Manchester station group

A ticket from Manchester Stns to Preston. Any route is permitted so the passenger has a choice of embarking from either Piccadilly, Oxford Road or Deansgate on the First TransPennine Express North West route or the Northern route, or from Victoria by Northern Rail.

The Manchester station group is a station group of four railway stations in Manchester city centre, England consisting of Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria and Deansgate. The station group is printed on national railway tickets as MANCHESTER STNS. For commuters in Greater Manchester the four stations are printed as MANCHESTER CTLZ.

All four stations will subsequently be directly connected by the Ordsall Chord which will be completed in 2017, reducing journey times and allowing for greater flexibility between stations. The Manchester station group does not include Manchester Airport station, nor does it include Salford Central station which was part of the Manchester station group until 1989. Some routes stop at multiple stations in the group such the First TransPennine Northwest route which calls at Deansgate, Oxford Road and Piccadilly.

It is permitted that rail passengers may board or disembark at any one of these four stations.^[1] Local rail passengers from Greater Manchester who travel into Manchester city centre on the train may use Metrolink tram services in the City Zone (between Deansgate-Castlefield, New Islington and Victoria) provided the destination on the orange rail ticket is MANCHESTER CTLZ and on the correct date. National visitors from outside Greater Manchester with MANCHESTER STNS as the destination are not permitted to use Metrolink as it is a locally funded transport service by TfGM and receives no national government subsidy.^[2]

Use on Metrolink

Greater Manchester passengers

Passengers who travel on rail services from the Greater Manchester area into one of the four Manchester stations will be issued with a ticket stating the destination as Manchester CTLZ as opposed to Manchester Picc or Manchester Vic. This allows visitors to use Metrolink trams between stops in the City Zone for free on the presentation of a Manchester CTLZ rail ticket.^[3][4] The Freedom of the City scheme was introduced in 2005 by GMPTE, now Transport for Greater Manchester.^[5] The City Zone includes nine Metrolink tram stops:

• Deansgate-Castlefield (railway station)
• Exchange Square
• Market Street
• New Islington
• Piccadilly (railway station)
• Piccadilly Gardens
• Shudehill
• St Peter's Square (closed until summer 2016)
• Victoria (railway station)

National Rail passengers

Passengers travelling into Manchester from outside the Greater Manchester county are not permitted to use rail tickets to travel around the city centre on the Metrolink. As a consequence the destination on the orange rail tickets is stated as Manchester STNS. The Manchester Metrolink is a locally funded transport system which receives no national subsidy from central government. National Rail passengers can alternatively use the free Metroshuttle bus situated outside stations to get around the city centre.^[4]

Future

A map of the stations in the group and future improvements as part of the Northern Hub.

Many journeys which call at Manchester stations slow down due to the populated nature of Greater Manchester and congested routes; Network Rail have described it as a 'bottleneck'. In 2010 the Manchester hub study was released with a series of proposals to decreasing journey times.

Central to the plan is the Ordsall Chord which will link all four of Manchester's main stations. Two new through platforms will be built at Piccadilly and Victoria will be upgraded. The implementation of the Northern Hub proposals would reduce journey times to and from Liverpool by 15 minutes, Leeds by 15 minutes and Sheffield by 5.^[6]

Stations

In use

Station	Image	Location	Managed by	National services	Annual entry/exit (millions) 2009/10[7]	Annual entry/exit (millions) 2011/12[7]	Annual entry/exit (millions) 2012/13[7]	Annual entry/exit (millions) 2013/14[7]	Annual entry/exit (millions) 2014/15[7]	Open date	Terminal platforms	Through platforms	Category
Deansgate		Deansgate	Northern	Northern TransPennine Express	0.322	0.347	0.350	0.370	0.373	1886	0	2	D
Oxford Road		Oxford Road	Northern Rail	Northern TransPennine Express Trains Wales East Midlands	7.116	7.077	7.149	7.555	7.598	1849	1 (none from 2018 - see Northern Hub)	4	C1
Piccadilly		Piccadilly	Network Rail	Virgin Trains Northern TransPennine Express East Midlands CrossCountry Trains Wales	21.279	18.584	23.158	24.476	24.615	1842	12	2 (4 from 2018 - see Northern Hub)	A
Victoria		Hunts Bank	Northern Rail (Network Rail from 2016)	Northern TransPennine Express	6.667	6.782	6.851	7.241	7.282	1844	2	4	B
Total					35.384	32.079	37.508	39.642	39.868		15	12

Closed

A map of Manchester railway junctions and stations in 1910.

One of the first inter-city railway stations in the world was Manchester Liverpool Road station on Liverpool Street. On 15 September 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened and services terminated at the station. Part of the station frontage remains, as does the goods warehouse. Both of these structures are Grade I protected and are part of the Museum of Science and Industry.

All four of Manchester's termini (Piccadilly, Mayfield, Exchange and Victoria) were not recommended for closure in the first Beeching Report, but the reduced rail traffic caused by the closure of other railway lines meant services were transferred to Piccadilly and Victoria.^[8] Consequently, trains to Exchange and Central stations were withdrawn; the latter was granted Grade II* and later converted into an arena and exhibition centre.

Station	Image	Location	Managed by	Open date	Closed date	Terminal platforms	Through platforms	Notes
Central		Castlefield	London Midland Region of British Railways	1886	1969	9	0	Closed as part of the Beeching cuts in 1969. Now used as a conference and exhibition centre. Was shortlisted for High Speed 2 terminus.
Exchange		Salford	London, Midland and Scottish Railway	1884	1969	0	5	Had the longest platform in the world.
Liverpool Road		Liverpool Street	Liverpool and Manchester Railway	1830	1844	2	0	The first urban train station in the world
Mayfield		Piccadilly	London and North Western Railway	1910	1960 (to passengers) 1986 (closed)	5	0	Located adjacent to Piccadilly. Station remains today and can been seen on approaching Piccadilly.

See also

• Station group
• London station group

References

1. "FAQs - I have bought a train ticket that states Manchester Stations as the destination. Can I use this on the Metrolink in the city centre?". Metrolink. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
2. "Freedom of Information - Subsidies and passenger numbers for National Rail, Manchester Metrolink and London Underground" (PDF). gov.uk. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
3. "Free Travel on the Metrolink" (PDF). TfGM. p. 4. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
4. "Freedom of the City". TfGM. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
5. "Free tram rides for train riders". BBC News. 28 October 2005. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
6. "Northern Hub". Network Rail. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
7. "Station usage". