Manchester Piccadilly station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Manchester Piccadilly
| |
 | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Manchester City Centre |
| Local authority | City of Manchester |
| Operations | |
| Managed by | Network Rail |
| Platforms in use | 14 |
| Annual entry/exit | 18.958 million * |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | Greater Manchester |
| Zone | City (D) |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1842 |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| * based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Manchester Piccadilly. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Image:Manchester Piccadilly.squiddly.jpg
Manchester Piccadilly station is the principal railway station of Manchester in England, and lies on the Manchester loop of the West Coast Main Line. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central and the south, Glasgow Central, and routes throughout the north of England. It is one of two major railway stations in Central Manchester, the other being Manchester Victoria.
The station was originally opened in 1842 as Store Street, but soon became known as London Road station, the terminus of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, shared with the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. The terminal part of the station contains 12 platforms, while the busiest part of the station is platforms 13 and 14 which served the former Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway, (opened in 1849), which provides the only through route for trains running through Manchester from southeast to northwest (e.g. Bournemouth - Reading - Birmingham - Manchester - Preston - Glasgow).
In 1910 a second terminus, Mayfield station, was opened to cope with the huge volume of passengers. It was closed generally to passenger trains by 1952 but remained in use until 1960 chiefly for one specific passenger train, the Pines Express from Bournemouth to Manchester. It reopened as a parcels depot in 1970 but closed again. The long-disused building is still intact and visible across Fairfield Street from platforms 13 and 14. There has been some speculation [1] that Mayfield may be refurbished to serve once again as an 'overspill' annexe to Piccadilly station.
The station was renamed Manchester Piccadilly when it was rebuilt in 1960 for the new electric train services to London. The glass roof over the terminal platforms was completely replaced in the late 1990s. In 2001-2002, as part of preparations for the 2002 Commonwealth Games the remainder of the station was rebuilt, greatly increasing the size of the station concourse and improving access for road traffic.
In the mid 1990s the station undercroft (2 levels below the main rail platforms) was converted to provide two platforms for the Manchester Metrolink tram system, where Piccadilly station is currently the terminus for services to Bury, Altrincham, and Eccles.
On July 9, 2005, the station was at the centre of a security alert when unattended luggage was found on a train at the station, exactly two days after the July 7th attacks in London. The station was evacuated while bomb disposal units carried out a controlled explosion. The station was later reopened.
Piccadilly station handles approximately 1,000 train movements daily.
[edit] Facilities
At basement level is the Fairfield Street entrance, serving the car park and taxi rank, and the Manchester Metrolink station. Above this, at track level, is a large modern concourse with ticket office and food outlets. Above this is a 2nd level of shops. Glass doors lead to platforms 1 to 12 in the main trainshed. A travolator leads to the "island lounge" linked by footbridge, steps and lift to platforms 13 and 14. This island lounge contains a newsagent and coffee bar. A further food outlet is on platform 13/14.
[edit] Services
[edit] External links
- Station information on Manchester Piccadilly station from Network Rail
- Train times and station information for Manchester Piccadilly station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Manchester Piccadilly station from Multimap.com
| Major UK railway stations |
|---|
| Managed by Network Rail: Birmingham New Street • Edinburgh Waverley • Gatwick Airport • Glasgow Central • Leeds City • Liverpool Lime Street • Manchester Piccadilly |
| Managed by train operator: Aberdeen • Belfast Central • Birmingham Snow Hill • Brighton • Bristol Temple Meads • Cardiff Central • Crewe • Derby • Doncaster • Glasgow Queen Street • Hull • Manchester Victoria • Newcastle Central • Nottingham • Reading • Sheffield • York |
| Railway stations of London: Central area | Greater London |
| Managed by Network Rail: Cannon Street • Charing Cross • Euston • Fenchurch Street • King's Cross • Liverpool Street • London Bridge • Paddington • Victoria • Waterloo |
| Managed by train operator: Blackfriars • Marylebone • Moorgate • St Pancras |
