Manchester station to shut for two YEARS as plans for major upgrade unveiled

Major plans to upgrade one of Manchester's main train stations have been unveiled.

Oxford Road station would be shut for just over two years under the plans to reduce rail congestion through Manchester city centre with fewer but longer platforms. The proposals published by Network Rail today (January 20), which include new lifts and a footbridge, would allow longer trains with an extra 120 seats to call at the station.

Network Rail says that it currently estimates construction will close the station for just over two years, but this is 'subject to change'. Trains will still be able to run through the station, so the impact on the wider rail network would be limited - although neighbouring stations are expected to be be busier than usual while Oxford Road is closed.

It comes after long-held plans to build two new platforms at Piccadilly station were quietly scrapped in May 2023, more than decade after they were first promised. At the time, Network Rail described the platforms 15 and 16 project as 'hugely expensive' and 'incredibly disruptive', arguing that just remodelling Oxford Road would be the best option.

However, a Network Rail review of the project concluded in 2019 that 'no other option comes close' to increasing capacity on the congested Castlefield corridor to 16 trains per hour than the previous plans. The report, which was never published but has been obtained following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, identifies the Castlefield corridor as the 'ruling Manchester network constraint' and explains that doing nothing would likely worsen services.

It concluded that the package of work which included building two new platforms at Piccadilly as well as lengthening platforms at Oxford Road would achieve the