The Oldham Rochdale line – now operated as part of the Manchester Metrolink network – reached its 150th anniversary on Saturday 2nd November having been originally opened to the public in 1863 with a commemorative plaque unveiled to mark the occasion. New figures released have shown that since the line was converted to light rail passenger numbers have increased dramatically with over 2,500,000 journeys between October 2012 and October 2013 in comparison with 1,236,534 journeys on the old heavy rail line its last year of operation up to October 2009.
Cllr Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: ““I was delighted to be able to mark the 150th anniversary of the Oldham to Rochdale line, which has a rich and detailed history having been used by a variety of rail services over the last one-and-a-half centuries, the most recent being Metrolink. The passenger figures show that the conversion to light rail has taken the line from strength to strength in terms of its usage and hopefully this will continue with the forthcoming expansion of the line to Oldham town centre.”
The commemorative plaque was unveiled at the Shaw & Crompton stop and a display of photographs, press cuttings and other line memorabilia will be exhibited at Crompton Library this month.