Civic leaders from across the north of England will meet in Leeds today, and will be told that the opening of the £85m Ordsall Chord link through Castlefield has made the overall situation worse – because it was not coupled with the rest of the investment originally proposed back in 2014.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the plan to expand Manchester’s two largest stations has been sitting in Whitehall awaiting sign-off for six years, and has been a direct cause of the ongoing rail chaos in the region.
“Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations had originally been in line for significant upgrades as part of George Osborne’s ‘Northern Hub’ plan in 2014, of which the Ordsall Chord was also part.
At Piccadilly, two extra platforms 15 and 16 were planned, while at Oxford Road remodelled platforms would have allowed for longer trains.” says the paper.
