Northern Hub

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Schematic map showing rail improvements around Manchester city centre for the Northern Hub project Northern Hub - Manchester schematic improvements.jpg
Schematic map showing rail improvements around Manchester city centre for the Northern Hub project
Terminating platforms at Manchester Victoria in 2012, before modernisation 158908 at Manchester Victoria station (4).JPG
Terminating platforms at Manchester Victoria in 2012, before modernisation

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. [1] 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. [2] [3] 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. [4] [2]

Contents

Services from Liverpool to Leeds and beyond were diverted from the Liverpool to Manchester line southern route, via Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly, to the more direct electrified Liverpool to Manchester northern route, via Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Victoria; this provides a fast route to and through Manchester. The original proposals included an additional two through platforms at Manchester Piccadilly station which would have allowed a further four trains per hour through the Castlefield corridor, however this was officially cancelled in May 2023. [5]

The refurbishment of Manchester Victoria station was completed in October 2015, this allowed it to become an east-west rail interchange and through station between Liverpool and Leeds. Trains from North-East England to Manchester Airport were planned to use the £85 million Ordsall Chord, between Manchester Victoria and Manchester Oxford Road, to access Piccadilly and would have continue to the airport without reversing at Piccadilly.

The Manchester Hub Study, outlining the project, was released by Network Rail in February 2010. Costs were estimated at £530 million, subsequently reassessed to £560 million. [2] [6] Chancellor George Osborne approved expenditure of £85 million for the Ordsall Chord in his budget on 23 March 2011 [7] and other aspects of the scheme were reviewed to ensure best value. A further £130 million was committed in Osborne's budget of March 2012 [8] and approval for the full scheme was confirmed by the government on 16 July 2012. The first train ran on the chord on 10 December 2017 and the project was completed by 2018. [9] [10]

Support for the scheme wss vociferous from civic and business leaders, due to the high benefit-to-cost ratio, and from politicians, such as George Osborne; but was also criticised for being incremental and only improving the rail network in Northern England to "where it should have been a decade ago". [11] The scheme had a benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of £4 for every £1 invested - double that of Crossrail in London and the proposed High Speed 2 project which in October 2013 had BCRs of £2.10 and £2.30 respectively. [12] [13]

The Northern Hub project was completed in 2020 after the modernisation of Manchester Victoria station, completion of the Ordsall Chord, platform expansion at Manchester Airport and introduction of 138 new purpose-built trains for Northern and TransPennine Express. It has been superseded by the Great North Rail Project. [14] Further projects included High Speed 3 which proposed an upgraded trans-Pennine railway line. A feasibility study of the west to east rail line and its branches into HS2 will be published in March 2016. [15]

Background

Approximately 90% of Arriva Rail North's rolling stock was built in the 1980s, including the unpopular "Pacers" (pictured). As of 2017, the last investment in new-built rolling stock for Northern was in 1998. Northern Rail Class 142, 142071, Eccleston Park railway station (geograph 3795616).jpg
Approximately 90% of Arriva Rail North's rolling stock was built in the 1980s, including the unpopular "Pacers" (pictured). As of 2017, the last investment in new-built rolling stock for Northern was in 1998.

The Northern Hub was proposed in February 2010 to resolve problems around Manchester city centre that restricted route capacity and caused delays.

Network Rail concluded that no single intervention would unlock the bottlenecks but that greater efficiency and enhancement to services was possible. A proposal to use Piccadilly primarily for north-south services and Victoria for east-west services was agreed as the most effective course of action. [20]

The re-alignment of services commenced in May 2014 when First TransPennine Express services between Liverpool and Newcastle were routed through Manchester Victoria rather than Piccadilly. It is expected most TransPennine Express services will pass through Victoria after the May 2018 timetable change after the opening of the Ordsall Chord in December 2017.

Station improvements

The partially complete new roof at Manchester Victoria in July 2014 Manchester Victoria new roof exterior July 2014.jpg
The partially complete new roof at Manchester Victoria in July 2014

Major stations will be improved to include new platforms, station layout re-configuration and redevelopment. Most improvements will be in Manchester aimed at alleviating bottlenecks that delay passing services and restricts routes.

Manchester

Delivered

Victoria station will be re-configured as the Northern England hub for east-west rail services. Once voted the worst station in the United Kingdom, it has received a £44 million transformation including a £20 million roof covering the concourse and four platforms.

