Manchester Piccadilly station

"Manchester Piccadilly" redirects here. For other uses, see Manchester Piccadilly (disambiguation).

Manchester Piccadilly
Aerial view of Piccadilly station in 2007
General information
Location	Manchester, Greater Manchester England
Coordinates	53°28′37″N2°13′48″W / 53.477°N 2.230°W / 53.477; -2.230
Grid reference	SJ847978
Managed by	Network Rail
Transit authority	Greater Manchester
Platforms	14 (National Rail) 2 (Manchester Metrolink)
Other information
Station code	MAN
Fare zone	City (D)
Classification	DfT category A
Key dates
1842	Opened as Store Street
1847	Renamed Manchester London Road
1861	Rebuilt
1881	Expanded
1960	Renovated and renamed Manchester Piccadilly
2002	Renovated
Passengers
2018/19	30.133 million

Legend

to Bury to Oldham & Rochdale Zone 1 Victoria Shudehill Exchange Square Market Street Piccadilly Gardens St Peter's Square Piccadilly Deansgate-Castlefield ( Deansgate) New Islington Cornbrook to Ashton- under-Lyne stop in both Zone 1 and 2   to MediaCityUK, Eccles & The Trafford Centre Trafford Bar to Altrincham to East Didsbury & Manchester Airport

This diagram: view talk edit

Location

Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop is located at ground level in the undercroft underneath the main line station; an area of the station which was historically used for warehousing, ^[11] it is one of nine stops serving Manchester city centre, within the system's Zone 1. Trams enter the stop from the streets in each direction via short tunnels. There are two platforms: one for eastbound trams towards Etihad Campus and Ashton-under-Lyne, and one for north and westbound trams towards Bury, Eccles and Altrincham. There are steps, lifts and escalators between the platform level and a mezzanine level, along with further steps, lifts and escalators that connect with the main line station's concourse. There are also multiple entrances present at ground level from the surrounding streets. ^[40]

A tram entering Piccadilly from London Road. The tram station is located below the rail platforms in the undercroft.

The tram station was first opened on 20 July 1992, originally being known as Piccadilly Undercroft. As the stop was located directly underneath the main line station platforms, the then station operator British Rail required that it be built inside a protective concrete box, in order to protect the cast iron supports for the main line platforms from the possibility of collision or fire damage. ^{[40] [41]}

As Piccadilly originally served as a terminus of the system, early operations saw one platform being used for arrivals from Altrincham, Bury and later Eccles, with the other platform used for departures. Empty trams ran from the arrival platform into a nearby reversing siding in a tunnel, where they would reverse and then enter the departure platform. From the onset, the stop had been designed with future extension in mind; as such, since the opening of the extension towards Ashton in 2013, the former arrivals platform has also been used for departures towards Ashton as well as terminating trams, while the former departures platform also handles arrivals from Ashton. Terminating trams use a reversing siding on the Ashton line between Piccadilly and New Islington tram stops. ^{[40] [41]}

During 2008, the tram station was refurbished, after which it became the first station to display the new Metrolink corporate identity. ^[42] Station signage bears the yellow and silver livery as applied to the new generation of trams since 2009. ^[43]

According to TfGM, the Piccadilly tram station is one of the most frequented stops on the Metrolink network. ^[44]

It has been proposed by High Speed Two Limited that the existing Piccadilly stop be moved to a four-platform underground station beneath Manchester Piccadilly High Speed station. ^[45] Provision for a second stop at ground-level to the east of the high speed station called Piccadilly Central is also proposed to provide for future expansions of the Metrolink network.

Metrolink services

As of 2024, Piccadilly tram stop is the terminus for Metrolink services to Bury, and Altrincham at most poerating times (see table below), and a major stop on the through services to Eccles, MediaCityUK, Etihad Campus, and Ashton-under-Lyne. ^[46] Services run every twelve minutes on each route at most operating times. ^[47]

