Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has welcomed the decision by Northern to reverse their plans to temporarily stop all services on the Rose Hill Marple – Manchester Piccadilly line.
Northern Rail had previously advised that the service would be suspended on a ‘temporary basis’ from early September to mid December 2020, which would have seen no trains at all stopping at Fairfield Station in Audenshaw.
Gwynne worked with fellow MPs William Wragg (Conservative, Hazel Grove) and Jonathan Reynolds (Labour, Stalybridge and Hyde) to try to get the decision reversed, as well as Audenshaw’s three councillors (Oliver Ryan, Teresa Smith and Charlotte Martin) and Stockport’s transport lead Cllr David Meller.
During an adjournment debate this evening, secured by Wragg, Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris announced that from the beginning of half-term on 26 October, Northern intends to introduce a temporary 90-minute interval service from Rose Hill to Manchester via Fairfield across the day and ending in the evening.
The intention is still to return to the full service at normal levels in December.
Andrew Gwynne said:
“Whilst we would all like to have seen an immediate return to the full service, this is very welcome news for many of my constituents who rely on this service.
“I am particularly happy that trains will continue to call at Fairfield Station, in my constituency, but the Rose Hill to Manchester service is also important for those in Haughton Green who use Hyde Central station. Temporary closure would also have caused extra pressure on the line through Reddish North, which has thankfully been avoided.
“This was a great example of cross-party working and I’m sure that we will all be monitoring the situation closely to ensure that Northern resumes a full service from mid-December as promised.”