With less than two weeks until a £7.9m upgrade to six lines serving Manchester Piccadilly station, passengers are being advised to plan their journeys in advance of a nine-day railway closure.
Beginning on Valentine’s Day (Saturday 14 February) teams from Network Rail and the Central Rail Systems Alliance will be overhauling tracks, points and signalling systems across six lines serving the North West’s busiest railway station.
The work, which covers nearly a kilometre of the railway, will impact on passengers travelling into Manchester and across the wider region for nine days.
As the gateway to Manchester Piccadilly, any faults on this section of railway can have knock-on effects across the entire railway network.
With some of the current infrastructure dating back to the 1980s – this major investment will make the railway more reliable and in turn reduce unplanned disruption for passengers and freight.
The investment of nearly eight million pounds (£7.9m) will see eleven sets of points replaced,9,000m of new cabling laid,timber sleepers upgraded with modern concrete equivalents as well as 5,500 tonnes of new railway foundation stone (ballast) replaced and work tosignalling and other lineside equipment
The vast scale of the work spanning all main lines means no trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly for nine days over February half term (Saturday 14 – Sunday 22).
Today (Tuesday 3 February) passengers are being advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly what to expect from their journey during the essential improvements.
Rebecca Rathore, Network Rail’s North West route strategy director, said:“This work is vital in order to keep passengers and freight on the move reliably for decades to come across both Greater Manchester and wider North West.
“We know that the part closure of Manchester Piccadilly so we can carry out this work will cause some disruption and we’re thankful for everyone’s patience so we can complete these journey improving upgrades. I’d advise anyone planning to travel between 14 and 22 February to check National Rail Enquiries for the smoothest journey possible.”
