Additional Saturday evening services for rail passengers

Date published: 29 January 2012

Next month will see the introduction of two additional Saturday evening train services between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale.

From 18 February, the trains will depart from Victoria at 07.55pm  and 08.55pm, with the return services from Rochdale at 08.25pm and 09.25pm, providing a half hourly service until late evening, when combined with the existing Calder Valley services.

Richard Greenwood, Chairman of Rail User Group STORM, said:  "STORM is very pleased that Northern Rail has found it possible to fill in two gaps in the Saturday evening service between Manchester and Rochdale by running extra trains.”

Lee Wasnidge, Area Director West for Northern Rail said: “In the run up to Christmas we ran these additional Saturday services in order to meet the increased demand for shopping and entertainment. With an increase in the cost of motoring, more people want to travel by train as rail travel is great value for money and more environmentally friendly.  We are delighted to be able to respond now by providing these extra services every Saturday for Greater Manchester.”

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, added: “By listening to local rail users and looking at service patterns, we could see a definite demand for that more Saturday evening trains between Manchester and Rochdale.

“We’ll always try to work with operators like Northern Rail to make sure that local communities can access the right services at the right times, and it’s great to see the new Manchester-Rochdale services on the timetable as result.

“Trains aren’t just for getting people to work – they connect people with leisure opportunities too. Regular Saturday evening services mean people can enjoy an evening out and leave the car at home.”