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Glossop line
A Northern Rail Class 323 electric multiple unit rounds a curve near Dinting in 2008
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	East Midlands North West England
Termini	Manchester Piccadilly Glossop
Stations	13
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Northern Trains
Depot(s)	Longsight Electric TMD
Rolling stock	Class 323
Technical
Number of tracks	Double track
Character	Suburban rail
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Glossop line
Legend
to Liverpool & Preston Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Mayfield to Huddersfield line West Coast Main Line Ardwick* to Huddersfield line Ashburys Hope Valley line Gorton Fallowfield Loop line Fairfield* M60 motorway to Huddersfield line Stockport– Stalybridge line Guide Bridge to Stalybridge Stalybridge Junction Rly River Tame Peak Forest Canal Hope Valley line Flowery Field Newton for Hyde M67 motorway Godley Cheshire Lines Committee to Woodley Godley Junction Hattersley Broadbottom Etherow Viaduct over River Etherow Greater Manchester Derbyshire Dinting Viaduct over Glossop Brook Dinting Glossop Hadfield Woodhead line
* Not served by Glossop line.

The Glossop line is a railway line connecting the city of Manchester with the towns of Hadfield and Glossop in Derbyshire, England. It formed part of the historic Great Central Main Line between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield Victoria. Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains.

History

The line is the surviving section, west of the Pennines, of the Woodhead Line, which was electrified in the early 1950s; passenger services east of Hadfield were withdrawn in 1970, followed by complete closure of the line in 1981.

Hattersley was opened in 1978, around 750 metres (820 yd) east of the then Godley station site, to serve the 1960s Hattersley estate. In 1985, the Flowery Field and new Godley stations were built; this new Godley site is around 500m west of the original Godley station, then renamed Godley East. These two stations, along with Ryder Brow on the Hope Valley line, were built to a minimum standard, using hollow wooden structures compared the more grandiose stonework of original stations, like Newton for Hyde or Glossop. Godley East was then closed in 1986, effectively being replaced by the newer Godley and Hattersley stations.

In December 1984, the Manchester–Glossop/Hadfield line electrification was converted from 1500 V DC to 25 kV AC. Class 303 EMUs took over from the veteran Class 506 units. The 303s later returned to the Glasgow area and were, in turn, replaced by Class 304 and Class 305 units before the then new Class 323 units were introduced to the line in November 1997. These units were due to transfer to the West Midlands in 2017 to be replaced by four car units, and as these trains were longer, platform extensions at Godley and Flowery Field were carried out in the late 2010s. Network Rail plans to further lengthen platforms to support six carriage Class 331/0 units by 2043.

After Manchester Piccadilly, the busiest station on the line is Glossop, followed by Hadfield and Guide Bridge.

Route

The following table summarises the line's thirteen stations, their distance measured from Manchester Piccadilly and estimated number of passenger entries/exits in 2019/20:

The same train serves Glossop and Hadfield via one of three routings:

During the autumn "leaf fall" timetable, this pattern is modified so that the morning rush hour pattern is extended to about midday and the evening rush hour pattern starts as soon as the morning rush hour pattern finishes.

The line also includes a closed station at Godley East. This station was originally Godley Junction and was renamed Godley when the line to Stockport Tiviot Dale, via Woodley, was closed. The station became Godley East when the current Godley station was built slightly west in the 1980s.

There are also remnants of a platform and shelter near Gamesley, between Broadbottom and Dinting. Known as Mottram Staff Halt, it served the former Mottram Goods Yard.

Future proposals

Network Rail's Route 20 NW Urban Route Plan 2008 suggested the following improvements for 2009–2014 (Control Period 4) and 2014+ (Control Period 5). Potentially introduce a new Piccadilly – Stalybridge service, helping the Hadfield/Glossop service to achieve better utilisation and consequently avoid excessive platform lengthening.

Other potential changes include raising the linespeed around Dinting triangle from the present 10 mph-40 mph to 10 mph-50 mph, and the linespeed from Guide Bridge to Dinting from 60 mph to "up to 90 mph". Raising the linespeed will help the same number of units to work a 4tph (train per hour) service when they currently can only work 3 TPH, and incidentally avoids platform lengthening that would otherwise be necessary. New turnback facility would be provided (with associated OHLE works) in the Broadbottom/Gamesley area.

A new facility to stable 20 vehicles at Guide Bridge, will be required for new vehicles to arrive as part of the DfT Rolling Stock Plan.

Metrolink

In the early 1980s, proposals were put forward to convert the Glossop line to light rail operation for the proposed Manchester Metrolink system. While construction of Metrolink went ahead, the Glossop line was not included in the system. In November 2013 the Greater Manchester Combined Authority approved a recommended strategy for reconfiguring existing commuter services into tram-train operation; identifying the Glossop line as potentially suitable for conversion within Phase 2 of the tram-train strategy.

See also

• Manchester–Sheffield–Wath electric railway
• Audenshaw Junction rail accident

References

1. "Train diagrams for December 2023 to June 2024 - a Freedom of Information request to Northern Trains Limited". WhatDoTheyKnow. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
2. "Arriva's plans for rolling stock on Glossop Line as from April 2016". Friends Of Glossop Station. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
3. ^ "Greater Manchester's South East Rail Corridor Study 2020" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2021.
4. "Route 20: North West Urban" (PDF). Route Plans 2008. Network Rail. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
5. Transport for Greater Manchester (2013), Tram-train Strategy, TfGM – committee report

v t e Railway lines in the East Midlands
Primary	Chiltern Main Line Cross Country Route East Coast Main Line Midland Main Line West Coast Main Line
Local	Barton line Birmingham–Peterborough line Buxton line Crewe–Derby line Derwent Valley line Doncaster–Lincoln line Glossop line Hope Valley line Ivanhoe line Northampton loop Nottingham–Grantham line Nottingham–Lincoln line Oakham–Kettering line Poacher Line Robin Hood Line Sheffield–Lincoln line South Humberside Main Line
Freight only	Leicester–Burton upon Trent line Shirebrook to High Marnham Castle Donington Line
Heritage	Battlefield Line Railway Chasewater Railway Churnet Valley Railway Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Foxfield Railway Great Central Railway Lincolnshire Wolds Railway Midland Railway – Butterley Nene Valley Railway Northampton & Lamport Railway Nottingham Heritage Railway Peak Rail Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway Rutland Railway (Cottesmore)

v t e Railway lines in the North West
Primary to London	West Coast Main Line
Other	Inter-regional Buxton line Calder Valley line Chester–Warrington line Crewe–Derby line Glossop line Hope Valley line Huddersfield line Leeds–Morecambe line Mid-Cheshire line Morecambe branch line Ribble Valley line Stafford–Manchester line Tyne Valley line Weaver Junction–Liverpool line Intra-regional Blackpool branch lines Borderlands line Chester–Birkenhead line Crewe–Manchester line Cumbrian Coast line East Lancashire line Furness line Hooton–Helsby line Kirkby branch line Liverpool–Manchester lines Liverpool–Wigan line Manchester–Preston line Manchester–Southport line Northern line Ormskirk branch line Settle–Carlisle line Stockport–Stalybridge line Styal line Windermere branch line Wirral line
Heritage	East Lancashire Railway Eden Valley Railway Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway Ribble Steam Railway

• Rail transport in Derbyshire
• Rail transport in Greater Manchester
• Railway lines in the East Midlands
• Railway lines in North West England
• Standard gauge railways in England