Wigan North Western is one of two stations serving Wigan town centre, the station is managed by…read moreAvanti West Coast, who run services from this station on the Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley - London Euston line, which provides services into Scotland, Birmingham, London and others. The station is also served by Northern, with limited services by TPExpress: this means you can also get into other towns and cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, St Helen's and Blackpool. The station is fairly basic, but it is only a small category B station with 5 active platforms, an underpass with lift/stair access connects the platforms. I was surprised that this station didn't have ticket-gates, and there were no staff until getting to the platform, but the staff did seem friendly and happy to help, there was also a good amount of seats and a waiting room in the place, where you can wait before boarding a service. The facilities inside the station are minimal, but with it being a short walk away from the town centre (I like the map outside which gives you a rough time and direction to get to the DW Stadium and town centre), this isn't too bad. Bus services also stop outside. 3* - Nothing too excited, pretty average station, which provides a good number of services which is better than many towns of a similar size to Wigan gets.

I would like to prays the staff on duty today I was on a train to preston when there was a incident…read moreon on a train the staff had to put up with a lot of abuse from a passenger but they all worked so hard to make the train safe for all the passengers well done

Moston Railway Station is a basic station served and operated by Northern Rail…read more As a category F2 station, the facilities are very basic and non-existent, there are no toilets or ticket machines, so you must purchase tickets ahead of travel or on the train. There are two platforms, one going towards Manchester Victoria, or towards Rochdale via Mills Hill on the Calder Valley line. It takes 9 minutes into Manchester Victoria (4.4 miles), this isn't too bad as it can take around 20-25 minutes in a car, depending on traffic. It is easy to continue your journey, with the bus stop directly outside the station having a small number of services, this is also where rail replacement buses depart from. The station seemed clean and was step-free from the platform to the street. 3* - Very basic station with limited services now (Every hour in each direction). With the station buildings demolished, it isn't what it used to be, but still a useful station. Milestone Review #1 of 2022. Happy New Year

Urmston Station is a small railway station, serving the town of Urmston in Greater Manchester…read more Being a category E station serving a town of just over 40,000 people, the facilities inside the station are minimal as expected. The station has two platforms and is served by Northern Rail on the Manchester to Liverpool line only. It takes around 12-15 minutes to Oxford Road, but if you want to travel further into the city centre, you will have to seek other modes of transportation, such as bus or tram. The station is step-free with the Manchester-bound platform accessed by stairs or a ramp from street level, so no need to enter the station building. The Liverpool-bound platform has a bar, The Steamhouse, which looks pretty cool, and appears to be very popular and gives the station a nice feel to it. A pint before/after grabbing the train, that's what dreams are made of. The station is only staffed for a couple of hours a day, in the morning, so staff help is not always available. The station could use a little bit of an upgrade, the waiting room on the platform has seen better days, and the station's signage still has the old GMPTE branding, which was dissolved back in 2011. 3* - A station serving a very small town, you can't expect too much, but this one does the trick, even if it does need an upgrade.

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 : )

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.

An upgraded rating for Deansgate Station, as while it can't compare to Piccadilly, it is one of my…read morefavourite "smaller stations", the station staff seem friendly and they also have an Amazon locker inside the station which is handy whether you plan to pick up a parcel while travelling, and it is also useful if you're staying at the Hilton across the road and want to pick-up a parcel. With it being connected to the Metrolink, this not only means you can continue your journey but it also adds back-up for if either lift isn't working, meaning if you struggle with steps, there's always a back-up way out, just cross the Metrolink bridge, go down the lift, and follow the station around to the exit. Certainly not a bad little station, it might have fewer facilities compared to Manchester's other stations, but there's just something about Deansgate Station which I like. 4*

Deansgate Station deserves a mention because so many other stations that are complete rubbish have…read morebeen reviewed such as Mauldeth Road and Victoria. Whilst these stations are just boring old train stations, Deansgate Station is a piece of architecture worthy of a viewing along with the Castlefield/Deansgate canal routes and the old ruins nearby. A real piece of Manchester's historical character. As the other review is not about the station at all but about Deansgate the road and area, here's a bit about the station. It was opened as Knott Mill on 20 July 1849 and you can still see the old Knott Mill sign just above the new Deansgate one. The sign isn't as old as all that, because it was a wooden station back then. It was rebuilt to what it is today in the 1890s. It was later called Knott Mill & Deansgate, but now it is sadly plain old Deansgate. In 2006 its annual passenger total was only about thirteen thousand, but now it is well clear of a hundred and twenty thousand. This could be because its so good that its popular, or because the world is suffering from overpopulation, which will eventually kill us all

Newton Heath & Moston Metrolink Station is on the Oldham and Rochdale Line on the Manchester…read moreMetrolink network, from here you can get trams into East Didsbury, via the city centre, or in the opposite direction towards Rochdale. From here, you can get into Exchange Square for Manchester city centre in just 8 minutes, with the terminus stations for East Didsbury and Rochdale, taking 34 minutes and 40 minutes respectively. The station is one of the few on the Metrolink system to include a singular multi-directional platform, with trams in both directions using the same platform, so do be careful to make sure you get on the right tram. Being a former railway station that was converted to Metrolink in 2012, you may see the odd freight train pass, which is pretty cool. The station is pretty much your average Metrolink station, accessed by a small number of steps or ramped access from street level. The station has adequate shelter to protect from rain and live departure boards, one thing I like is how they have a separate board for each direction, to remove confusion. There isn't much around the station, and street parking can get full quickly so it is only centred towards residents of the local area. 3*

A pretty standard Metrolink station but with only one platform used…read more The trams from here are very regular to which you would expect. There's 2 ticket stations and is generally a clean station

Wigan Wallgate is in a good location within the town centre, one of two train station in Wigan,…read morealongside the larger Wigan North Western. The location is good, just a couple minutes away from the town's main shops. All services are run by Northern Trains who operate the station, mainly serving "local" destinations including Manchester, Bolton, Blackburn and Southport. The station facilities are minimal but it does have a waiting area, where you can keep warm ahead of getting a train. The station is clean in most areas. The staff were OK. Step-free station so they do have lift access etc, I like the station from the outside as it looks pretty unique and different as you can see from photos. 3*

Very little to be said other than that it is a typical train station. Seemed quite clean but…read morecertainly in need of modernising. As it is only a small station there is little confusion when it comes to platforms and the staff as with other stations are quite helpful