It is theorised that at some point, a train was delayed there for long enough for the station sign to stick in her mind, to resurface in 1932 at the publication of the first novel featuring the detective Jane Marple. Due to living in Devon, Christie often used the railway to travel up to what was then Cheshire, by connecting from the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras onto the Hope Valley Line, and passing through Marple. The area around the hall and Cheadle inspired many settings within her books. Christie, encouraged by Watts to write, was a frequent visitor to Abney Hall from a young age into adulthood. In 1902, when Agatha Christie was twelve, her sister Margaret married James Watts and they lived at Abney Hall, Cheadle. Alongside the viaduct is the Marple Aqueduct, which carries the Peak Forest Canal over the River Goyt. It was rebuilt in 1970, with the MS&L facilities being demolished, and new brick buildings replacing the Midland's offices.įrom Marple to Romiley, the line passes through Marple Tunnel to the junction with the short branch to Rose Hill Marple, then over the 308-yard (282 m) long stone viaduct that crosses the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal. Until the Midland moved to Manchester Central, in 1880, as a member of the Cheshire Lines Committee, Marple was where carriages for Liverpool would be attached or detached.Īt the time it had extensive station buildings, the Midland waiting room having upholstered seats and a coal fire in an attractive fireplace for cold winter days. The line was built in conjunction with the Midland Railway's extension of its line to Millers Dale, thus it was also used by the latter's trains from London to Manchester Store Street (later called London Road, now Piccadilly).
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Marple railway station was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) on the extension of its Hyde branch to New Mills, opening to the public on 1 July 1865. Location (red dot) within Stockport's historical rail network Tickets to and from Rose Hill are valid on board all Manchester Piccadilly bound trains from Marple Station. Sundays see a two-hourly service in the morning and evening in each direction, increasing to hourly in the afternoons. One peak hour service also originates here. There are two services per hour eastwards to New Mills on weekdays (hourly in the evenings) and a two-hourly extension along the Hope Valley to Sheffield. The station is well served by trains to and from Manchester Piccadilly on weekdays, with two services per hour during the daytime (reducing to hourly in the evening). The final Pacer train stopped at the station on 6 March 2020 on a service from Sheffield. When Arriva UK Trains took over the Northern franchise in April 2016, services were primarily run by Class 142 Pacer trains.Ī commitment was made for all Pacers to be replaced with alternative trains by 2020. The service uses a mixture of Class 150, and, since 2020, Class 195 units. Northern Rail Class 142 Pacer unit 142004 calls at the station in 2015Īll services at Marple are operated by Northern Trains using diesel multiple units, due to the line not being electrified. In 2014/15, 455,470 entries and exits were recorded at the station, making it the sixth busiest within Stockport and the busiest on the Hope Valley Line after Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.
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To the east of the station, there is a free car park and the nearest bus stops are 150 metres (160 yd) away on Brabyns Brow. Timetable information posters are provided and help points allow passengers to contact railway staff. Passenger information systems include dot-matrix displays and an automated public-address system announce approaching services. The ticket office is staffed during the day there are benches, toilets and a waiting room on the platform. The station has two side platforms, each 153 yards (140 m) long platform 1 can only be reached by a footbridge (with lifts) over the tracks and platform 2 can be accessed from the ticket office. The next station towards Piccadilly is Romiley and the next towards Sheffield is Strines. The A626 runs over a bridge just next to the station and provides access to it. The station is located to the east of Marple, next to Marple Bridge, close to Brabyns Park and the Peak Forest Canal. Marple railway station from the footbridge