General information | |||||
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Location | Ringway, Manchester England | ||||
Grid reference | SJ819853 | ||||
Managed by | TransPennine Express | ||||
Transit authority | Transport for Greater Manchester | ||||
Platforms | 4 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | MIA | ||||
Fare zone | 4 (Metrolink) | ||||
Classification | DfT category B | ||||
Key dates | |||||
May 1993 | Opened | ||||
2004 | Refurbished | ||||
2008 | Third platform opened | ||||
2014 | Metrolink services begin | ||||
2015 | Fourth platform added | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2018/19 | 5.708 million | ||||
2019/20 | 5.747 million | ||||
2020/21 | 0.546 million | ||||
Interchange | 4,645 | ||||
2021/22 | 2.174 million | ||||
Interchange | 14,518 | ||||
2022/23 | 3.917 million | ||||
Interchange | 16,945 | ||||
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Manchester Airport station is a railway,tram,bus and coach station at Manchester Airport,England which opened at the same time as the second air terminal in 1993. The station is 9+3⁄4 miles (15.7 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly, at the end of a short branch from the Styal line via a triangular junction between Heald Green and Styal stations. Manchester Metrolink tram services were extended to the airport in 2014 and operate to Manchester Victoria.
The station is 9+3⁄4 miles (15.7 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly at the end of a short branch from the Styal Line constructed by British Rail in 1993. A branch of Manchester Metrolink runs into it. It is accessed via a triangular junction located between Heald Green and Styal. The station platforms are connected by escalator, lift, ramps and an elevated covered walkway (known as the "Sky Link") to the airport terminal buildings in which is a staffed railway ticket office. Throughout the airport complex, the railway station is known as "The Station" and is signposted as such.
In December 2008, a third platform opened after a year of construction and a total cost of £15 million. The following year Network Rail noted that it had "greatly increased operational flexibility at the station, and reduced the number of times that late-running trains had had to be terminated at Manchester Piccadilly." [1]
In 2009, Network Rail stated that the creation of the third platform has meant that the capacity at Manchester Airport will become constrained by the layover of the trains and congestion at the throat. To solve this issue they have recommended building a line underneath the airport towards Northwich in the 2019 to 2024 period. [2]
In July 2012, support for a fourth railway platform was announced by the Government. [3] The current platforms are eight carriage lengths long, so each can accommodate two trains of four carriages. A fourth platform will allow greater use of longer trains of six carriages or more. This had been recommended as part of the Northern Hub scheme of rail improvements around Manchester by the 2010 Manchester Hub Rail Study and the 2011 Northern Route Utilisation Strategy, with an estimated cost of £23 million. [4]
In February 2014, construction commenced on a new £20m fourth platform at the station. The start of construction was attended by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. Construction of the new platform was completed in May 2015 - three years earlier than the 2018 estimate given in 2012. [5] [6] This was to allow engineering work to overlap with that being done on the Manchester Metrolink extension to the airport (see below) so that the fourth platform could be used for the extra traffic generated by the Ordsall Chord (opened 10 December 2017), while the fourth platform itself opened to passengers in Autumn 2015. [7] [8]
In January 2013, the Government announced that Manchester Airport would be included in the second phase of the High Speed 2 railway line. This would enable Manchester Airport to be reached from London Euston in 59 minutes. The new line and associated new station would pass to the west of the Airport, away from the existing railway station and transport interchange, giving the airport two disconnected railways stations approximately 1 mile apart. [9] On 4 October 2023, it was confirmed that the Manchester leg of High Speed 2 would be scrapped and, as a result, the new high-speed station at Manchester Airport would not be built. [10]
The station is managed by TransPennine Express (TPE). All services are operated by TPE, Northern Trains and Transport for Wales (TfW). There are eight trains per hour (tph) to Manchester Piccadilly and beyond, seven of which start and end their journeys here, and the other continues south to Crewe via Wilmslow.
The current off-peak service pattern (as of December 2022) is as follows:
There are no long-distance services to the airport from the south; a Central Trains service from Skegness via Derby and Crewe was cut in 2003, [14] while Virgin CrossCountry services from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh or Glasgow, were withdrawn the same year.
It was planned that infrastructure developments that are part of the Northern Hub system of schemes such as the Ordsall Chord should enable direct trains to Manchester Victoria and on towards Bradford from May 2019. However the introduction of the May 2018 timetable, one of the most radical in decades, caused punctuality through Manchester to drop sharply and it became common for TransPennine Express to terminate delayed services at Manchester Piccadilly or Victoria rather than continue onto the final destination at Manchester Airport. [15] [16]
Any future additional services to the Airport are in doubt without further infrastructure works; unresolved issues surround the lack of new 'through' platforms at Manchester Piccadilly which have been shelved by the government and the Styal Line to Manchester Airport operating at full capacity with little resilience to absorb delays. [17]
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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Terminus | Transport for Wales Rail | |||
TransPennine Express Anglo-Scottish Route | ||||
TransPennine Express | ||||
Northern Trains | ||||
Northern Trains | ||||
Northern Trains | ||||
Northern Trains Styal line local stopping service |
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Metrolink station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Manchester England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 53°21′55″N2°16′20″W / 53.36540°N 2.27229°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Airport Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Status | In operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 3 November 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Manchester Metrolink light rail network was extended from St Werburgh's Road to Manchester Airport as part of the Phase 3 expansion project. [18] The Metrolink station has been built adjacent to the airport station. [19] It is the terminus of the Airport Line.
