About Us
STORM (Support the Oldham Rochdale Manchester rail line) STORM is a rail user group founded in 1987 to campaign to improve rail services in the Oldham and Rochdale areas.
The movement monitors the provision of services and campaigns on behalf of public transport passengers and potential passengers using the Oldham Loop, the western end of the Calder Valley Line from Leeds and the services from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge and Greenfield.
STORM also takes an interest in rail and other public transport developments that could have benefits for, or be detrimental to, passengers using those routes. The Oldham Loop line closed to rail services on 3rd October 2009 and was converted to Metrolink, the Greater Manchester tram system, and services as far as Rochdale Town Centre began on Monday 31st March 2014.
STORM monitors the Metrolink services from Rochdale to East Didsbury, via Oldham and Manchester. The Oldham Town Centre route opened on the 27th of January 2014, meaning the route via the ‘Oldham Loop’ and the temporary Oldham Mumps stop was closed on the 17th January 2014.
STORM also supports the East Lancashire Railway heritage line which runs into Heywood and the planned extension of the ELR into Castleton. in May 2015 a new service, which will replace the Manchester Victoria to Todmorden 'turnback, will continue via the newly reopened Todmorden curve to Burnley and Blackburn.