Bowker Vale tram stop


Bowker Vale is a stop on the Bury Line of Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 6 April 1992 as part of Phase 1 of the system's expansion and is on the border between the Metropolitan Borough of Bury and Manchester, England.
The station is adjacent to the site of the original Bowker Vale railway station, opened on 26 September 1938 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway and closed on 17 August 1991 for conversion to Metrolink.

History

Bowker Vale railway station was opened in 1938 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway, to serve a growing inter-war residential area. The architecture of the station buildings and footbridge is a striking example of 1930s concrete design, perhaps inspired by the developments on the London Underground at the time.
The station forms part of Metrolink Ticketing Zone C. The bottom of the embankment to the north-east of the station forms part of the boundary between the City of Manchester and the Metropolitan Borough of Bury between the districts of Prestwich, Blackley and Crumpsall. The station is situated between Middleton Road and Windsor Road, three passageways provide public access to the station. Ticket machines are located on each platform. There is a public telephone located on the Bury-bound platform.

Services

Services mostly run every 12 minutes on 2 routes, forming a 6-minute service between Bury and Manchester at peak times.

Connecting bus routes

From the station-adjacent bus stop, First Greater Manchester services 59 and 149 travel to Oldham. The 59 via Middleton before continuing to Rushcroft via Shaw, while 149 via Moston. First/JPT service 89 travels towards Manchester via Blackley and Harpurhey.
On the opposite side of Middleton Road from the station buses 59 and 149 travel towards Manchester, as does First/JPT service 88, with services 88 and 149 calling at North Manchester General Hospital and Crumpsall en route.