Partnership and Campaigning
Friends of Marple Station exists to improve and promote our local station. To do this, we improve the station physically, market the station and services and lobby for improvements where we feel this is justified by the facts. We do all this in partnership with Northern Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester, Stockport Council, Goyt Valley Rail Users, ACoRP and our elected representatives (both Councillors and MP). Occasionally we may be critical, but always in a constructive way. We have lobbied on waiting rooms, services (including peak, weekend and evening), trains, the need for a coffee shop, making the crossing of Brabyns Brow safe and better car parking. We carry out an annual passenger count, usually in November.

Half a million passengers a year need a waiting room fit for the 21st century. Apart from the new waiting room: 
  1. We need the half-hourly Sunday service promised for 2017. And earlier Sunday trains too.
  2. Monday to Saturday services should be half-hourly throughout the day.
  3. Evening services to Rose Hill after the current last train at 21.09 - many Marple passengers use Rose Hill too.
  4. Sunday services to Rose Hill - this isn't the 1970s now!
We also carry out a regular 'State of the Station' survey. contact us for details, to make a suggestion or to help.

Marple and Rose Hill passenger count Nov 2019

Key conclusions from the 2019 survey include:
  • Train services from the Marple area are well used;
  • Most trips are in the Manchester direction, with only 3% in the Sheffield direction;
  • There is a high level of peak commuting, but also significant off peak use;
  • The number of inbound trips to Marple, on weekdays, seems to be relatively low, with the main flow being trips to Marple Hall High School and Marple College. This flow primarily to Rose Hill is continuing to grow;
  • 57% of journeys to or from the Manchester direction counted on the survey days were from Marple with the remainder from Rose Hill;
  • The number of people taking cycles on trains is low; and
  • On the survey day 78% of trains were less than 5 minutes late. Around three quarters of trains at Rose Hill, but only a quarter at Marple arrived or departed on time. However this was affected by adverse weather on the day of the Marple survey
Overall usage on the survey days has increased by 8% since 2015, with Rose Hill growing more rapidly than Marple (this year’s decrease at Marple may be due to the weather).  Punctuality has not improved.
Full survey results are available here.

Nov 2018 passenger count - click here

Key conclusions from the survey include:
·         Train services from the Marple area are well used;
·         Most trips are in the Manchester direction, with only 3% in the Sheffield direction;
·         There is a high level of peak commuting, but also significant off peak use;
·         The number of inbound trips to Marple, on weekdays, seems to be relatively low, with the main flow being trips to Marple Hall High School and Marple College;
·         64% of journeys counted on the survey days were from Marple with the remainder from Rose Hill;
·         The number of people taking cycles on trains is low; and
·         On the survey day 88% of trains were less than 5 minutes late but less than 40% were on time.
Overall usage on the survey days has increased by 8% since 2015, with Rose Hill growing more rapidly than Marple.  Punctuality has not improved compared to previous years.
The results indicate that more people are returning later from Manchester than in previous years, perhaps because of the better evening service. However Rose Hill still suffers from a very early finish, with the last departure from Manchester at 21.09. The improved Sheffield service seems to have had little impact so far, perhaps due to the wider problems Northern has been experiencing

2017 passenger count at Marple and Rose Hill - click here

What do we want? - new waiting room ... when do we want it? Now!

One of the main reasons our group was formed was to improve conditions for people waiting in the dank, leaky, unappetising concrete bunker (waiting room). We have brightened it up, but the only real, sustainable solution that will attract and retain rail passengers is a replacement that provides a decent level of comfort. And we don't mean the mean, bus shelter-type waiting rooms that the railways seem to specialise in. We mean weatherproof, warm, used by and integrated into the community. And is a cup of coffee and cake too much to ask?
​We have completed one study and secured grants to allow consultants to refine these plans. They will be beavering away in summer 2019. Contact us if you have any ideas.

2016 passenger counts at Marple and Rose Hill - report

Sunday trains

Marple has had an hourly Sunday train service from December 2018. But the two trains per hour promised in the franchise has not been delivered . The service also starts later and end earlier than passengers need - the first train from Marple is often full and standing. And Rose Hill still has no Sunday trains at all despite the clear demand from local people and the potential for tourism along the Middlewood Way.

Passenger survey and passenger counts

To find out how many people use Marple (and Rose Hill) Stations and get an accurate picture of what services and facilities you we have run an annual count and survey since 2015.
We use this information to try to influence service changes and station improvements.

New waiting room - update!

One of the biggest complaints is the poor waiting areas for what is a very busy station. We have put together the case for a new or at least seriously upgraded waiting room and have lobbied our local MP and TfGM.
Following a long break for the pandemic, in 2023 we have arranged a series of meetings with Network Rail, Northern and Transport for Greater Manchester w to move the project forward.

Marple Station Community Hub. Community engagement report click here

New waiting room needed now!

​It is time that we had a proper waiting room with a .
new pitched roof, or even a comfy modern waiting room suitable for a busy station in a wet area. We will continue to campaign on your behalf​.
​What would you like to see? An art gallery, coffee shop, meeting space or just a dry, warm, welcoming waiting room? Come and help us to develop our ideas...

Co-operation with Rose Hill (and Romiley)

Many people use Marple and Rose Hill stations interchangeably, particularly due to the poor evening and lack of Sunday service at Rose Hill. We talk to Friends of Rose Hill about all our activities and co-ordinate our campaigning where this makes sense. We have run a joint photo competition, and also crated a joint poster to celebrate local renewable energy at Stockport Hydro (hydro-electric generating station on the River Goyt).

Some campaigning photos

The new Marple waiting room could look like this ... and we could win more awards like this ...