The line was built in conjunction with the Midland Railway's extension of its line to Millers Dale, thus it was also used by the latter's trains from London to Manchester Store Street (later called London Road, now Piccadilly). Until the Midland moved to Manchester Central in 1880, as a member of the Cheshire Lines Committee, Marple was where carriages for Liverpool would be attached or detached.
At the time it had extensive station buildings, the Midland waiting room having upholstered seats and a coal fire in an attractive fireplace for cold winter days. It was rebuilt in 1970 and the MS&L facilities were demolished, with new brick buildings replacing the Midland's offices.
From Marple to Romiley, the line passes through Marple Tunnel to the junction with the short branch to Rose Hill Marple; it then takes the 308-yard (282 m) long stone viaduct that crosses the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal, alongside the Marple Aqueduct.
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
In 1902, when Agatha Christie was twelve, her sister Margaret married James Watts and they lived at Abney Hall, Cheadle. Christie, encouraged by Watts to write, was a frequent visitor to Abney Hall from a young age into adulthood.[2] The area around the hall and Cheadle inspired many settings within her books.[3] From her home in Devon, Christie often used the railway to travel there, connecting from the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras onto the Hope Valley Line, and passing through Marple. It is theorised that a train was delayed there for long enough for the station sign to stick in her mind, to resurface in 1932 at the publication of the first novel featuring Jane Marple.[2] However, at a 2015 event to celebrate the station's 150th anniversary, Christie's grandson produced a letter she had written to a fan that appears to prove that the name was inspired by a sale at Marple Hall during a visit to her sister at Abney Hall.[4]
Description
Marple railway station from the footbridge
The station is to the east of Marple, near Marple Bridge and close to Brabyns Park and the Peak Forest Canal. The A626 runs over a bridge next to the station and provides access to it. The next station towards Piccadilly is Romiley and the next towards Sheffield is Strines.[5]
The station has two side platforms, each 153 yards (140 m) long; platform 1 can only be reached by a footbridge (with lifts) over the tracks and platform 2 can be accessed from the ticket office. The ticket office is staffed during the day; there are benches, toilets and a waiting room on the platform.[6]Passenger information systems include dot-matrix displays and an automated public-address system announce approaching services. Timetable information posters are provided and help points allow passengers to contact railway staff. To the east of the station, there is a free car park and the nearest bus stops are 150 metres (160 yd) away on Brabyns Brow.[7]
In 2014/15, 455,470 entries and exits were recorded at the station, making it the sixth busiest within Stockport and the busiest on the Hope Valley Line after Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield. This is a decrease from 475,192 in 2013/14, the first since 2009/10.[8]
Services
A Northern Rail Class 142 Pacer unit calls at the station in 2015
Northern Trains generally operates two trains per hour in each direction between Manchester Piccadilly and New Mills Central; alternate eastbound trains continue along the Hope Valley to Sheffield. One peak hour service also originates here. On Sundays, there is an hourly service between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.[9]
All services that stop at Marple are operated with diesel multiple units, as the Hope Valley line is not electrified; a mixture of Class 150, 156 and 195 units are used. When Arriva UK Trains took over the Northern franchise in April 2016,[10] services were run primarily by Class 142Pacer trains. A commitment was made for all Pacers to be replaced with alternative trains by 2020, due to their lack of assessibility.[11] The final Pacer train stopped at the station on 6 March 2020 on a service from Sheffield.[12]
As part of Manchester's Transport Innovation Fund bid in 2008, which would see a weekday peak time congestion charge introduced on roads into the city centre in order for a £3bn injection into the region's public transport, Marple would have seen an increase to four services per hour in both directions throughout the day to Manchester Piccadilly. The line would have effectively been run as a metro-style operation, offering users of Marple and other stations along the route the ease of showing up without needing to know exact departure times. However, no "station improvements" were planned, despite the comparatively high usage of this suburban station. The rejection of the TIF plans in a public referendum in December 2008 (by a 4 to 1 majority) led to the plans being abandoned in April 2010.[13]
References
^Marshall, John (1981). Forgotten Railways: North West England. David & Charles. p. 30. ISBN978-0715380031.
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