Government to pump ?72 million into rail in Manchester
This funding will deliver a third platform at Salford Crescent station and track improvement work across north Manchester to reduce delays, bottlenecks and station overcrowding.
Manchester Victoria will also have extra entry and exit points to platforms to make it easier for passengers to travel through the station during busier periods.
However, Network Rail withdraw its long-standing proposal to construct platforms 15 and 16 at Piccadilly Station. The Department for Transport asked the body to consider better service options as £26 million had already been injected to improve services at Piccadilly, Airport and Oxford Road Stations.
Many services from Oxenholme and Lancaster, which is where the Lakes[1] Line and Furness Line trains link up with the West Coast Main Line, go to or through Manchester stations.
There is also the Barrow[2] to Manchester Airport service which goes through Chorley, Bolton, Deansgate, Oxford Road, Piccadilly, and Gatley before terminating at the airport.
The government says that a previous investment of £84 million has decreased delays in central Manchester by 40 per cent compared to 2019/20 levels.