Mayfield | |
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General information | |
Location | Manchester, England |
Grid reference | SJ851976 |
Platforms | 4 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | London and North Western Railway |
Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
8 August 1910 | Opened |
28 August 1960 [1] | Closed to passengers |
6 July 1970 [1] | Reopened as a parcel depot |
1986 | Closed |
Manchester Mayfield is a former railway station in Manchester, England, on the south side of Fairfield Street next to Manchester Piccadilly station. Opened in 1910, Mayfield was constructed as a four-platform relief station adjacent to Piccadilly to alleviate overcrowding. In 1960, the station was closed to passengers and, in 1986, it was permanently closed to all services having seen further use as a parcels depot.
After years of abandonment and many proposed development schemes, the station roof was dismantled in February 2013. The site was used for Manchester International Festival in July 2013. [2]
Manchester Mayfield railway station and the surrounding 6.2-acre (25,000 m2) site is the property of London and Continental Railways, the residual government-owned corporation and former partner in Eurostar International. [3]
Opened on 8 August 1910 by the London and North Western Railway, [4] Manchester Mayfield was built alongside Manchester London Road station (later Piccadilly) to handle the increased number of trains and passengers following the opening of the Styal Line in 1909. [5] The LNWR had considered constructing a new platform at London Road between the MSJAR's platforms 1 and 2, which were renumbered 1 and 3 in anticipation, but this was abandoned in favour of the construction of Mayfield; the platforms nevertheless remained renumbered. [6] Four platforms were provided and passengers could reach London Road via a high-level footbridge. [6] [7] Mayfield suffered the effects of bombing during World War II, when it was hit by a parachute mine on 22 December 1940. [8]
Mayfield was a relief station, mainly used by extra trains and suburban services to the south of Manchester. [6] For example, in the 1957-58 London Midland Region timetable, there were trains to Cheadle Hulme, Buxton, Alderley Edge, Chelford and Stockport on weekdays. [9] In the London Midland timetable of September 1951, the Pines Express from Bournemouth West is shown as arriving at Mayfield at 4.30pm (16.30) on Mondays to Fridays. On Saturdays, this train used Piccadilly station, then known as London Road. [10] In the 1957-8 timetable, the Pines Express still arrived at Mayfield on Mondays to Fridays, now at the time of 4.45pm (16.45). [11]
It came into its own for a brief period during the electrification and modernisation of what was to become Piccadilly station in the late 1950s, when many services were diverted to it. [12] It was closed to passengers on 28 August 1960. [1]
The site was converted into a parcels depot, which opened on 6 July 1970. [4] Royal Mail constructed a sorting office on the opposite side of the main line and connected it to Mayfield with an overhead conveyor bridge, which crossed the throat of Piccadilly station. The depot closed in 1986, following the decision by Parcelforce, Royal Mail's parcels division, to abandon rail transport in favour of road haulage. The building has remained disused since then, [13] with the tracks into Mayfield removed in 1989, as part of the remodelling of the Piccadilly station layout. The sorting office was briefly reused as an indoor karting track, but has now been rebuilt as the Square One development, prestige offices used by Network Rail; the parcel conveyor bridge was removed in 2003.
The site is the property of London and Continental Railways. [14] The interior of the station was used in Prime Suspect as a drug dealer's haunt. [4] It was also used as a double for Sheffield railway station in The Last Train . The roadside building was gutted by a fire in 2005. [4]
A study was carried out by Mott Macdonald in 2000, which looked at possibilities of increasing capacity at the Piccadilly station. One solution put forward would see the track quadrupled between Slade Lane Junction and Piccadilly, with a pair of through platforms in the Mayfield goods yard to the south of Piccadilly's platforms 13 and 14 linked to additional running lines to Ashburys station. This proposal was supported by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive as it would increase usable train paths through Piccadilly by between 33% and 50%; the extra track would, however, require an expensive extension to the Piccadilly-Deansgate viaduct carrying the track from Slade Lane. [15] The location of the proposed platforms was also criticised, as it would entail "a long walk for passengers wishing to interchange with other terminating rail services at Manchester Piccadilly or access the city centre." [16]
Other options would have the station used again as a terminus, providing a rail link to Manchester Airport [17] or, alternatively, the lines might be extended through Mayfield and connected to the existing line to Manchester Oxford Road railway station. [4]
Further proposals were put forward in 2009 by the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority for reinstating Mayfield as an operational station, to alleviate capacity problems at Piccadilly Station. [18] However, as part of the Northern Hub railway development scheme across Northern England, Network Rail now plans to increase capacity on the existing Oxford Road-Piccadilly route by widening the viaducts and adding two additional platforms (15 and 16) to the south side of Piccadilly station. [19] There are no plans to re-open Mayfield station for public transport.
