image source, David Dixon/Geography
Salford Crescent railway station is lining up for an upgrade
A railway station in the north of England will be upgraded and the tracks will be refurbished, while a long-promised platform project is scrapped.
The Department for Transport said £72m would be spent on renovations to ease delays, including the third platform at Salford Crescent.
Network Rail says it has shelved plans for two new platforms at Manchester Piccadilly to speed up the process.
Mayor Andy Burnham criticized the decision to cancel the plans.
The grant will also support additional platform access points at Manchester Victoria Station.
‘New approach’
The government says it will make it easier for passengers to pass through the station during busier times.
Network Rail says it has withdrawn plans dating back more than a decade for platforms 15 and 16 at Manchester Piccadilly to tackle crippling rail congestion, the Local Democratic Reporting Service. said.
Plans for new platforms at Manchester Piccadilly are more than a decade old
Chief executive Tim Shoveller said it was “really positive” news, “allowing us to continue to repair the infrastructure around central Manchester so we can run our trains more consistently”.
He added: “We are removing our previous planning app so we can continue with a new approach, which we will be consulting with residents and businesses later this year. “.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said in November there was “a “real” problem” “to deal with” on railways in the North after meeting the mayors of West and South Yorkshire, Manchester, Liverpool and North Tyne, who demanded an end to the “chaos” on the region’s rail network.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester the money was “welcome” but it was “a drop in the ocean when it comes to rail”.
“It’s a much needed investment to support the economy. It’s welcome but it’s not quite what Manchester needs to solve our rail problem.”
Regarding the cancellation of plans for Piccadilly, he said the station expansion plan will continue to be the ambition of regional leaders.
“It’s completely congested and we as a city area are absolutely committed to the 15th and 16th platforms,” ​​he said.
Railways Minister Huw Merriman said: “This new investment will help make train service more reliable for the people of Manchester and beyond, marking another milestone in a decade of innovation. railways across the region.”
Analysis
By Annabel Tiffin, political editor of BBC North West Tonight
Any investment is welcome as passengers in the North West have suffered enough delays and disruptions and £72m is not a number to sniff.
But does the government give with one hand and take away with another?
For a decade there had been plans to build two new platforms at Manchester Piccadilly and upgrade Oxford Road and they have now been cancelled.
Network Rail has been asked to go back to the drawing board and make another choice and Mayor Andy Burnham is certainly not pleased.
He told me he was blindsided by this announcement and didn’t know anything about it until today.
Any investment is good, but the mood among Manchester leaders and some rail experts is that we need less notice and more shovels to have a truly integrated rail system in the West. North.
