Frequently Asked Questions


Who owns Walkden station ?

The station platforms and buildings, as well as the track, are all property of Network Rail. The station is leased to Northern Rail for the duration of their franchise. One effect of this landlord/tennant arrangement is that any significant repairs or improvements have to be arranged by the landlord Network Rail, which makes it more difficult for Northern Rail to carry out improvements themselves.

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Who runs the trains ?

All the services from Walkden are run by Northern Rail who hold a franchise for 8¾ years to operate the vast majority of suburban and regional train services in the north of England.

Northern Rail is a joint venture owned by Serco Group plc and NedRailways (part of Dutch Railways). Their franchise runs from December 2004 until 2013.

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What is GMPTE's role ?

The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) is responsible for implementing public transport policies decided by the GM Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA). The Authority is formed of 33 councillors from the 10 Greater Manchester District Councils, including 3 members from Salford.

The Authority and Executive are responsible for a host of issues surrounding the planning, provision and promotion of public transport, including specifying the level of train services and subsidising bus services in the region. They also publish transport publicity, run concessionary fare schemes and plan major strategic investments like the redevelopment of Salford Central station and the Metrolink expansion.

The three Salford councillors on the GMPTA are:

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How do I make a comment or complaint about the station or services ?

To make a complaint or comment about the station or services, contact Northern Rail's Customer Services by calling 0845 600 1159, emailing Customer.Relations@northernrail.org, or writing to:

Customer Relations Department,
Northern Rail Limited,
PO Box 208,
Leeds,
LS1 2BU.

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Why don't any trains stop here on a Sunday ?

Sunday services from Walkden were scrapped by British Rail around 50 years ago, but massive changes in work and leisure patterns since then means that the lack of Sunday services at such a busy station is now a major problem. In fact the Atherton line is the only major line around the Manchester area that is still without a Sunday service.

The services that Northern run around Manchester are under-written by GMPTE who also set service levels for the various routes in the area. Therefore it is GMPTE who need to be persuaded of the need for Sunday services at Walkden in order to include them in their service specification to Northern. FOWS are campaigning for the local councillors and MPs along the route of the Atherton line to bring pressure on GMPTE over Sunday services, a campaign that members of the public can help with by expressing their concerns directly to their councillor and MP.

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Why don't any trains go direct to Piccadilly or the Airport ?

All Manchester services from Walkden go to Victoria when clearly there is demand for some direct services to the south side of the city centre and the airport. Connections are available at Salford Crescent but this is less convenient and the waiting times are sometimes long.

The routes which trains run along are governed by a very complex bidding arrangement between the owners of the tracks (Network Rail) and the companies wishing to run trains over them. The route between Salford Crescent and Oxford Road (the route that Walkden trains would need to take in order to reach Piccadilly) is one of the busiest stretches of railway in the country being heavily used by Transpennine Express, Arriva Trains, Cross Country and Northern Rail, as well as freight operators, and Northern have simply not been able to obtain the necessary extra slots to run more trains over this route.

FOWS understand the practical difficulties of gaining extra paths into Manchester Piccadilly but are urging Northern Rail to look at more imaginative use of their existing slots, for example alternating the Piccadilly paths between the existing services running to Atherton and Bolton.

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Why don't some of the trains from Atherton stop in the morning when the other trains are so over-crowded ?

Two 4-carriage trains leave Atherton for Manchester every weekday morning but don't call at Walkden. For commuters waiting at Walkden for an over-crowded 2-carriage service which is often too crowded for them to board, the sight of the relatively lightly-loaded longer trains sailing through is incredibly frustrating.

The reason the trains do not call at Walkden is due to the artificially shortened platform that we currently have - reduced in length some years ago in a short-sighted cost-saving exercise. The 4-carriage trains from Atherton are simply too long to stop safely within the operational length of platform.

After an FOWS campaign supported by local MP Barbara Keeley, Northern Rail have agreed to lengthen the platform to accommodate the longer Atherton trains. However, Northern cannot start the re-opening work because the station is owned by Network Rail who have to approve any major infrastructure works. There are also issues over signage, platform markings, crew training and timetable changes to be worked through, but FOWS believe Northern Rail are fully committed to this project and will progress it as quickly as Network Rail will permit.

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How will the Greater Manchester "TIF" money benefit Walkden ?

GMPTE has recently been granted government approval to proceed with plans for its ambitious Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) scheme to boost investment in local public transport services by up to £3 billion. As part of the TIF investment plans Walkden station has been ear-marked for installation of CCTV, real-time passenger information displays and help points, and the Atherton line as a whole will receive extra trains and carriages to alleviate over-crowding.

The TIF investment is due within the next 3-5 years, but a more detailed investment timetable has not yet been published.

