If you ever plan on catching a train from Denton station make sure you check the timetable first - otherwise you could be in for a pretty long wait. Just two services a week run through there, both on a Saturday morning.
It means the 'ghost station', as it's known by enthusiasts, is one of the quietest in the country. Last year just 50 passengers were recorded there - that's less than one a week.
Read more: 'The chaos of Christmas is all going to be worth it in the end, right?'
Neighbouring station Reddish South is not much busier, recording just 108 entries and exits, according to Office of Road and Rail figures published this week. At the other end of the scale Piccadilly is Great Britain's second busiest train station outside of London, with 19.6m entries and exits between April 2021 and March 2022.
But there's a good reason for why Denton and Reddish South are so quiet. The line the stations sit on is served by what's known as a 'parliamentary train' - a passenger service an operator is required to run by an act of law.
There are several similar services around the country. Often they run just once a week, to avoid the operator paying the legal and physical costs of formally closing a line and its stations.
But, if campaigners get their way, that could soon change. Dave Ashworth is from the Friends of Reddish South and Denton Stations.
The group has been campaigning for the last 15 years to get more passenger trains on the line, which opened in 1845, served London trains for more than 50 years and had a regular service to Stockport and Stalybridge up until 1992.
And they're hopeful their goal could be in sight. The results of a £50,000 feasibility study carried out by Transport for Greater Manchester, as part of a government scheme to reopen old railway lines, are expected soon.
And, if that concludes there is a case to be made for more trains, the group hope the government will give operator Northern a subsidy to get services back on track. The long-term dream is to eventually have trains running from Stockport to Victoria, and then on to Salford, Bolton and Preston.
But, initially, the Friends would be more than happy to reinstate an hourly service between Stockport and Victoria.
"We're on the cusp of getting a real service back," said Mr Ashworth. "We know the demand is there, because we have done surveys.
"It would make a vast, vast difference. It's a growing area, lots of young people are moving here and they want to be able to catch a train into Manchester for work and to come home at the end of a night out.
"It will need a subsidy, but then most railway lines do. They don't have to build stations, the signalling is in place, the line is in place, we just need the services."
The campaign is being backed by Denton and Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne, the Friends' honorary president. He says opening up the line would be 'transformational' for the south east of Greater Manchester.
"It would make a huge difference," he said. "The south east quarter of Greater Manchester is very poorly served by public transport. In my constituency, for most people, really the only option is the bus."
There are one or two stumbling blocks to be overcome, says Mr Gwynne, not least arranging time slots for the crossover with the high-speed West Coast Mainline at Heaton Norris. But he believes the problems are far from insurmountable.
"It just takes commitment from the Government, from the rail freight and from TfGM to come up with a workable solution," he said. "But it would be transformational. I know TfGM are looking at this line for future tram/trains which would link up with the new interchange at Stockport, and from there it could potentially go on to the airport and Didsbury.
"Unlocking this line would have huge growth potential, not just for Denton and Reddish, but for the whole of this part of Greater Manchester."
Asked for an update on the progress of the study, a spokesperson for Transport for Greater Manchester said: "The Restoring your Railway’s Strategic Outline Business Case has now been completed and is currently being reviewed by the DfT’s Restoring your Railway’s expert panel, we are expecting to get feedback on the proposal in the new year."
Whatever the outcome, Mr Ashworth and his fellow campaigners are determined to keep up the fight. "I'm a rail enthusiast and we see all the money being spent in London on Crossrail and the Jubilee line," he said. "But up here we don't get anything like that proportion of the money. We just want a proper service."
READ NEXT:
