View source for Castleton railway station

{{Short description|Railway station in Greater Manchester, England}}{{For|the railway station in Castleton, North Yorkshire|Castleton Moor railway station}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Castleton
| symbol_location     = gb
| symbol              = rail
| image               = Castleton (Rochdale) railway station.jpg
| borough             = [[Castleton, Greater Manchester|Castleton]], [[Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale|Rochdale]]
| country             = England
| grid_name           = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position       = {{gbmapscaled|SD883106|25|SD883106}}
| manager             = [[Northern (train operating company)|Northern]]
| platforms           = 2
| code                = CAS
| classification      = [[United Kingdom railway station categories|DfT category]] F1
| opened              = 1875
| mpassengers =
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2019/20 |passengers={{decrease}} 0.172 million}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2020/21 |passengers={{decrease}} 35,900}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2021/22 |passengers={{increase}} 78,216}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2022/23 |passengers={{increase}} 95,966}}
{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2023/24 |passengers={{increase}} 0.132 million}}
| footnotes           = Passenger statistics from the [[Office of Rail and Road]]
}}
'''Castleton railway station''' serves [[Castleton, Greater Manchester|Castleton]] in the [[Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale]], [[Greater Manchester]], England. It is 8¾&nbsp;miles (14&nbsp;km) north of [[Manchester Victoria railway station|Manchester Victoria]] on the [[Caldervale Line]], with services operated by [[Northern Trains]].

==History==
{{Rochdale_Lines}}

The original station opened in 1839, at Blue Pits on the western side of the Rochdale-Manchester Road bridge. It was originally called ''Blue Pits for Heywood''. The current station opened on 1 November 1875. The [[Liverpool and Bury Railway]] from {{rws|Bolton}} (extended through from Bolton and beyond in 1848 to join the earlier M&L Heywood branch previously opened in 1841, which was worked by horses) used to join the main line at a triangular junction a short distance south of the station. This was at one time a busy passenger and freight route often used by trains avoiding the busy Manchester area, but was closed to passengers on 5 October 1970.<ref>Marshall, p.45</ref><br />

The station was also part of the [[Oldham Loop Line]], on which there were through services to {{rws|Rochdale}}, via {{rws|Oldham Mumps}}. This route was closed in 2009 and has now been converted for light rail use by [[Manchester Metrolink]].

==Facilities==
The station is not staffed, but a ticket machine is available. Shelters and passenger information screens are located on each platform and both have step-free access from the street; there are also staircases from Manchester Road bridge to both platforms.<ref>[http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/cas/details.html Castleton (Manchester) station facilities] ''National Rail Enquiries''; Retrieved 30 November 2016</ref>

==Services==
On Monday to Saturday daytimes, [[Northern Trains]] operates a half-hourly service in each direction. The basic pattern is for trains to start at Rochdale, then stop at all stations to Manchester Victoria, then via Salford Central, Salford Crescent, Bolton and {{rws|Darwen}} to Blackburn, with alternate trains continuing through to {{rws|Clitheroe}}.

On Sundays, the service pattern is hourly in each direction between Manchester Victoria, Rochdale, Todmorden, Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn. Southbound trains continue beyond Victoria to {{rws|Wigan Wallgate}} and {{rws|Southport}}, via Atherton.<ref>{{NRtimes|May 2023|37 & 103}}</ref>

{{rail start|noclear=yes}}
{{rail line|previous={{stnlnk|Mills Hill}}|next={{stnlnk|Rochdale}}|route=[[Northern (train operating company)|Northern]]<br /><small>[[Caldervale Line]]</small> |col={{Northern colour}} }}
{{disused rail insert}}
{{rail line |next=[[Rochdale railway station|Rochdale]]<br /><small>Line and station open</small> |previous=[[Heywood railway station|Heywood]]<br /><small>Line closed, station open</small> |route=[[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] |col={{LYR colour}} }}
{{future heritage rail insert}}
{{rail line |next=[[Heywood railway station|Heywood]]<br /><small>Line closed, station open</small> |route=[[East Lancashire Railway]] |col={{heritage rail colour|line=East Lancashire Railway}} }}
{{s-end}}

==East Lancashire Railway future==
The western portion of this line was retained for freight traffic after passenger trains ceased (serving the coal depot at Rawtenstall until 1980 and subsequently to the Powell Duffryn wagon works); it now forms the link with the [[East Lancashire Railway]] heritage route at {{rws|Heywood}}.<ref>[http://heywood-lancs.co.uk/heywood-railway-station/ Your Heywood - Heywood Railway Station] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127225625/http://heywood-lancs.co.uk/heywood-railway-station/ |date=27 January 2013 }} www.heywood-lancs.co.uk; Retrieved 22 August 2013</ref>  

The heritage line plans to extend its services along and towards a possible new bay platform adjacent to the main station in the future,<ref>[http://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/9839436.print/ Minister steams in for talks on new line]''Bury Times'' news article; Retrieved 22 August 2013</ref> subject to permission being granted by [[Network Rail]].

The bay platform, named ''Castleton Village'', will be adjacent to the main station at Castleton, from where passengers could alight and change station sides directly to Northern Trains' services on the national network. Rochdale Council commissioned a study by transport consultants Mouchel in conjunction with the ELR regarding the proposals in 2010; their report covers the tourism and regeneration aspects of any such future development.

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* Bairstow, Martin, ''The Manchester and Leeds Railway'' (1983), ({{ISBN|0-907941-06-0}})
* Marshall, John, ''Forgotten Railways: North-West England'' (1981), David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ({{ISBN|0-7153-8003-6}})

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{stn art lnk|CAS}}
* [http://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Castleton-and-Heywood-Masterplan-Autumn-2010.pdf The Castleton and Heywood Masterplan 2010]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Mouchel's report on potential ELR extension through to Castleton station.

{{Greater Manchester main railway stations}}

{{coord|53.5919|-2.1783|region:GB_type:railwaystation|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleton Railway Station}}
[[Category:Railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale]]
[[Category:DfT Category F1 stations]]
[[Category:Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by Northern]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1875]]