Perfect for going into Manchester Picc/Oxford Rd and also great for going to the airport. also…read moregreat location being just off the A34 and within walking distance to Gatley village which is rather posh. Ticket machines and ticket office are also quite helpful.

It's an older, large station that is extremely busy but also easy to navigate to get to your…read moretransportation on time. Though it's older, it's clean with several places to grab food or coffee. Signage is really good and makes things easier trying to get through a big crowd to your platform.

Very convenient and effective train station where you can take bullet trains to London from…read moreManchester. Shoppes and what not fill up the area and tickets are very convenient to purchase on the app Trainline. Highly recommended!

Handforth Station is quite a nice, smaller station in Cheshire East, it is quite a small station,…read moreoperated by Northern Railway who seem to be the only company to pass through the station. During the day, it is served by 2 trains per hour in each direction on the routes from Aldery Edge to Manchester Piccadilly and between Crewe and Manchester. This station opened in 1842, and they do seem to show a bit of history on their Southbound platform, with older signs including signs with DLR, and Underground on it, which are a little strange as this station isn't in London, and does not have those services. This station also has volunteers to make this station nicer, "The Friends of Handforth Station" were formed in 1996 and work on a lot of projects here such as including signs from other railway operators from other countries and London, and working on a station garden, as I only used the Southbound platform, with the unusual signage on, I didn't notice anything special about the gardens. This is only a small local station, mainly used to get into Manchester, Crewe or any smaller cities around that, the train doesn't really have many facilities but with it being a local station with an average of 0.2 million visitors or so each year, there probably isn't a huge demand for it, but this store is okay, yet below average so does not warrant anything over than a 2 star rating.

cheap way to get from Manchester to Leeds. Unfortunately it takes 2 hours..... @45 miles. Oh, well…read more.... part of the UK charm.... suck it up Americans and deal with it. 5 times better than Amtrack. but 5 times expensive. clean seats most impressive.

Manchester Airports railway station is located inside the airport, just a lift up to the coach…read morestation and a short walk to all the terminals. Here you can board the metrolink now, on the blue line which goes up to Cornbrook, from there you can go near enough any stop what is run by the metrolink network. Trains also run from this location to Middlesbrough, Glasgow and Manchester Piccadily, even Liverpool and Leeds runs a direct train from here. The train takes 25 minutes to Piccadily which calls through East Didsbury and Gatley, the train works out much quicker as it would take 55 minutes to get to Piccadily on the metrolink, which includes a change at Cornbrook and doesn't include the waiting time expected there. Ticket inspectors seem to get on and off at this station from my experiance today. It is quite a quiet station and only something you would use when going to the airport really, it does not have any faciltieis close by apart from in arrivals and that is abit of a walk away. Toilets are avaliable here, I did only notice a ladies toilet but they is both genders around the corner near the National Express coach station. This railway station is just what you would expect from a big place like Manchester, with metrolink and rail links and they is shops and resturants, although few a short walk away but you don't want to be going there if you are not visiting the airport. for a Venue - Airport hub this is good however if it was supposed to be a major station then it could command 1 star but I feel 2 is fair. It would be nice if they was a newsagents or cafe in the station, to get the things you had forgot to get in the airport. UPDATE: This station just seems to far away from other terminals, for example being a good 10 minute walk away from Terminal 2 to the point where I can't really understand it, I understand they can't put this directly in the Terminal as there are three large terminals at Manchester too, but people travel to Airports with bags, and it just is too hard to get off the train and then find your Terminal from there and perhaps a service for holidaymakers to get help to the Terminal would be much better, rather than having too many staff who simply can't, so for now I sadly feel this station deserves a single one star in this update - Also this station serves at nothing more than getting you to and from the Airport and there is a lack of facilities until you get to the Airport anyway.

That is a pretty funny story Angela has told there, and I must say that I also found the man in the…read morelittle ticket hut a sour faced twit. However, my experience was not sprinkled with a funny occurrence at all, it was just plain miserable. The station is small and out of the way, and consists of just a couple of platforms. Trains are usually on time and go to Manchester Piccadilly in about 16 mins so if you can catch one, the you'll save yourself 45 mins or more on the bus. These trains are at 26 minutes past the hour, and 55 minutes past the hour. So if you're going from Didsbury to town and these times suit, then grin and bear the miserable codger, and get there faster.

Agreed that it is a real pain in the backside that there are no self service machines. You get…read moretreated at Picaddilly as if you'd tried to steal the Crown Jewels if you did not have time to purchase a ticket and the train conductor did not sell you one on board. The gentleman referred to in the ticket office was helpful to me when I was travelling for work a lot and suggested travel passes where it was cheaper. Even at 6.45am he gets a bit annoyed though if you get on without having bought a ticket - even if you've just made it on time after running a mile.

