The early days of the rail route
The MSJ&AR originally opened in 1849 to extend the network of routes that used the Manchester London Road Station which is now called Piccadilly station. The service operated using steam trains and at this time there was
no station at Dane Road.
Altrincham was a market town but the area towards Manchester was essentially farming and market gardening country. The introduction of the train service led to the development of residential areas enabling people to commute to the much larger city of Manchester.
Electrification of the Line
In the early part of the 20th Century, the MSJ&AR steam trains came under increasing competition from electric tramways, which by that time ran the whole way from Manchester to Altrincham and closely followed the route of the railway.
In order to counter this competition it was decided to electrify the rail route using a 1500 V DC overhead system and this work was completed in 1931.
At the same time this
new railway station at Dane Road was opened on the Northern edge of Sale.
The station was located on the road called Dane Road and the entrance to the station was at a high level from the top of the bridge over the rail line. at this high level there as a building that housed the ticket office, waiting rooms and toilets supported by steel girders at the side of the rail line. This building still exists but is no longer used. The platforms are reached by steps descending from the bridge.
The Altrincham Electrics provided a faster, more frequent service than the steam trains they had replaced, and resulted in an 89% increase in patronage on the line within the first five years. The new electric service also stimulated further suburban housing development close to the line, and provided an early example of today’s marketing taglines when the railway’s publicists dubbed the initials MSJ&AR as Many Short Journeys and Absolute Reliability.
20th Century Decline
Dane Road Station originally had 4 lines and this allowed express services to pass through Dane Road without stopping. However during the 20th Century increased private car usage led to a drop in passenger numbers and in 1963 the use of the express service was withdrawn and the extra lines with drawn from service.
Conversion of Electric Supply and Expansion of Route
During the 1970 rail services in the west of England were modernised and electric routes were converted to operate on a 25 kV AC system. This gave greater access to the wider rail network. On Monday 3 May 1971, a 15-min interval service was introduced from Altrincham, running through Manchester Piccadilly to Alderley Edge and Crewe.
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Change To Light Rail System
Manchester itself had a problem with the network because Piccadilly served routes from the South and East, whereas trains from the North terminated at Victoria Station. A number of schemes had been proposed to connect the two stations including an underground link and an overhead monorail but all had been rejected.
Eventually it was decided to convert the urban lines to a light rail system. The line was converted to a 750 V DC system and included street running on tracks through the middle of Manchester. This service became known as Manchester Metrolink. As well as converting the Altrincham to Piccadilly route, Manchester Victoria station was connected to the town of Bury in the North.
This new network was completed on 15th June 1992. It was expected to carry 10 million passengers per year, but surpassed this figure by the 1993/94 fiscal year, and every year thereafter. Since this success the network has been expanded and has 73 stops along 47.7 miles (76.8 km) of track. By 2017 further expansion will make Metrolink the largest light rail network in the United Kingdom, with 60 miles (97 km) of track and 93 stops, handling an estimated 45 million passenger journeys a year.
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Improved passenger access at Dane Road
Part of the design of Metrolink specifies that all platforms should be accessed by ramp, stairs, escalator, lift or combination thereof. In the case of Dane Road the stairs remain but extra facilities were added for improved access. There is a lift for access to the Manchester bound trams and a ramp for access to Altrincham bound trams.
None of the Metrolink stations are manned and its not possible to pay on the trams themselves. All of the stations have ticket machines on the platforms.