Glossop line

The Glossop line is a railway line connecting the city of Manchester with the towns of Hadfield and Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains.

The line is the surviving section west of the Pennines of the Woodhead Line, which was electrified in the early 1950s but passenger services east of Hadfield were withdrawn in 1970, followed by complete closure in 1981. Hattersley was opened in 1978, around 750 m east of the then Godley station site, to serve the 1960s Hattersley estate. In 1985, the Flowery Field and new Godley stations were built; this new Godley site is around 500m west of the original Godley station, then renamed Godley East. These two stations, along with Ryder Brow on the Hope Valley line, were built to a minimum standard, using hollow wooden structures compared the more grandiose stonework of original stations, like Newton for Hyde or Glossop. Godley East was then closed in 1986, effectively being replaced by the newer Godley and Hattersley stations.

In December 1984, the Manchester–Glossop/Hadfield line electrification was converted from 1500 V DC to 25 kV AC. Class 303 EMUs took over from the veteran Class 506 units. The 303s later returned to the Glasgow area and were, in turn, replaced by Class 304 and Class 305 units before the then new Class 323 units were introduced to the line in November 1997. These units were due to transfer to the West Midlands in 2017 to be replaced by 4 car units, and as these trains were longer, platform extensions at Godley and Flowery Field were carried out in the late 2010s. Network Rail plans by 2043 to further lengthen platforms to support 6 carriage Class 331/0 units.

Other than Manchester Piccadilly, the busiest station on the line is Glossop, followed by Hadfield and Guide Bridge.