Preceding station	Manchester Metrolink			Following station
Piccadilly Gardens towards Bury		Bury–Piccadilly		Terminus
Piccadilly Gardens towards Altrincham		Altrincham–Piccadilly
		Altrincham–Etihad Campus (evenings and Sundays only)		New Islington towards Etihad Campus
Piccadilly Gardens towards MediaCityUK		MediaCityUK–Etihad Campus (peak only)
Piccadilly Gardens towards Eccles		Eccles–Ashton (peak only)		New Islington towards Ashton-under-Lyne
		Eccles–Ashton via MediaCityUK (off-peak only)

Future proposals

In 2009, the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority advocated reopening the neighbouring derelict Mayfield station to alleviate capacity problems but the proposal was not advanced; plans focused on increasing track capacity on the cross-city route between Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations were pursued. ^[48]

Northern Hub

During the early 2010s, Network Rail promoted its Northern Hub plans, estimated to cost in excess of £560 million to improve the heavily congested rail network on the approach into Manchester. ^[49] A pair of through platforms would be constructed at Piccadilly and the station linked to Manchester Victoria via the Ordsall Chord, cutting journey times on Trans-Pennine routes. ^{[50] [51]} The construction of the Ordsall Chord made it possible for trains from the airport to travel via platforms 13 and 14 and Oxford Road to Manchester Victoria and Leeds and via the Calder Valley Line to Bradford Interchange. ^[52]

Phase 2 aims to alleviate congestion at platforms 13 and 14 by constructing a parallel elevated island platform and allow the minimum time between trains to be decreased from four to three minutes, improving reliability. It will allow four more trains per hour to be timetabled to Oxford Road including a second freight to Trafford Park. ^{[53] [54]} Approval for the platforms, at an estimated cost of £200 million, was announced during July 2012. ^[55]

The proposals would simplify train operations at Piccadilly, creating close associations between pairs of lines leading out of the station and particular platforms while requiring only a few crossing moves. Platforms 1 to 4 would be primarily used for services on the 'east' lines, to and from Marple, Glossop and Huddersfield; platforms 5 to 12 would be for services on the 'fast' lines, to and from Crewe and Stoke; through platforms 13 to 16 would be dedicated to services on the present 'slow' lines, to and from Manchester Airport and Hazel Grove. ^[56]

In July 2013, Network Rail consulted on three options for the additional platforms at Piccadilly, all of which would affect local roads and the Grade II listed Star and Garter public house. ^[57]

Construction was originally due to begin in 2016, but the project was delayed indefinitely. ^[58] In 2023, Network Rail stated plans for the new platforms had been shelved to allow improvements to Manchester Victoria and Salford Crescent stations to go ahead instead. ^[59]

High Speed 2

Map of the proposed expansion of Piccadilly for the HS2 project

To accommodate High Speed 2 (HS2), an extension would require four platforms and a 7.5 miles (12.1 km) tunnel under south Manchester to join the West Coast Main Line at Ardwick. Journey times to Manchester Airport would be reduced to 9 minutes from 18, Birmingham 41 minutes from 86 minutes, and London 68 minutes from 128. Station upgrades could include enhanced Metrolink services, improved road access and car parking. The line is planned to be completed by 2032. ^[60]

A major redevelopment of the station and surrounding area has been proposed to complement the HS2 proposals involving the construction of a canopy over the HS2 platforms, the creation of a new entrance, and office, retail and residential development. Designs indicate that the derelict Mayfield Station and the Gateway House office block will be demolished. ^{[61] [62]} The plans were approved by the Government in November 2016. ^{[63] [64]}

In October 2023 the portion of HS2 north of Birmingham was announced to be cancelled at the Conservative Party conference. ^[65]

Northern Powerhouse Rail

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) proposals include the construction of new platforms under Piccadilly station and the proposed HS2 platforms. The 2016 'Manchester Piccadilly Options Assessment' by the National Infrastructure Commission stated: "Addition of Northern Powerhouse Rail and Station to the Manchester Piccadilly system will be the last step of the process of transforming the station in to [sic] a transport super hub. The NPR station and its construction will need to be considered throughout the design and implementation of the other station improvements, which form the station concept but which are delivered earlier. The NPR station is proposed to stay underground on its way east as it passes through Manchester city. This provides opportunities and offers location and orientation alternatives. Staying under the existing Piccadilly station or positioning NPR under the HS2 station box will maximise interchange efficiencies and travel distances. The orientation will also dictate the number of vertical connection cores also referred to as “drums” and their locations. The drums will have the function to connect all levels of transport to one and other [sic] at critical junction points." ^[66]

