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Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of
Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
, it hosts long-distance intercity and cross-country services to national destinations including
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Exeter, Plymouth, Reading,
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and Bournemouth; regional services to destinations in
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
including
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
,
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
; and local commuter services around
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
. It is one of 19 major stations managed by
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
. The station has 14 platforms: 12 terminal and two through platforms (numbers 13 and 14). Piccadilly is also a major interchange with the Metrolink light rail system with two tram platforms in its
undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...
. Piccadilly is the busiest station in the
Manchester station group The Manchester station group is a station group (for fares purposes) of four railway stations in Manchester city centre, England; this consists of Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria and Deansgate. The station g ...
with over 30million passenger entries and exits between April 2019 and March 2020 (the other major stations in Manchester are Oxford Road and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
). As of March 2020, it is the third-busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London (after Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Central), and is also the fourth-busiest interchange station outside London, with over 2million passengers changing trains annually. The station hosts services from six train operating companies. Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Piccadilly station was refurbished, taking five years and costing £100million (in 2002); it was the most expensive improvement on the UK rail network at the time. Further improvements and expansion plans have been proposed. In December 2014, a Transport and Works Act application was submitted for the construction of two through platforms as part of the ''Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road Capacity Scheme''. As of 2022, this application has not been approved by the incumbent government although Network Rail declared the Castlefield corridor through Manchester 'congested' in September 2019. A new Manchester Piccadilly High Speed station is planned to be built on a viaduct parallel to the north side of the existing station. The station will have six platforms (three islands) for both terminating High Speed 2 trains from London and Birmingham as well as Northern Powerhouse Rail trains to Liverpool, Warrington, Huddersfield, Leeds and beyond. The present Piccadilly Metrolink stop is proposed to be relocated from ground-level below the existing station platforms to a new larger four-platform stop located underground below the high speed station. Provision for a second ground-level Metrolink stop at the eastern end of the high speed station to service future Metrolink extensions, to be called Piccadilly Central, also form part of the plans. A
hybrid bill In the United Kingdom a hybrid bill (which becomes a hybrid instrument or Hybrid Act) is a government measure which affects a particular individual or organisation in a different manner to other individuals or companies in the same class; it thus b ...
was laid in Parliament on 24 January 2022 seeking powers to permit construction of the scheme.


History


Origins

In June 1840, the
Manchester and Birmingham Railway The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway. The M&BR was merged into the London and North Western ...
(M&BR) opened a temporary terminus on its line to Stockport on Travis Street. A large site, long by wide, was cleared of terraced houses and industrial premises to make way for the permanent station ''Store Street'' which was built on top of a viaduct, above ground level. The station was opened adjacent to London Road on 8 May 1842. It had two platforms, offices and passenger amenities and by then the line had been extended to Crewe. Store Street was designed by M&BR's chief engineer, George W. Buck, who designed many of the line's structures including the
Stockport Viaduct Stockport Viaduct carries the West Coast Main Line across the valley of the River Mersey in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England (). It is one of the largest brick structures in the United Kingdom and a major structure of the early railway age ...
.
Charles Hutton Gregory Sir Charles Hutton Gregory (14 October 1817 – 10 January 1898) was an English civil engineer. He was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers between December 1867 and December 1869. Charles was the son of Dr Olinthus Gilber ...
was the assistant engineer. The station was shared from the beginning with the
Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne. The Peak District formed a formidable barrier, and ...
(SA&MR) following an agreement made by the promoters in 1837. The M&BR amalgamated with other railway companies to create the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1846. The SA&MR changed its name to the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...
(MS&LR) three years later.


