Oldham Loop Line - Passenger Train Services

Passenger Train Services

The pattern of passenger services over the line was always that all trains from Manchester ran to Oldham Mumps, but fewer continued on to terminate in a bay platform at Rochdale. It was not usual for trains to terminate at Oldham Mumps and instead they ran on to Royton (until its closure in 1966), and subsequently to Shaw and Crompton. While the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line was open there were a few services over that route to Oldham Mumps, Royton or Rochdale. By 1950 this had reduced to a handful of trains per day, and the services over the line reduced further until its closure in early 1963.

In the 1960s and 1970s fewer and fewer trains ran from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale, and in May 1972 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that this part of the Oldham Loop would be closed. The closure did not go ahead because what later became the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) agreed to fund the continuation of services. The involvement of the GMPTE also lead to a more frequent pattern of trains serving the Oldham Mumps to Rochdale section.

In the period immediately prior to closure trains were timetabled to connect with the Caldervale Line services to Leeds via Hebden Bridge and Bradford Interchange. All stations and all scheduled train services were operated by Northern Rail. During the week, trains ran every 15 minutes on the route, with express trains leaving Manchester at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour calling at Oldham Mumps, Shaw and Crompton and all stations to Rochdale, and stopping trains calling at all stations between Manchester and Shaw and Crompton, leaving at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. During the evenings and on Sundays services were less frequent with an hourly service calling at all stations.