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Why is the step from the platform to the trains so high ?

The large step from platform level to train doorways is a widely acknowledged problem at Walkden, making access difficult or impossible for mobility-impaired passengers and presenting a risk of falling to everyone (indeed, there have been several alarming incidents of passengers falling into the gap between train and platform in recent years). The unusually high step is thought to have been caused by years of successive track maintenance work which has seen each new set of ballast stones laid under the rails progressively raising the track level higher and higher.

FOWS have led an active campaign to address what we believe to be a serious safety issue and major inconvenience to many passengers. We have persuaded Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation to inspect the site, but unfortunately neither body has been prepared to take responsibility for solving the problem, even after confirming that the gap is several times greater than current safety recommendations.

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What's happening with the disused section of platform beyond the fence ?

Northern Rail are working with Network Rail to re-open the disused section of platform and allow longer 4-carriage trains to stop at Walkden. A Network Rail survey found the platform had deteriorated quite badly during its years of closure, and they are now working on a plan to renovate and re-open a strip down either side of the platform. In this way the operational length of the platform could be increased at minimal cost. FOWS have offered to use the central area that will remain as a station garden. Network Rail have not yet announced a timetable for this work.

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How can I get involved with the Friends of Walkden Station ?

If you would like to get involved with the Friends of Walkden Station or just like to know a little more about what we do, please click here for our contact details.

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How are disabled passengers supposed to use the station ?

There are almost 50 steps to reach the platform at Walkden station, with no lift, ramp or alternative access available. It is clearly an inaccessible place for any passengers in wheelchairs or who otherwise have difficulty with steps.

As tennants and operators of the station Northern Rail have a Disabled Persons Protection Policy (DPPP) that sets out the services disabled passengers can expect when travelling with Northern. So far as FOWS understand, the key points with most relevance to Walkden are:

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How can I get advice on the cheapest tickets and fares ?

You can find fare and ticket information at Northern Rail's website or National Rail Enquiries.

Or if you can call into the station during staffed hours (approx. Mon-Sat 0700 - 1330) the booking office staff are trained to help you find the best tickets for your journey - locally or nationally.

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Why aren't there enough trains for all passengers to travel comfortably ?

Decisions about how many trains are needed (and whereabouts in the country they are used) are heavily influenced, if not absolutely controlled, by central government who unfortunately failed to predict the dramatic growth in the number of people using the railways. The problem is affecting all parts of the country (you may have seen news reports of passenger strikes in the South West provoked by chronic under-supply of carriages), but the large cities in the North are recognised as being among the worst affected areas.

The government has announced that an extra 1,100 carriages will become available over the next few years, with around 180 destined for Northern Rail, but a schedule for their delivery has not been published. In fact Northern is unlikely to receive any brand new trains for our area, but should inherit trains as they are released by other operators getting newly built ones.

Northern Rail, in common with the other train operators, has surprisingly little control over this process. As franchises are only granted for a few years (8 in Northern's case) the operators cannot afford to invest in new trains because they have no chance of recouping the massive capital investment required in the relatively short duration of the franchise. Hence almost all trains in this country are owned by investment companies (called RoSCos - Rolling Stock Companies) and leased to the operators.

In West Yorkshire where similar over-crowding problems exist the local Passenger Transport Executive (West Yorkshire Metro) has chosen to invest some of its own money into leasing extra carriages for Northern to use, but GMPTE have not announced any intention to launch a similar scheme here.

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Are there any changes planned for services from Walkden station ?

A major review of the Manchester area timetable has been taking place ready for changes in December 2008 when Virgin increase their Manchester-London service from two to three trains an hour during the day. In a busy area like Manchester a change like this affects virtually every other service directly or indirectly, so lots of local lines are preparing for substantial changes (some good, some bad) to their services.

As it happens the service from Walkden is one of the least affected lines with (unfortunately) no extra trains planned and no plans for a Sunday service, nor direct trains to Piccadilly or the Airport. In fact the only changes announced so far are the times of connecting services from Salford Crescent. In general these will improve (ie shorten) over the current timetable, but it's likely there will also be some longer waits amongst the general improvements.

Aside from the December 2008 changes Northern Rail have agreed in principle to stop the rush-hour Atherton express trains at Walkden, but this is dependent on the disused section of platform being re-opened (click here for more on this subject).

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Why aren't there any litter bins ?

Well, sometimes there are ! At FOWS request Northern Rail fitted "hoop and bag" litter bins at the top and bottom of the station steps in 2007. Unfortunately the bins' design is rather too flimsy and - despite regularly being replaced by Northern - they're often destroyed by vandals, sometimes within days of installation

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