Manchester London Road

In 1847, the station was renamed ''London Road''. In 1849 the
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester. The MSJ&AR line operat ...
(MSJA&R) began using the station after its line from was extended. Its single platform which opened on 1 August 1849 to the south of, and adjacent to the main part of station, was the predecessor of through platforms 13 and 14. The MSJA&R's line connected to the main line south of the station and formed a through route to the LNWR's line to Liverpool. By the 1850s, London Road was overcrowded and the relationship between the LNWR and MS&LR had deteriorated. In 1862, work started on rebuilding the station to expand it. The rebuild allowed the station to be divided; the MS&LR occupying the north-eastern side and the LNWR the south-western side. The station was given a new entrance building and concourse with each company having separate booking offices and passenger facilities. A long iron and glass
trainshed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
was built over the terminal platforms; it had two wide arched spans, one covering the LNWR platforms and the other the MS&LR platforms. On 20 January 1866, a fatal accident occurred during the roof's construction, when part of it collapsed killing two workmen and injuring 30 others. The enquiry determined that the collapse was caused by strong winds and heavy snowfall. At the same time, the viaduct south of the station to Ardwick was widened to carry four tracks, and both companies built
goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...
s and
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
s to the northern side of the passenger station. Within ten years, the station was again over-crowded as traffic continued to increase and expansion was again required. Between 1880 and 1883, the LNWR widened its side of the station and built more platforms, which were covered by two more wide arched spans to the trainshed. At the same time, the MSJ&AR platform was taken out and rebuilt as an island platform on a girder bridge over Fairfield Street and linked to the main station by a footbridge. In May 1882, the improvements were opened. In 1897, the MS&LR changed its name to the
Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
(GCR); it opened its own direct route from the station to London in 1899. In 1910, the adjacent Mayfield station opened with four platforms to alleviate overcrowding at London Road. The stations were linked by a footbridge. Mayfield station closed to passengers in 1960 and to all traffic in 1986. The derelict station has remained ''in situ'' despite proposed redevelopment schemes including reopening it to relieve demand. In October 2013 the station's roof/canopies were demolished due to safety concerns. Following the 1923 railway grouping, the LNWR amalgamated with several other railway companies to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and the GCR amalgamated with other railways to create the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). The division of the station was maintained and it continued to be operated as two separate stations even after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948: One side was used by the
London Midland Region of British Railways The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
and the other by Eastern Region.


Manchester Piccadilly

Between 1958 and 1966, London Road was rebuilt in the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme undertaken by British Railways. It was renamed "Manchester Piccadilly" on 12 September 1960. Piccadilly is the name of a road and Piccadilly Gardens nearby. The London Midland Region rebuilt the station at a cost of £1.75million (equivalent to £ million at prices) in preparation for electric train services to London. Most of the station was rebuilt, except for the Victorian trainsheds which remained mostly unaltered, although the two 1880s spans were shortened towards the concourse end. The station was reconstructed in two phases, 1958–1960 and 1963–1966; the break was the result of a national credit squeeze restricting funding for railway modernisation. The former MSJA&R through platforms and bridges over Fairfield Street were rebuilt on a prestressed concrete slab bridge with cantilevered sides for the tracks. The layout in the trainshed was reconfigured to add several platforms. A new concourse and entrance were built, alongside which was a ten-storey office block which housed British Rail staff. On 11 May 1966, work was completed for the introduction of electric expresses to London. The approach to the station was also redeveloped. The LNWR goods warehouse alongside the station approach closed in 1965 and a curved office block, Gateway House, was opened in its place in 1969. Piccadilly remained open throughout the reconstruction, but there was disruption, and many trains were diverted to Manchester Mayfield or stations. When the work was completed, those stations were no longer required; they were closed and their services were diverted into Piccadilly.


Picc-Vic tunnel and Metrolink

In the early 1970s, an underground station, ''Piccadilly Low Level'', was proposed as part of the Picc-Vic tunnel project. publicity brochure This scheme proposed creating a direct rail link between Piccadilly and , by building a tunnel and several underground stations under
Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
. The project was cancelled in the late 1970s, because of the high cost, and transport planners turned instead towards light rail as a lower-cost option. This resulted eventually in the
Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Ki ...
system which opened in the early 1990s linking the two stations by a street-level
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
way and linking two converted rail lines to Altrincham and Bury. The
tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, ...
in the station's undercroft opened in 1992.


Windsor Link

Between 1988 and 1989, Piccadilly's through platforms 13 and 14 were further lengthened, in conjunction with the opening of the Windsor Link chord in
Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, which allowed trains from places to the north of Manchester, such as , , Blackpool and Scotland, to run directly into Piccadilly via the through platforms and continue south to destinations such as , and (from 1993 onwards) . Once completed, it allowed for many services from the north to be diverted from , which was reduced in size. This enhanced Piccadilly's status as Manchester's main station. The link was opened in 1988; it was declared to be fully operational the following year.


2002 redevelopment

Between 1998 and 2002, in preparation for the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...
, the station underwent a £100million redevelopment. The glass roof of the trainshed, which is a Grade II listed structure, was reglazed and repainted. A new main entrance and enlarged concourse with a mezzanine level, designed by BDP, replaced the 1960s structure, which had become insufficient for the number of passengers regularly using the station. A moving walkway was installed to take passengers from the concourse to platforms 13 and 14 on the far south side of the station, which had previously necessitated a long walk. Another entrance was also created on Fairfield Street, which provides access to a new taxi rank along with a drop-off point for private cars.


