Rail passengers across Manchester are being reminded of potential serious disruption over the Xmas period.

Works to the Ordsall Chord will see train services in and out of Manchester affected at different times, from early Sunday 18 December 2016 until the last service on Monday 2 January 2017.

Oxford Road and Deansgate stations will also be affected and will be closed on December 27 and 31 as well as January 1 and 2. 

All stations will be closed to train services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day as usual.

The work will involve reconfiguring the existing railway between Eccles and Deansgate, Eccles and Manchester Victoria and Deansgate and Salford Crescent stations. 

The track changes will allow the 300 metre chord, a brand new section of railway, to connect with the new layout before work is completed by December 2017. 

Other work will consist of the installation of two new bridges and renovation of one existing bridge on Water Street, the widening of Castlefield viaduct and a new track lay out at Ordsall Lane. 

 There will also be signalling improvements as well as constructing new overhead line equipment.

When finished, The Ordsall Chord, will improve connectivity across the region by linking Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly for the first time. New, direct links to Manchester Airport from the north will also be created.

Throughout these works, TransPennine Express and Northern customers travelling to or from Manchester Airport who may need to cross the city centre between Victoria and Piccadilly stations will be able to use their train ticket to travel on Metrolink services.

Martin Frobisher, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “While I recognise the short-term pain of timetable impacts as we build the Ordsall Chord, I would urge people to keep sight of the long-term gain this scheme will bring them.

“Connecting Manchester’s two main stations removes a pinch-point on the rail network that has existed for more than 100 years. This will improve train travel not just for people in Manchester itself but for passenger across whole of the north of England.

“The Ordsall Chord will also help deliver the key benefits of the Railway Upgrade Plan for the north. There will be quicker, more frequent, more pleasant train journeys between Manchester and Leeds. These improvements will be felt, too, by customers in Newcastle, Hull and other great cities and towns across the region.”

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