Passengers thanked for their ‘patience’ as Manchester Piccadilly reopens after £7.9m upgrade

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Manchester Piccadilly has now officially reopened after a nine-day closure.

In case you hadn’t heard, Manchester Piccadilly train station closed on Saturday 14 February while a ‘once-in-a-generation upgrade’ was carried out – with very few train services running in or out of the station in the process, and as you’d expect, widespread disruption caused for those travelling around the region.

But thankfully now, after many journeys were impacted for those travelling to and from major destinations like Manchester Airport, and on the West Coast Mainline, the station is now back up and running.

The public are being thanked for their ‘patience’ while the the journey-improving work was carried out this past week.

Network Rail invested £7.9m into the major upgrade, with the main points of action being to improve tracks, points, and signalling systems on the southern approach to Manchester Piccadilly station.

Teams worked to replace 11 sets of points, renew timber sleepers with modern, concrete equivalents, and also bring lineside equipment ‘bang up to date’ across six lines to improve future journeys for passengers and freight.

Investment in this apparent ‘critical stretch’ of track had been long awaited, as any issues with the ageing infrastructure could’ve disrupted all trains running in and out of Manchester.

The closure also resulted in what was said to be one of the largest rail replacement bus operations the city has seen in recent memory, with a total of 8,922 services running over the course of the nine days to keep passengers on the move.

Manchester Piccadilly has now reopened to the public after its £7.9m upgrade / Credit: Network Rail

“We would like to say a big thank you to passengers for their patience while this once-in-a-generation upgrade has taken place over the last nine days,” commented Brian Paynter, who is the Capital Delivery track director at Network Rail.

“Manchester Piccadilly is one of the country’s busiest stations and it’s a key hub for people travelling to the North West.

“Upgrading the track over six lines in what’s known as the Piccadilly corridor will make journeys more reliable and the points and signalling systems less prone to faults – meaning fewer delays for passengers. It’s all part of our long-term commitment to invest millions of pounds to make the North West’s railway fit for the future.”

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Unfortunately thought, the disruption doesn’t quite end there, as this coming Sunday 1 March, and then again on Sunday 22 March, routine follow-up work will take place to secure the new railway foundation stone through a process called tamping.

This will impact trains until passed midday, with passengers advised to check online ahead of time if planning travel on those dates.

Featured Image – Network Rail

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