Electrification

The station is unusual in having seen two different systems of overhead railway electrification: The first electrified line into London Road was the MSJA&R line to , a busy commuter route. It was electrified with overhead lines, energised at 1,500 V DC in 1931. London Road was the terminus of the electrification scheme which ran through to the through platforms. The second line to be electrified using 1,500 V DC was the LNER's Woodhead Route from Manchester to Sheffield. Work on the scheme commenced in the late 1930s, but was stopped due to the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, before being restarted in the early 1950s. Electrification was completed in September 1954. The two electric 1,500 V DC lines ran into different parts of the station. 25 kV AC overhead electrification, adopted as the national standard by British Railways, was brought to London Road/Piccadilly in the
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
electrification scheme starting in the late-1950s. The main line was electrified to by 1960 and London by 1966. At the same time, the 1,500 V electrification on the Altrincham line was cut back to Oxford Road to where the new system was extended from the south. The Altrincham line was converted to 25 kV in 1971. The two systems co-existed for a number of years. The Woodhead Route was closed as a through line in 1981, but local services to Glossop and Hadfield continued to be operated by 1,500 V trains until the line was converted to 25 kV during 1984. During the 2010s, the
Northern Hub The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottlenec ...
scheme saw electrification extended from Manchester to Liverpool in 2015, and Manchester to Preston and through to Blackpool in 2019.


Architecture

The
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
roof which is wide between platforms 1 and 12, comprises four spans; two of the spans, in length, were built over the eastern part of the station during the 1860s while the other two, at the western side measuring , were constructed in the early 1880s. The roof is supported by masonry walls at the outer edges, which have round-headed windows alongside platforms 1 and 12, and rows of
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...
columns along the platforms in its interior space. The roof spans have an arrangement of
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
es with supporting cast iron
strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...
s on girders, which are evenly spaced between the columns. As built, the roof was largely covered with slates with some areas of glazing; over time, the slates were replaced with boarded felt. Between 1997 and 1999, the station roof was refurbished and the traditional
cladding Cladding is an outer layer of material covering another. It may refer to the following: *Cladding (boiler), the layer of insulation and outer wrapping around a boiler shell *Cladding (construction), materials applied to the exterior of buildings ...
was replaced with around 10,000 panes of toughened glass that 'float' above the wrought iron trusses. Layers of nets have been installed, to catch falling glass in the event of any of the panes were to break. Below the train shed is the undercroft that was used as a goods station. Cast iron columns and brick arches support the terminal platforms directly above. Since the early 1990s, the undercroft accommodates the Metrolink station, its tracks, sidings, and car parking. Before it was reused for the Metrolink, the cast-iron columns throughout the undercroft were encased in concrete as a protective measure against collision. George W. Buck designed the original skew arch bridge over Fairfield Street; it had ten cast iron arch ribs, which formed one part of the brick arch viaduct, and was topped with open stonework
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
s. The bridge was subsequently widened and wrought iron plate girders and transverse girders were added to support longitudinal joists with iron arch plates. In the 1960s, in the reconstruction programme, the cast iron arches and
spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...
s were encased in concrete. Platforms 13 and 14 are situated on top of this bridge. Many of the original station buildings were demolished during the 1960s to clear the way for a new approach. The main entrance leads to a concourse with ground floor, and since the 2000s, mezzanine levels. The Fairfield Street entrance leads to the Metrolink station in the undercroft and is linked to the rail platforms by escalators. Between 1997 and 2002, a redevelopment programme revised the station's layout and a glass partition wall with ticket barriers separating the concourse from the platforms was constructed. The station's approach leading to the end of Piccadilly was constructed in 1969 along with the "wavy" fronted Gateway House designed by the architect
Richard Seifert Richard Seifert (born Reubin Seifert; 25 November 1910 – 26 October 2001) was a Swiss-British architect, best known for designing the Centre Point tower and Tower 42 (previously the NatWest Tower), once the tallest building in the City of ...
. Gateway House was modernised during 2003.


Facilities

The Fairfield Street entrance, at basement level, serves the car park, the taxi rank, and the Metrolink station. Above it at track level is a concourse into which the main entrance feeds, housing ticket offices, information points, seating, timetables, toilets, shops, and food and drink outlets. Above the concourse is a second level of food outlets and bars, and the
Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
First Class Lounge. On the main concourse, doorways in a large glass partition wall access platforms 1 to 12. A
travelator A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...
leads to the upper concourse linked by a footbridge, steps and lift to platforms 13 and 14. The island lounge contains retail outlets, toilets and a departure lounge. There are vending machines, waiting areas and snack bars on platforms 13 and 14. Manchester Piccadilly is accessible for disabled people and has escalators and lifts to all levels, wide-access doors and gates,
braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille disp ...
signs, hearing loops and disabled toilet facilities. Cycle racks are available on Fairfield Street and the long-stay car park and next to the tower block at the station front. During March 2010, Manchester City Council and Network Rail unveiled plans for a 'Cycle Centre' to provide secure facilities and on-site maintenance and hire services. The station has a taxi rank, drop-off/pick-up point, and short- and long-stay car parks. accessible from Fairfield Street. The long-stay multi-storey car park is at the rear of the station. Ticket barriers were installed in Autumn 2016 between platforms 3 and 7, following an application by Virgin Trains. Ticket barriers were fitted on platforms 1-3 by TransPennine Express, Platforms 9-12 remain ungated but for most of the day are staffed with ticket inspectors.


