When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways under arrangement with the Greater Manchester PTE until the privatisation of British Rail.

Ardwick railway depot, opened 2006 for TransPennine Express's Class 185 DMU fleet, is a short distance to the east.

From 1878 to 1902, there was also an Ardwick stop shown on Crewe–Manchester line timetables for collection of Manchester tickets on down trains.

[2] Northern Trains operates the only daily services that stop at Ardwick; these are the 07:16 to Manchester Piccadilly only and the 16:57 to New Mills Central on Mondays–Fridays.

[3] The lines passing through the station are used intensively by non-stop trains and this, coupled with its location in a largely non-residential area, accounts for its infrequent service.