I like Stockport Station, it's a great, large station for a small town, it's on a good number of…read moreroutes and has easy access into the town centre as well as buses to continue onto your journey, once arriving into the station. Avanti West Coast manages the station; it's served by a good number of operators including: Transport For Wales, CrossCountry, Transpennine Express, Northern and East Midlands Railway. Most services go into Manchester Piccadilly which is only 7-14 minutes away, depending on which service you take but then you can go to a lot of destinations including London, Norwich, Sheffield and Liverpool. If you're heading into Manchester, you'll want the Northbound platforms (3 and 4) There is a Starbucks inside the station which is temporarily closed at the time of writing (January 2021), as well as a WHSmith, both on Platform 2 (London / Southbound platform) The staff inside the station are friendly and there's a good amount of ticket machines. The station is slightly open so it can get pretty cold if you're waiting for a train, compared to Manchester Piccadilly. There is lift-access to all platforms from the subway level. 4*

As explained by others, Stockport is a major transport hub in Greater Manchester as some Victorian…read morebylaw passed at the time the viaduct was built means trains passing over it have to stop here. Given that it is a bit surprising there aren't any substantial shops - it's mostly small outlets for food and drink to take away. These options are mostly terrible...Starbucks etc. However I'm not sure when this started but in recent months I have noticed food stalls in the underpass beneath the platforms. I've had several good quiches from Cheese is Grate who also sell local cheese, cakes and soup I think on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Most excitingly, my Kirkham (Preston) based favourite Pudding & Pie is now here every other Thursday and Friday. Their pies are consistently excellent and the sweet potato and chilli tart I tried today is my new favourite! Way to go Stockport supporting local businesses making good quality non mass produced food and provided better options for hungry travellers!

The annoying thing about this station was that I rushed to get the train because it was supposed to…read morebe leaving in a minute but then ended up being delayed for fifteen, which if I knew I would have got out and had a look around the station for a bit. Anyway, this station is on the route through to Liverpool and it seems that some of the Liverpool trains, like the one that I was on, terminate here. It's rather fancy mind you, but then again a lot of stations in England are like that.

Manchester Oxford Road deserves an upgrade, while for many it can become an annoying stop, just two…read moreminutes after Manchester Piccadilly, it does provide good access to Oxford Road, just a couple of minute's away from St Peter's Square, where there are the Central Library and Metrolink services, and is also close to the Universities and student area of the city. The staff do seem friendly, and while the facilities within the station are minimal (there is a tiny Costa with no seating area), it is ample, especially considering there is a large Sainsbury's Local, right outside on Whitworth Street. The hill going up to the station is a little steep, and it does seem to be a common area for homeless people, it could be lit better in the dark for sure. The same could apply for the subway which connects the platforms. 3* - Decent station, it might not compare to Piccadilly and Victoria but it isn't too bad.

A small station but useful for getting into central Manchester , as not everybody wants to go…read moreVictoria if something is on at the arena, so salford central is few minutes down the road form spinningfields and deansgate road. Its also cheaper than the tram to go to the outskirts of manchester! Be aware it can be a bit busy around 1630 -1800hrs

Me reviewing train stations is starting to become a trend, however now that I spend a heck of a lot…read moreof time in various stations, I feel they deserve credit/criticism like rest of the venues or businesses I visit. Salford central is now in a prime location, not because it moved but because the area around it has developed so much to give you amazing options whether you want to eat, drink or play. It's a matter of minutes on foot from Spinningfields and it's actually not even that far to walk to the Arndale from here! They've spent some money doing it up and parts of it look very nice however some parts still need a face lifts - the platforms being one! There also never seems to be anyone checking tickets when I walk through? Which my queue-skipping 14 year old self would've loved, however now being 24 I don't mind paying for my tickets!

Levenshulme Railway Station isn't just any railway station. Oh no. It sits on "The Street With No…read moreName." It's a small section of road that runs alongside the station that goes nowhere, isn't on google maps, or, in fact, any maps anywhere! Local residents applied for a grant to make a proper sign saying "The Street With No Name" and they were successful. It's kind of annoying, because now the street with no name actually has a name. It's called "The Street With No Name," you see. That's now its name. Even though it doesn't have a name. But it does now. If you're travelling to Levenshulme from town, get the train and not the bus. A dayrider ticket on the bus costs £3.50, yet a return from Piccadilly is only £1.50. And it's way quicker.

Update: apparently northern rail can sell you an invalid ticket for the wrong date and its your…read morefault! Staff were rude and wouldn't offer any help after talking to over 5 different northern rail staff. Guess they're nice until they mess things up and then they don't want to know... As a regular commuter from Levenshulme station I recommend it. It's pretty much always staffed during the busy hours of the day which i like as i can't stand the self service machines as people seem to take so much longer on them. The platform has recently had new benches installed and there are good shelters on both sides on the platforms. On a downside it is has quite a large set of steps to climb so isn't very friendly those who find this difficult could definitely do with improving this although i do see this would be difficult. The staff are always friendly, polite and efficient. Loads better than Mauldeth road : )