Layout

Platform 1 is on the north side of the station and the through platforms 13 and 14 are on the south side. Of the terminus platforms, * Platforms 1-4 are typically used by eastbound services to ,
New Mills New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut t ...
and via the Hope Valley Line, services on the Glossop Line, and
TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...
services to Huddersfield. Northern services to Crewe are also frequently seen from these platforms. * Platforms 5-9 are the longest and are used mainly by
Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
and CrossCountry services. Platform 5 usually sees the local Northern services to Chester & Stoke-On-Trent. Platform 9 sees the use of the TransPennine Express services from Cleethorpes - Manchester Airport. * Platforms 10-12 are considerably shorter than the others and are usually used to accommodate local trains to and , plus Mid-Cheshire line,
Buxton Line The Buxton line is a railway line in Northern England, connecting Manchester with Buxton in Derbyshire. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Northern Trains. History The line has its origins with the Stockport, Disley and Wh ...
and South Wales services; platform 12 is the shortest and can only accommodate four coaches. The main entrance and concourse are to the front of the terminal platforms and the taxi and car drop-off entrance is on the southern side on Fairfield Street. The Metrolink tram line passes under the station through the undercroft. Its platforms are under the concourse and railway platforms. To the south of Piccadilly, on the opposite side of Fairfield Street, is the derelict station, which was closed for railway use in 1986.


Services

The station has 12 terminus platforms, for services terminating from locations to the south of Manchester, and two through platforms 13 and 14. The platforms are split into A and B sections to allow more than one train to stand. The through platforms 13 and 14 are used by through services via to
North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...
,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, North West England,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, North East England,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, and through services from Manchester Airport. Manchester Piccadilly is currently served by six train operating companies:


Avanti West Coast

* 3tph to , each with different stopping patterns: ** 1tph calling at , and ** 1tph calling at , , , and ** 1tph calling at , , and Class 390 ''Pendolino'' units operate all Avanti West Coast services.


CrossCountry

* 1tph to , calling at , , , , , , , , , , and , extending to every other hour, calling at , , , , , and . * 4tpd to calling at , , , , , , , and . All CrossCountry services are regularly operated by Class 220 ''Voyager'' and Class 221 ''Super Voyager'' units.


East Midlands Railway

* 1tph to calling at , , , and * 1tph to via , calling at , , (irregular), , , , , , , and These services are operated by Class 158 ''Express Sprinter'' units and occasionally Class 156 "Super Sprinter" units.


Northern Trains

* 1tph to calling at , , , , , ** 11tpd continue to calling at , , , , (irregular), , , , and ** 4tpd continue to calling at , , , and * 2tph to calling at , , , , , , (1tph), (1tph), , , , , , , (1tph) and . On Sundays this is reduced to 1tph calling at all stations. * 1tph to via calling at , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . * 5tph to , each with different calling patterns. Additional services to calling at are provided by Transport for Wales. ** 2tph calling at , , , , and , of which 1 continues to (see below), 1tph on Sundays ** 1tph calling at and . ** 1tph calling at and . On Sundays this service calls at and instead of . ** 1tph calling at only. Monday to Saturday only. * 1tph to via calling at , , , , , , , , , , and . On Sundays this train terminates at . * 1tph to via calling at , , , , , , , , , , and . * 1tph to calling at , , , , , and . Monday to Saturday only. * 1tph to calling at , , , , , , , , and . Some additional morning peak hour services start at Macclesfield. The Sunday service is 6tpd. * 1tph to via calling at , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . The Sunday service is 1 train per 2 hours. * 1tph to calling at , , , , , , (1tp2h), , , , , , (1tp2h) and . Additional trains run at peak times. and are served by alternate trains. * 1tph to calling at , , , , and . Monday to Saturday only. * 2tph to calling at , , , , , , , , and . is additionally served on Sundays. * 4tp3h to calling at , Fairfield, , , , , and . Monday to Saturday only. * 1tph to calling at , , , , , , , , and . Monday to Saturday only. * 1tph to calling at , , , , , , , , , , . , and . is served at peak times and all day on Sunday. These are operated by a variety of trains including Class 150, Class 156 and Class 158 DMUs or Class 319,
Class 323 The British Rail Class 323 are electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995, although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 ...
, or Class 331 EMUs.


TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express operate services on three routes. North TransPennine * 1tph non-stop to . Calls at on Sundays. * 1tph to calling at , , , , , , , , , , , , and . * 1tph to , calling at , , , , ** 1tp2h continues to , calling at , , and . ** 1tp2h continues to , calling at , , , and . * 1tph to calling at , , , , and . South TransPennine * 1tph to , calling at , (limited), , , , , , , and . * 1tph to , calling at , , , , (limited), , and . Sunday services always call at and do not call at or . Anglo-Scottish Route * 1tph to calling at , , , , , ** 1tp2h continue to calling at , and ** 1tp2h continue to calling at, , and * 1tph non-stop to . Class 185 ''Desiro'' units operate most TransPennine Express services, with the exception of the Scottish services which are operated by Class 397 ''Civity'' units.


Transport for Wales

* 1tph to via the North Wales Coast Line calling at , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . Two trains per day run to on weekdays only and some evening terminate at . * 1tph to calling at and . * 1tph to via the Welsh Marches Line calling at , , , , (irregular), (irregular), , , , , (irregular), (irregular), and , continuing alternately to or . Most of these services are worked by Class 175 ''Coradia'' units. Class 158 ''Express Sprinter'' and occasionally Class 150 ''Sprinter'' units are seen operating these services when 175s are not available.


Piccadilly tram stop

The Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop is located at ground level in the
undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...
underneath the main line station; an area of the station which was historically used for
warehousing A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, tow ...
, it is one of nine stops serving
Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
, 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 Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
, 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. 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. 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. During 2008, the tram station was refurbished, after which it became the first station to display the new Metrolink corporate identity. Station signage bears the yellow and silver livery as applied to the new generation of trams since 2009. According to TfGM, the Piccadilly tram station is one of the most frequented stops on the Metrolink network. 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. 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 2019, Manchester Piccadilly stop is the terminus for Metrolink services to Bury and Altrincham, and a major stop on the through services between Eccles and MediaCityUK and
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
. Services mostly run every 12 minutes on all routes.


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.


Northern Hub

During the early 2010s,
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
promoted its
Northern Hub The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottlenec ...
plans, estimated to cost in excess of £560million to improve the heavily congested rail network on the approach into Manchester. A pair of through platforms would be constructed at Piccadilly and the station linked to Manchester Victoria via the
Ordsall Chord Ordsall Chord, also known as the Castlefield Curve, is a short railway line in Ordsall, Salford, England, which links and Manchester Oxford Road to , designed to increase capacity and reduce journey times into and through Manchester. It allow ...
, cutting journey times on Trans-Pennine routes. 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 The Calder Valley line (also previously known as the Caldervale line) is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail routes ...
to Bradford Interchange. 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. Approval for the platforms, at an estimated cost of £200million, was announced during July 2012. 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. 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. Construction was originally due to begin in 2016, but the project has now been delayed indefinitely.


High Speed 2

To accommodate High Speed 2 (HS2), an extension would require four platforms and a tunnel under south Manchester to join the
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
at Ardwick. Journey times to Manchester Airport would be reduced to 9minutes from 18,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
41minutes from 86minutes, and London 68minutes from 128. Station upgrades could include enhanced Metrolink services, improved road access and car parking. The line is planned to be completed by 2032. 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. The plans were approved by the Government in November 2016.


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 ica 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 icat critical junction points." 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."Underground Northern Powerhouse Rail station proposed for Piccadilly."
''placenorthwest.co.uk'', 16 October 2017.


References


Citations


Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

*
Station information
on Manchester Piccadilly station, provided by
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

Tram times and station information
for Piccadilly tram stop from
Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Ki ...
{{Railway stations served by CrossCountry Railway stations in Manchester Former Great Central Railway stations Former London and North Western Railway stations Former Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway stations DfT Category A stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1842 Network Rail managed stations Railway stations served by CrossCountry Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Northern franchise railway stations Railway stations served by TransPennine Express Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Railway stations served by Avanti West Coast Tram stops in Manchester Tram stops on the Altrincham to Piccadilly line Tram stops on the Bury to Ashton-under-Lyne line Tram stops on the Eccles to Piccadilly line Grade II listed buildings in Manchester William Robert Headley railway stations Stations on the West Coast Main Line