At Manchester Airport station a new platform was built creating extra capacity and access for direct services from other cities in Northern England. Construction of the fourth platform began in February 2014 and it opened in Autumn 2015. [21]

Cancelled

Piccadilly's through platforms, 13 and 14, were to have been modernised and two through platforms (15 and 16) built over Fairfield Street to alleviate congestion. [22]

Oxford Road's platforms were to have been lengthened and a footbridge built. The Grade II listed timber grid-shell roof would have been incorporated into the new station design. [23] The surrounding site could be redeveloped with office, residential and leisure space. [24] [25]

These elements of the scheme were cancelled in May 2023. [5]

Salford

Salford Crescent station will be redeveloped at a cost of £12 million and further development could occur should extra capacity be required. [26]

Leeds

At Leeds Station two platforms will be built at a cost of £13.6 million to alleviate congestion. [27]

Elsewhere

Huyton and Roby stations will have two new tracks through the stations to allow faster trains to pass and provide two additional platforms. Burnley Manchester Road station will receive a £2.3 million upgrade before the reinstatement of a direct rail service to Victoria via the re-opened Todmorden Curve in 2015. [28] Dore and Totley railway station will get a second platform and a footbridge for access. The single track will be doubled. [29]

Infrastructure

A diagram showing the Ordsall Chord. Ordsall Chord layout.jpg
A diagram showing the Ordsall Chord.

Northern Hub plans include: [30]

Electrification

Electrification for rail lines out of Manchester is underway or has been approved. [32] While independent of the Northern Hub scheme, they complement it. [33]

Newly installed overhead electrification into Manchester Victoria station, in October 2015 Manchester Victoria western approach.JPG
Newly installed overhead electrification into Manchester Victoria station, in October 2015

Service improvements

A 1900 tiled mural of the rail network of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company at Manchester Victoria. Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway map at Victoria Station.jpg
A 1900 tiled mural of the rail network of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company at Manchester Victoria.

Northern Hub is expected to deliver the following improvements: [47]

319363 at Manchester Oxford Road. The Class 319 provide faster journey times and greater capacity compared to Pacer trains. The refurbished Class 319 entered service in May 2015 between Liverpool and Manchester. 319363 at Manchester Oxford Road (1).jpg
319363 at Manchester Oxford Road. The Class 319 provide faster journey times and greater capacity compared to Pacer trains. The refurbished Class 319 entered service in May 2015 between Liverpool and Manchester.

As part of the Northern Hub scheme; electrification of key lines will enable faster electric trains increasing capacity and lowering journey times. Typically, diesel trains that operated between Manchester and Liverpool such as the Class 142 and Class 156 had a maximum speed limit of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). Following electrification, Class 319 trains reach a top speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) with greater acceleration from stations.

Network Rail has published target times from Manchester to be achieved after the completion of the Northern Hub projects. [2]

Timeline

Ten new Class 350 were introduced to coincide with Newton-le-Willows to Manchester electrification in 2013. The trains operate on the Edinburgh to Manchester route. EMU 350403 at Edinburgh Waverley.jpg
Ten new Class 350 were introduced to coincide with Newton-le-Willows to Manchester electrification in 2013. The trains operate on the Edinburgh to Manchester route.

Network Rail's original aim was for all schemes - including electrification, station upgrades and track work - to be completed by the end of 2018, though this timescale will not be met for the Transpennine electrification.

2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2020
2022
2023

Heritage threat

The historic first passenger railway station, Manchester Liverpool Road, a Grade I listed building, is threatened by the plan. After this project is completed, it will no longer be possible to run trains into or out of the station. The Manchester Museum of Science and Industry management objected to the scheme and an inquiry was set up in 2014 to investigate potential damage to the historic structure. [48]

Future

The Northern Hub may be merged into or superseded by a larger project being called High Speed 3. David Higgins, chairman of the HS2, stated in March 2014 that the Northern Hub scheme is incremental and the benefits of the High Speed 2 will not be fully felt if rail links between Northern cities are not improved. [49] In June 2014, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer stated his vision to see improved transport links between Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds to increase economic productivity. [50] Osborne's proposals were referred to as 'Crossrail of the North' and 'High Speed 3'. In November 2015 Transport for the North (TfN) proposed a four-track trans-Pennine railway line that would link with the HS2 line to London, and a new Liverpool-Manchester airport-Manchester railway line also linked to HS2. A feasibility study of the west to east rail line and its branches into HS2 will be published in March 2016. [15]

See also

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References

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  32. 1 2 3 4 "Electrification in the North". Network Rail.
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