Trains at: Manchester Piccadilly, WCML, 24/06/23

A very enjoyable afternoon session spent at Manchester Piccadilly on the West Coast Mainline where we see plenty of services from Avanti West Coast, Transport for Wales, East Midlands Railway, Cross Country, Northern and Transpennine Express.

Manchester Piccadilly wasn't at first called Manchester Piccadilly. It's history and long and varied and very interesting to say the least.

At first the station was opened in 1842, it consisted of 2 platforms, offices and passenger facilities such as a waiting room and toilets. By the time the station had opened the line had been extended to Crewe. During the same time there was a large area cleared for the construction of the station which resulted in the removal of terraced houses and several industrial outlets which would also make way for a railway viaduct to be built.

All of this was done by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway.

In 1846 the Manchester and Birmingham Railway amalgamated with several other companies to form the London & Northwestern Railway.

The station was named Store Street when it was first built by in 1847 was renamed London Road. 2 years later the station was being used by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway when the line to Manchester Oxford Road was completed. It was using a single platform that would serve as the predecessor to the through platforms that are 13 and 14.

By the time the 1850's made an appearance the relationship between the two companies that were using the station had near enough fallen apart so an agreement was made between the two to completely rebuild the station which would allow them both to still use it but have no interaction with one another, the MS&LR was running on the north-eastern side and the LNWR was operating on the south-western side. The station was given a huge make over, a new entrance and concourse was built. A 200 meter long iron and glass trainshed was built which would cover the terminal platforms, during the construction of the roof it collapsed resulting in the fatality of 2 workers and injuring 30 more.

The cause of the accident was determined to be the result of heavy snowfall and strong winds.

Over the course of the next few years both railway companies built warehouses to the northern side of the station and the viaduct to the South was widened to accommodate four tracks.

The peace was not long lasts however as during the next 10 years the station once again started to see far to much passenger usage for the size of the current station so further upgrades were needed to increase the number of platforms. The single use platform was redesigned as an island platform which now stands as platforms 13 + 14 and was connected via a footbridge.

All the completions were finally made in 1882.

Between the years of 1958 and 1966 the station was rebuilt as part of the West Coast Mainline modernisation plan by British Railways and was officially renamed Manchester Piccadilly in 1960.

When the station was being rebuilt it cost roughly £1.7 million which in todays money is around the £38 million Mark.

This was done for the preparation of the electrification of the line and to allow electric trains to run into the station, the actual roof that spans over the station is the same roof that was built all those years ago and has been given some work over the years to keep it safe. It was shortened slightly towards the concourse end of the station.

Most of the other work that was taking place around the station was to relaying of tracks and new signalling being installed as well platforms being made out of solid concrete.

Towards the end of the 1980's platforms 13 and 14 were lengthened for the larger trains operating on the network. During this time a new rail link was being opened which would run right through Manchester which in turn would allow trains from the north of the country to run right into the heart of Manchester instead of having to go around the city which resulted in shorter journey times.

In 2002 the station was yet again given a major overhaul, this was in part to do with the 2002 commonwealth games. As such it meant that £100 million was given. This meant that the glass roof could be worked on which allowed for new plains of glass to be installed and for it to be repainted. A new concourse was built complete with a mezzanine floor which contained shops and various dining outlets. And ever since then various projects have taken place to make the station more appealing with new shops and better facilities for passengers and station staff.

My next station is going to be Manchester Oxford Road.

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