In 2008, an alternative scheme involving Manchester Mayfield was put forward. This proposal would see the station as part of a new 30-acre (120,000 m2) city centre district immediately adjacent to Piccadilly Station. This project would create over 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m2) of offices contained in office blocks up to 12 storeys high, and would be completed over a period of 15 years. The scheme is led by "Mayfield Manchester", a joint venture company between Ringset, part of the Wrather Group, and Panamint; the company owns around 90% of the land around the station as of 2008, but do not own the station itself. [13] The future of the former railway station has yet to be decided and Mayfield Manchester were, as of April 2008, said to be in talks with its owners, BRB Residuary.
It has been reported that the station could eventually be converted into a new National Express coach station which would be relocated from its existing facility on Chorlton Street and rebuilt on the western end of the Mayfield Goods Yard with pedestrian links to Piccadilly. A new coach station would be adjacent to the Inner Ring Road and have easy access to the road network. [14] [20]
In a proposal floated in May 2009, the Labour government were said to have earmarked the site as the location of a 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) "super-campus" to house 5,000 civil servants. The construction of the building, if it had been approved by the Treasury, would have commenced in 2012–2013 and required the demolition of Mayfield station. [21] [22]
In November 2013, a planning application was made for conversion of the station to an arts and entertainment venue [23] [24] with a maximum capacity of up to 7,500 people. The application was later withdrawn. [25]
The Mayfield area has been specified as an urban regeneration area and it is proposed to replace the station with offices and residential developments, along with a revived proposal to relocate Whitehall government departments to the area. [26] The wider project for the regeneration of Piccadilly station in anticipation of the construction of the HS2 line to Manchester envisages a major redevelopment of Piccadilly station and the Mayfield area, involving the demolition of both Mayfield station and Gateway House. [27] [28]
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened 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 Manchester 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 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 second busiest of the four stations in Manchester city centre.
Sheffield station, formerly Pond Street and later Sheffield Midland, is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Supertram stop. In 2017–18, the station was the 43rd-busiest in the UK and the 15th-busiest outside London.
Crewe railway station is a railway station in Crewe, Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.
Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth-busiest railway station in the UK outside London. It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the foot of Park Row, behind the landmark Queens Hotel. It is one of 20 stations managed by Network Rail.
Stockport railway station in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, is 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly on the West Coast Main Line to London Euston.
Swansea railway station serves the city of Swansea, Wales. It is 186 miles 7 chains (299 km) measured from London Paddington on the National Rail network.
Blackpool North railway station is the main 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.
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.
Chinley railway station serves the village of Chinley in Derbyshire, England. The station is 17+1⁄2 miles (28.2 km) south east of Manchester Piccadilly, on the Hope Valley Line from Sheffield to Manchester. It is unstaffed and is managed by Northern Trains.
Buxton railway station serves the Peak District town of Buxton in Derbyshire, England. It is managed and served by Northern. The station is 25+3⁄4 miles (41.4 km) south east of Manchester Piccadilly and is the terminus of the Buxton Line.
Sankey railway station, also known as Sankey for Penketh, is a railway station in the west of Warrington, Cheshire, England, serving the Great Sankey, Penketh and Whittle Hall areas of the town. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Trains. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.
Gowerton railway station serves the village of Gowerton, Wales. It is located at street level at the end of Station Road in Gowerton 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) west of Swansea. The station is unmanned but has a ticket machine, shelters on each platform and live train running information displays.
The Pines Express was a named passenger train that ran daily between Manchester and Bournemouth in England between 1910 and 1967.
Marple railway station is on the Hope Valley Line and serves Marple, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is 8.9 miles (14.3 km) south-east of Manchester Piccadilly. The station, opened in 1865 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, was demolished and rebuilt in 1970. It is managed and served by Northern Trains, who provide two trains per hour in each direction.
Belle Vue railway station serves the area of Belle Vue, Manchester, England.
Ardwick railway station in Ardwick, Manchester, England, is about one mile (1.5 km) south-east of Manchester Piccadilly, in an industrial area of east Manchester. Plans to close the station permanently were scrapped in 2006 due to increasing activity in the area. The station has just one train in each direction calling on Monday to Friday in the winter 2019–20 timetable. These trains have additionally called at the station on Saturdays from May 2018.
Northwich railway station serves the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. The station has two platforms and is located on the Mid-Cheshire line 28+1⁄4 miles (45.5 km) southwest of Manchester Piccadilly.
Altrincham Interchange is a transport hub in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of a bus station on Stamford New Road, a Northern Trains-operated heavy rail station on the Mid-Cheshire Line, and a light rail stop which forms the terminus of Manchester Metrolink's Altrincham line. The original heavy rail element of the station was opened by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway as Altrincham and Bowdon railway station in April 1881, changing to Altrincham railway station in May 1974. The Metrolink element opened in June 1992. The Interchange underwent a complete redevelopment, at a cost of £19 million, starting in mid-July 2013. The new bus station opened officially on 7 December 2014.
Hayfield railway station was the terminus of the 3 mi (4.8 km) Hayfield branch from New Mills Central station in Derbyshire, England.
Photographs of the exterior and interior of Mayfield Station:
Manchester railways |
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City Centre and North Past, present and future |