Following a period of uncertainty due to funding problems, the plans were finally given the go-ahead in May 2009. The confirmed route would not complete the full airport loop as proposed, but trams would run along the northern route via Wythenshawe. Completion of the western side of the loop is subject to further funding in a later project. [20] [21] An opening date of Summer 2016 had originally been indicated for opening of the Airport line [22] but the line opened early on 3 November 2014. [23] [24]
Trams run between Manchester Airport and Victoria every 12 minutes.
Preceding station | Manchester Metrolink | Following station | ||
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Terminus | Manchester Airport–Victoria | Shadowmoss towards Victoria |
With the introduction to a zonal ticketing system on Metrolink services in January 2019, Manchester Airport is located within zone 4. [25]
Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of the city centre, it hosts long-distance intercity and cross-country services to national destinations including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Reading, Southampton and Bournemouth; regional services to destinations in Northern England including Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and York; and local commuter services around Greater Manchester. It is one of 19 major stations managed by Network Rail. The station has 14 platforms: 12 terminal and two through platforms. Piccadilly is also a major interchange with the Metrolink light rail system with two tram platforms in its undercroft.
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England, is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was constructed on part of the former station site in the 1990s. Opened in 1844 and part of the Manchester station group, Manchester Victoria is Manchester's second busiest railway station after Piccadilly, and is the busiest station managed by Northern.
Manchester Oxford Road railway station is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the third busiest of the four stations in Manchester city centre.
Meadowhall Interchange is a transport interchange located in north-east Sheffield, consisting of a combined heavy rail station, tram stop and bus and coach station. The second-busiest heavy rail station in the city in terms of passenger numbers, Meadowhall Interchange provides connections between National Rail services, the Sheffield Supertram light rail network, intercity coach services and the city bus network.
Blackpool North station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line and is 17+1⁄2 miles (28 km) northwest of Preston. It also has an adjacent tram stop on the Blackpool Tramway.
Bolton Interchange is a transport interchange combining Bolton railway station and Bolton Bus Station in the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. The station is located on the Manchester to Preston line and the Ribble Valley line, and is managed by Northern Trains. The station is 11+1⁄4 miles (18.1 km) north west of Manchester Piccadilly. Ticket gates have been in operation at the station since 2016.
Gatley railway station is on the Styal Line in Greater Manchester, England. It serves the village of Gatley in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.
The Styal line is a suburban commuter railway line which runs through south Manchester, England; it commences at Slade Lane Junction, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly, and ends 12 miles (19 km) south at Wilmslow.
First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major cities of Northern England as well as Scotland.
Wavertree Technology Park railway station is in the suburbs of Liverpool, at the western end of Olive Mount cutting, on the original Liverpool-Manchester line. The station opened on 13 August 2000, at a cost of £2 million. Train services are operated by Northern Trains.
Brough railway station serves the town of Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is managed by TransPennine Express, and also served by Northern, Hull Trains and London North Eastern Railway.
The Glossop line is a railway line connecting the city of Manchester with the towns of Hadfield and Glossop in Derbyshire, England. It formed part of the historic Great Central Main Line between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield Victoria. Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains.
East Didsbury is a suburban railway station in south Manchester, England. It is sited on the Styal Line between Longsight and Wilmslow, providing direct access between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. East Didsbury tram stop, on the Manchester Metrolink system, is located close by.
Mauldeth Road railway station serves the Ladybarn area of south Manchester, England. It is the first stop after Manchester Piccadilly on the Styal Line to Manchester Airport and Wilmslow, one of the most congested lines on the National Rail network; it was electrified in 1959.
Navigation Road is a station that serves both Northern Trains and Manchester Metrolink trams located in the east of Altrincham, in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of a Northern Trains-operated bidirectional heavy rail platform on the Mid-Cheshire Line opposite a bidirectional light rail platform on the Altrincham Line of Greater Manchester's Metrolink network. The original heavy rail station was opened by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway in 1931 as a pair of single-face platforms, and in 1992 one was given over to the Metrolink network. A level crossing operates at the southern end of the station.
The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of England, operated by Northern Trains. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Atherton Line.
The Mid-Cheshire line is a railway line in the north-west of England that runs from Chester to Edgeley Junction, Stockport; it connects Chester with Manchester Piccadilly, via Knutsford. After Chester Northgate closed in 1969, the section between Mickle Trafford Junction and Chester was used for freight trains only until it closed in 1992; from Mickle Trafford, passenger trains use the Chester–Warrington line to Chester General instead. The route taken by passenger trains has changed over the years and now differs considerably from the original. Between 2001 and 2014, passenger journeys on the line increased to over 1.7 million per year. A near doubling of the passenger service was expected to occur from December 2018, however this did not materialise.
The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottleneck in Manchester. It was predicted to stimulate economic growth in the region. The project had several elements but the prime objective was to eradicate the bottleneck in Manchester and allow trains to travel through the city at speed without stopping. The project was announced as the Manchester Hub in 2009. The project's steering partnership involved Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, East Midlands Trains, CrossCountry, Freightliner, the Department for Transport, Transport for Greater Manchester and Merseytravel.
The Manchester station group is a station group of four railway stations in Manchester city centre, England; this consists of Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria and Deansgate. The station group is printed on national railway tickets as MANCHESTER STNS. For passengers travelling from one of the 91 National Rail stations in Greater Manchester, the four stations are printed as MANCHESTER CTLZ which additionally permits the use of Metrolink tram services in Zone 1.
This is a list of confirmed or proposed future developments of the Manchester Metrolink light rail system in Greater Manchester, England.
As an industry we are really sorry for the impact that this has had on customers. Congestion on the network within the Manchester area has been a factor in the disruption and as all our services run through this corridor this caused a knock-on effect on our services across the North.