geograph 3815631).jpg, The station, looking towards West Didsbury File:Withington tram stop map.png, Map showing Metrolink tram stops in the vicinity of Withington Village

References

External links

*
Metrolink Future Network
- 2009 map of the extension plans (GMPTE)
Metrolink stop information

Burton Road area map
{{Greater Manchester Metrolink stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2013 Tram stops in Manchester Tram stops on the East Didsbury to Rochdale line Withington