From 18 February, we are introducing two additional Saturday evening services between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale.
The trains will leave Victoria at 19.55 and 20.55, with the return services from Rochdale at 20.25 and 21.25, providing a half-hourly service until late evening, when combined with the existing Calder Valley services.
Lee Wasnidge, Area Director West for Northern comments: “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, said: “By listening to local rail users and looking at service patterns, we could see a definite demand for more Saturday evening trains between Manchester and Rochdale.
“We’ll always try to work with operators like Northern 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 a 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.”
Richard Greenwood, Chairman of Rail User Group STORM said: "STORM is very pleased that Northern has found it possible to fill in two gaps in the Saturday evening service between Manchester and Rochdale by running extra trains. Over the past three years Northern has made great strides in filling these gaps which is of great benefit to the travelling public."
