Manchester Airport High Speed Station is a planned

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

station at Manchester Airport, on the southern boundary of

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, next to Junction 5 of the

M56 motorway The M56 motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, serves the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas of England. It runs east to west from junction 4 of the M60 at Gatley, south of Manchester, to Dunkirk, approximately north of Ches ...

on the northern side of the airport north-west of

Manchester Airport railway station Manchester Airport station is a railway, tram, bus and coach station at Manchester Airport, England which opened at the same time as the second air terminal in 1993. The station is south of Manchester Piccadilly, at the end of a short branch f ...

. Manchester Airport is the busiest airport in the UK outside London and offers more destinations than any other British airport. An airport station was recommended by local authorities during the consultation stage. The government agreed in January 2013 for an airport station, but only on the basis that private investment was involved, such as funding from the Manchester Airports Group to build the station. The government approved the scheme in November 2016. If the station is built, journey times from

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

to Manchester Airport have been estimated at between 59minutes and 63minutes. Additionally, the high speed service will be less than 10minutes from Manchester Piccadilly to the airport – down from 20minutes at present on the congested Styal Line which is used by a mix of commuter, express and freight services and susceptible to delays.

History

In 2020, revised plans were released that saw the number of platforms increased from two to four.

Metrolink tram stop

Current proposals do not detail passenger interchange facilities, but indicate that various options are being considered to integrate the new station with existing transport networks, including extending 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 ...

tram line to serve the HS2 station directly.

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities ...

has proposed that the Metrolink Airport Line — which currently terminates at

Manchester Airport station Manchester Airport station is a railway, tram, bus and coach station at Manchester Airport, England which opened at the same time as the second air terminal in 1993. The station is south of Manchester Piccadilly, at the end of a short branch f ...

— be extended via a new "western loop" around Wythenshawe. This proposed tram line which would cross the

via the Thorley Lane Bridge, with an HS2 interchange stop at Davenport Green, before looping around via

Wythenshawe Hospital Wythenshawe Hospital (previously University Hospital of South Manchester) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, England. It provides general medical services to the local and regional area as well as being a national ...

. Local politicians have begun

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

central government for political support for this extension scheme, which is currently unfunded. Revised proposals published in 2020 include provision for an east-west tram line that serves this station.

Services

Current service proposals will see five trains per hour north to Manchester Piccadilly, three trains per hour south to

Old Oak Common Old Oak Common is an area of Hammersmith, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London. Together with neighbouring Park Royal, the area is intended to become the UK's largest regeneration scheme, the scale of which has led to ...

and

(one service additionally calls at

Birmingham Interchange Birmingham Interchange is a planned High Speed 2 railway station in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, expected to open in 2026. Unlike the city centre based Birmingham Curzon Street railway station, the interchange ...

), and two trains south to Birmingham Curzon Street. The station is also planned to be an intermediate stop on the proposed

Northern Powerhouse Rail Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), sometimes referred to unofficially as High Speed 3, is a proposed major rail programme designed to substantially enhance the economic potential of the North of England. The phrase was adopted in 2014 for a project ...

line.

References

External links

Route section map and profile
{{Rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom High Speed 2 Railway stations in Manchester Proposed railway stations in England Manchester Airport Proposed Manchester Metrolink tram stops