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Manchester Oxford Road station could close for more than two years for a major refurb

A public consultation has been launched.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 20th January 2025

One of Manchester’s major central train stations could be set to close to the public for more than two years.

Hundreds of trains pass through Manchester Oxford Road each week, but that could soon be set to change, as Network Rail has today launched a public consultation on plans to carry out major upgrades at the station in a bid to “deliver improvements” for passengers and the wider rail network.

Upgrades include longer platforms, track and signalling improvements, and even the construction of a new station footbridge.

Proposed track layout and signalling improvements would reduce congestion by removing conflicting train movements, while overhead line equipment would also be upgraded, as well as over 900m of new track being laid.

Accessibility would also be improved throughout the station, with the proposed new footbridge increasing movement space for passengers and new lifts allowing step-free access to all platforms.

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Wider resurfaced platforms, and improvements to existing lifts are also planned.

Network Rail says the aim of the public consultation is to “give everyone the opportunity to review outline proposals” and to “provide their views” so that these can be taken into account and inform further design.

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Feedback is being invited on all scheme elements – such as design, construction, and the impacts of the scheme on the rail network, environment and community.  

Manchester Oxford Road station could close for more than two years for a major refurb / Credit: Northern

Speaking on the consultation as it launched today, Councillor Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We have said for a long time that Oxford Road Station is in need of a range of improvements from easing the congestion, increasing capacity, improving reliability and ensuring that the station is accessible for all commuters.

“Any future development will be a long-term project but infrastructure upgrades like these are essential if we are to continue growing Manchester as the leading city of the North.”

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The first round of consultation will run up until 28 February, both online via the feedback form available at here, as well as at two drop-in events at Friends’ Meeting House, on Mount Street in the city centre, on Saturday 1 February from 11am-4pm, and Monday 17 February from 2pm-7pm.

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A second round of consultation is due to take place before the end of 2025, and once both consultations have been considered, Network Rail is looking to submit the applications needed to build the scheme next year.

Featured Image – Network Rail

News

Police seize an estimated £6m worth of counterfeit goods from Rochdale industrial units

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Rochdale counterfeit goods

Police have seized an estimated £6 million worth of counterfeit goods from several industrial units in Rochdale.

It comes after the Trading Standards team and officers from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Rochdale Neighbourhood Policing Team attended a joint visit to a business park, at Crown Top Lane, on the afternoon of Thursday 1 May last week, following the receiving of some intelligence that an Organised Crime Gang from Cheetham Hill had extended their operation and opened another site in Rochdale. 

According to GMP, the visit was part of a ‘targeted operation’ tackling organised crime in the Castleton area of Rochdale. 

When police arrived on the scene, seven units containing counterfeit goods – including a range of branded sports trainers, perfumes, luxury accessories, high-end tech products, and illicit cigarettes – were all discovered.

Two men, aged 29 and 70 were present at the site, and they were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession and control of counterfeit goods.

Police have seized an estimated £6m worth of counterfeit goods from Rochdale industrial units / Credit: GMP

They have been bailed pending further enquiries, GMP revealed.

Due to the large scale of the boxed goods, the scene was secured overnight and officers and trading standards returned the following day (Friday 2 May) with a HGV to recover all the items.

Police are now appealing to the public for information, with Inspector Anthony Taylor, from GMP’s Rochdale Neighbourhood Policing Team, explaining that it takes any intelligence submitted by the public ‘seriously’ and acts upon it ‘accordingly’.

“If you have any concerns about organised criminals operating in your area, please get in touch with us,” he concluded.

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Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101, or via the LiveChat function on the GMP website. 

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. 

Featured Image – GMP

News

The annual Manchester Remembers Foundation charity football match has shut down

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Remembers charity game 2025 cancelled

The annual Manchester Remembers charity football match has been cancelled for 2025, and unfortunately, the wider Foundation has also shut down for the foreseeable.

Set up back in 2020, the Manchester Remembers charity game was created to help raise funds for the families of those lost in the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena attack, raising nearly £200,000 in donations for multiple organisations.

It has been a truly treasured community event across Greater Manchester, welcoming thousands to the likes of Manchester City Academy Stadium and Oldham Athletic‘s Boundary Park, as well as spotlighting local musicians and notable figures volunteering their help for a deeply important cause.

However, the Foundation is now set to hang up its boots. Confirming the news over the bank holiday weekend, founders Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan shared “a difficult statement to make and a decision not taken lightly.”

As explained in the lengthy and emotional post, it is with a “heavy heart” that this year’s charity match has now been officially cancelled, and tickets already purchased up to this point are now being refunded.

Having played a small part in helping spread awareness around the game and the Foundation since it began, we were gutted to learn of this sad news.

The 2025 MCR Remembers game was scheduled to take place this June at a new venue for the event, Bury FC’s home ground at Gigg Lane, but following what they have labelled “a lack of support” from Greater Manchester leaders and “influential people needed to carry the event forward.”

Lee – a former police officer turned firefighter who was one of the emergency responders on 22 May, 2017 – went on to share a follow-up video reflecting on the announcement.

As he puts in the piece to camera, he says that even if those who had been reached out to in recent times were to suddenly respond, that it is “sadly too late.”

Taking time to thank not only past sponsors, managers, ex-pros and celebrity players who have been part of the event in the past, but everyone who bought tickets to the event(s) over the past few years, stating simply: “We cant thank you enough.”

Lee, who was given both a Chief Fire Officers Commendation and British Citizen Award in 2024, went on to address those “so-called leaders and influential people” in a subsequent post, adding: “All we needed was a bit of help. But we were ignored. Thanks for the memories.”

Unsurprisingly, the comments on social media have been awash with messages of love, support and sadness upon learning of this year’s cancellation and the end of The Manchester Remembers Foundation after more than half a decade.

There is some hope, though, as he ends the video by saying, “Who knows if this is the end or not? […] I dare say we’ll be back at some point.” We can only keep our fingers crossed he’s right and the MCR Remembers charity game won’t be shut down for good.

Manchester will always remember.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Manchester Remembers Foundation

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