During October 2017, according to a report to the Manchester City Council’s executive of the various proposals submitted, the development of an underground station has been selected as the preferred option for accommodating the envisioned NPR services, which are speculated to involve the running of up to eight trains per hour, as well as connecting services with the in-development HS2. The importance of directly integrating this underground facility with the existing Piccadilly Station has been emphasised as well; however, the report observes that the necessary financing for the programme is still lacking. ^[67]

References

Citations

1. Historic England. "Train shed at Piccadilly Station (1283014)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 October 2012.
2. "ORR Statistics 2022-23" (PDF).
3. "Office of Rail and Road".
4. "£100m station revamp opens". BBC News. 9 December 2002. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
5. "Network Rail - Enhancements Delivery Plan". Network Rail. September 2016. p. 11. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
6. "Watch: How Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations could look after £1bn redevelopment". Manchester Evening News. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
7. "Piccadilly Station should get two new platforms – but does 'crass stupidity' mean it might never happen?". Manchester Evening News. 8 February 2017.
8. "Castlefield Corridor - Congested Infrastructure Report: Capacity Analysis – System Operator" (PDF). Network Rail. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
9. "Twenty Fourth Supplemental Agreement to the Track Access Contract" (PDF). ORR. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019. It noted that Network Rail had highlighted that the Corridor has congestion issues between 0700 and 2000 and would be more than happy to contractually agree to the additional rights being confined to the proposed hours of operation.
10. Hooper 1995, p. 3.
11. "Network Rail Archive – Manchester Piccadilly". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
12. Manchester Piccadilly Station, Engineering Timelines, retrieved 25 November 2011
13. Hooper 1995, p. 4.
14. Hooper 1995, pp. 4–5.
15. Hooper 1995, pp. 5–6.
16. "Manchester Piccadilly Warehouses". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
17. Hooper 1995, p. 8.
18. Coward, Andy (4 January 2017). "Winning Station". Rail. Peterborough. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
19. Hooper 1995, p. 12.
20. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 11 June 2022.
21. Hooper 1995, pp. 13–16.
22. Hooper 1995, pp. 53–64.
23. SELNEC Picc-Vic Line, SELNEC PTE, October 1971 publicity brochure
24. Whatley, Peter. "Manchester Piccadilly - platforms 9-14 (December 88)". geograph.org. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
25. Whatley, Peter. "Manchester Piccadilly - platforms 9-14 (March 89)". geograph.org. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
26. "A Brief Rail History of Manchester: 1980s developments". Light Rail Transit Association. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
27. Holt, Geoffery (1986). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 10, The North West. David St John Thomas. p. 244. ISBN   0-946537-34-8.
28. "Case Studies: Manchester Piccadilly". CABE. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
29. Hooper 1995, p. 13.
30. Hooper 1995, p. 16.
31. "The Manchester South Junction & Altrincham (BR Class 505) Stock". LNER Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
32. Fry, Eric, ed. (April 1990). Railcars and Electric Stock. Locomotives of the L.N.E.R. Vol. Part 10B. Lincoln: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. pp. 141–143. ISBN   0-901115-66-5.
33. "Better rail services become a reality between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Airport station". Network Rail Media Centre. Network Rail. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
34. "First electric passenger trains finally entering service in Bolton". The Bolton News. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
35. Fairfield Street Bridge, M&BR, Engineering Timelines, retrieved 25 November 2011
36. Piccadilly Station, BDP, retrieved 3 March 2012
37. "Parking – Manchester Piccadilly". National Rail. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
38. "Application for Ticket Gatelines – Manchester Piccadilly". Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
39. Johnston, Peter. "Behind the curve - The Ordsall Chord is a poor choice". Rail technology Magazine. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
40. "Metrolink in the City Centre". Light Rail Transit Association. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
41. "Metrolink Tram Stops: Piccadilly". TheTrams.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
42. "Work: a taster". Hemisphere Design and Marketing Consultants. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
43. "Tram design on the right track". Manchester Evening News. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
44. "Transport Statistics Greater Manchester 2017 Public Transport Section". TfGM. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
45. "Phase 2b Western Leg Information Paper F1: Manchester Piccadilly Station" (PDF). gov.uk . 24 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
46. "Metrolink route map (pdf)" (PDF). TfGM. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
47. "Transport for Greater Manchester tram times". TfGM. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
48. "Forgotten station may return". Manchester Evening News. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
49. “Manchester Hub Rail Study.” ‘’Network Rail’’, February 2010.
50. "£200 million boost for rail in Budget proposals". Railnews. Stevenage. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
51. "The Missing Link: Rail line between Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria stations to boost jobs and business". Manchester Evening News. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
52. “Ordsall Chord.” Archived 25 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine ‘’Network Rail’’, Retrieved: 6 July 2018.
53. “Manchester Hub Rail Study.” ‘’Network Rail’’, February 2010. page 49.
54. “Route Specifications 2011 – London North Western.” ‘’Network Rail’’, 2011. page 35. See also pp. 25 to 30.
55. “Investing in rail, investing in jobs and growth.” ‘’Department for Transport,’’ 16 July 2012.
56. “Manchester Hub Rail Study.” ‘’Network Rail’’, February 2010. page 57.
57. "Our plans: Manchester Piccadilly". Network Rail. July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
58. "Plans sit on Chris Grayling's Desk". Manchester Evening News. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
59. "Salford Crescent: Station upgrade and track revamp planned". BBC News. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
60. "Phase Two Command Paper" (PDF). gov.uk. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
61. "Mayfield SRF" (PDF). Bennetts Associates. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
62. "Portfolio: HS2 Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework". Bennetts Associates. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
63. "HS2: North West and Yorkshire routes confirmed". BBC News. 15 November 2016.
64. "High Speed Two: From Crewe to Manchester, the West Midlands to Leeds and beyond." Department for Transport, Cm9355. November 2016.
65. "HS2 West Midlands-Manchester line to be scrapped". BBC News. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
66. "Manchester Piccadilly Options Assessment" (PDF). 16 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
67. "Underground Northern Powerhouse Rail station proposed for Piccadilly." placenorthwest.co.uk, 16 October 2017.

Bibliography

• Hooper, John (1995). An Illustrated Historical Survey of a Great Provincial Station: Manchester London Road. Challenger Publications. ISBN   1-899624-05-8.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Chester Northgate to Manchester. Middleton Press. figs. 119-120. ISBN   9781908174512. OCLC   892704846.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Crewe to Manchester. Middleton Press. figs. 109-120. ISBN   9781908174574. OCLC   892047119.
• Johnston, Howard (23 September – 6 October 1998). "Piccadilly: Regeneration is still not enough...". RAIL . No. 340. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 42–44. ISSN   0953-4563. OCLC   49953699.
• "Manchester Piccadilly to close for major works". RAIL . No. 346. EMAP Apex Publications. 16–29 December 1998. p. 7. ISSN   0953-4563. OCLC   49953699.

External links

• Train times and station information for Manchester Piccadilly station from National Rail
• Station information on Manchester Piccadilly station, provided by Network Rail
• Tram times and station information for Piccadilly tram stop from Manchester Metrolink

v t e Manchester railways
Legend
City Centre and North Past, present and future
Manchester Metrolink Main line services to Rochdale to Oldham Moston Newton Heath to Bury Newton Heath and Moston Bowker Vale to Tameside Crumpsall Clayton Bridge Abraham Moss Park Woodlands Road to Tameside Queens Road Central Park Monsall Edge Lane Miles Platting Clayton Hall Velopark Oldham Road Holt Town Manchester Victoria Etihad Campus Exchange New Islington to Ordsall Chord and to Salford Ardwick Shudehill Ashburys High Street │ Manchester Piccadilly Mayfield Market Street │ Piccadilly Gardens to South Manchester Exchange Square Gorton Mosley Street Manchester Oxford Road St Peter's Square to Belle Vue Manchester Central │ Deansgate- Castlefield Deansgate Liverpool Road to Hyde Road to Ordsall Chord and to Salford to Tameside Cornbrook Cornbrook Pomona to Eccles Trafford Bar to Trafford to Trafford Firswood to Altrincham to Chorlton