Manchester station group

"Manchester railway station" redirects here. For the station in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, see Manchester (MBTA station).
A ticket from Manchester Stns to Preston. Any route is permitted so the passenger has a choice of embarking from either Piccadilly, Oxford Road or Deansgate on the First TransPennine Express North West route or the Northern route, or from Victoria by Northern Rail.

The Manchester station group is a station group of five railway stations in Manchester city centre, England consisting of Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Deansgate and Salford Central railway stations.[1] The station group is printed on national railway tickets as MANCHESTER STNS. For commuters in Greater Manchester the five stations are printed as MANCHESTER CTLZ.

All five stations will subsequently be directly connected by the Ordsall Chord which will be completed in 2017, reducing journey times and allowing for greater flexibility between stations. The Manchester station group does not include Manchester Airport station. Salford Central station was not part of the Manchester station group between 1989 and 2016. Some routes stop at multiple stations in the group such the First TransPennine Northwest route which calls at Deansgate, Oxford Road and Piccadilly.

It is permitted that rail passengers may board or disembark at any one of these five stations.[2] Local rail passengers from Greater Manchester who travel into Manchester city centre on the train may use Metrolink tram services in the City Zone (between Deansgate-Castlefield, New Islington and Victoria) provided the destination on the orange rail ticket is MANCHESTER CTLZ and on the correct date. National visitors from outside Greater Manchester with MANCHESTER STNS as the destination are not permitted to use Metrolink as it is a locally funded transport service by TfGM and receives no national government subsidy.[3]

Manchester Central Metrolink lines
Legend
Legend
to Bury
to Rochdale
City Zone

Victoria National Rail
Exchange Square

Shudehill

Market Street
Second City Crossing

Piccadilly
Gardens
http://cycling.tfgm.com/Pages/join-a-hub.aspx
St Peter's Square

Piccadilly National Rail
Deansgate-Castlefield
(National Rail Deansgate)

New Islington
Cornbrook
to
Ashton-
under-Lyne
to
MediaCityUK
and Eccles
Trafford Bar
to Altrincham
to
East Didsbury and
Manchester Airport
|-

Greater Manchester passengers

Passengers who travel on rail services from the Greater Manchester area into one of the five[4] Manchester stations will be issued with a ticket stating the destination as Manchester CTLZ as opposed to Manchester Picc or Manchester Vic. This allows visitors to use Metrolink trams between stops in the City Zone for free on the presentation of a Manchester CTLZ rail ticket.[5][6] The Freedom of the City scheme was introduced in 2005 by GMPTE, now Transport for Greater Manchester.[7] The City Zone includes nine Metrolink tram stops:

National Rail passengers

Passengers travelling into Manchester from outside the Greater Manchester county are not permitted to use rail tickets to travel around the city centre on the Metrolink. As a consequence the destination on the orange rail tickets is stated as Manchester STNS. The Manchester Metrolink is a locally funded transport system which receives no national subsidy from central government. National Rail passengers can alternatively use the free Metroshuttle bus situated outside stations to get around the city centre.[6]

Future

A map of the stations in the group and future improvements as part of the Northern Hub.

Many journeys which call at Manchester stations slow down due to the populated nature of Greater Manchester and congested routes; Network Rail have described it as a 'bottleneck'. In 2010 the Manchester hub study was released with a series of proposals to decreasing journey times.

Central to the plan is the Ordsall Chord which will link all four of Manchester's main stations. Two new through platforms will be built at Piccadilly and Victoria will be upgraded. The implementation of the Northern Hub proposals would reduce journey times to and from Liverpool by 15 minutes, Leeds by 15 minutes and Sheffield by 5.[8]

Stations

In use

Station Image Location Managed by National services Annual
entry/exit
(millions)
2009/10[9]		 Annual
entry/exit
(millions)
2011/12[9]		 Annual
entry/exit
(millions)
2012/13[9]		 Annual
entry/exit
(millions)
2013/14[9]		 Annual
entry/exit
(millions)
2014/15[9]		 Open
date		 Terminal
platforms		 Through
platforms		 Category
Deansgate Deansgate Northern Northern
TransPennine Express		 Increase 0.322 Increase 0.347 Increase 0.350 Increase 0.370 Increase 0.373 1886 0 2 D
Oxford Road Oxford Road Northern Northern
TransPennine Express
Trains Wales
East Midlands		 Increase 7.116 Decrease 7.077 Increase 7.149 Increase 7.555 Increase 7.598 1849 1 (none in future plans – see Northern Hub) 4 C1
Piccadilly Piccadilly Network Rail Virgin Trains
Northern
TransPennine Express
East Midlands
CrossCountry
Trains Wales		 Increase 21.279 Decrease 18.584 Increase 23.158 Increase 24.476 Increase 24.615 1842 12 2 (4 in future plans – see Northern Hub) A
Salford Central City of Salford Northern Northern Increase 0.238 Increase 0.265 Increase 0.321 Decrease 0.316 Increase 0.380 1838 0 2 (5 in future plans – see Northern Hub) E
Victoria Hunts Bank Network Rail Northern
TransPennine Express		 Increase 6.667 Increase 6.782 Increase 6.851 Increase 7.241 Increase 7.282 1844 2 4 B
Total Increase 35.622 Decrease 32.344 Increase 37.829 Increase 39.958 Increase 40.248 15 14

Closed

A map of Manchester railway junctions and stations in 1910.

One of the first inter-city railway stations in the world was Manchester Liverpool Road station on Liverpool Street. On 15 September 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened and services terminated at the station. Part of the station frontage remains, as does the goods warehouse. Both of these structures are Grade I protected and are part of the Museum of Science and Industry.

All four of Manchester's termini (Piccadilly, Mayfield, Exchange and Victoria) were not recommended for closure in the first Beeching Report, but the reduced rail traffic caused by the closure of other railway lines meant services were transferred to Piccadilly and Victoria.[10] Consequently, trains to Exchange and Central stations were withdrawn; the latter was granted Grade II* and later converted into an arena and exhibition centre.

Station Image Location Managed by Open
date		 Closed
date		 Terminal
platforms		 Through
platforms		 Notes
Central Castlefield London Midland Region of British Railways 1886 1969 9 0 Closed as part of the Beeching cuts in 1969. Now used as a conference and exhibition centre. Was shortlisted for High Speed 2 terminus.
Exchange Salford London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1884 1969 0 5 Had the longest platform in the world.
Liverpool Road Liverpool Street Liverpool and Manchester Railway 1830 1844 2 0 The first urban train station in the world
Mayfield Piccadilly London and North Western Railway 1910 1960 (to passengers)
1986 (closed) 		5 0 Located adjacent to Piccadilly. Station remains today and can been seen on approaching Piccadilly.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://iblocks-rg-publication.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/group_stations.pdf
  2. ↑ "FAQs – I have bought a train ticket that states Manchester Stations as the destination. Can I use this on the Metrolink in the city centre?". Metrolink. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  3. ↑ "Freedom of Information – Subsidies and passenger numbers for National Rail, Manchester Metrolink and London Underground" (PDF). gov.uk. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  4. ↑ "ATOC Routing Guide" (PDF). Association of Train Operating Companies. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Free Travel on the Metrolink" (PDF). TfGM. p. 4. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  6. 1 2 "Freedom of the City". TfGM. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  7. ↑ "Free tram rides for train riders". BBC News. 28 October 2005. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  8. ↑ "Northern Hub". Network Rail. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Station usage". Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "Manchester Exchange". Retrieved 2013-02-09.

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