It was formed by a group of landowners and businessmen in the south of Manchester, England, with the purpose of building a new railway line through the city's southern suburbs.

The mid-19th century was a time of rapid expansion of Britain's railway network and new lines were being planned around major cities such as Manchester.

By creating a new rapid link to the economic centre of Manchester they hoped to attract prosperity to the growing outer districts.

[1][2] Development of the delayed MSDR line was eventually made possible as a result of the fierce competition between two railway companies on the lucrative long-distance Manchester-London route.

In 1876, the Midland was served notice on its access to London Road, and faced with eviction, the company was compelled to develop a new route into the city.

To build the line, the Midland tried to set up a joint venture with the Great Northern and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railways, but disagreements over funding delayed the project.

The new route proved successful, and the Midland ran express trains from Manchester Central to London St Pancras calling at Didsbury.

[11] The first phase of the Manchester Metrolink system opened in 1992, but conversion of the MSDR line to light rail did not begin until the early 2010s.

The new Metrolink South Manchester Line opened as far as St Werburgh's Road on 7 July 2011, and the extension to East Didsbury on 23 May 2013.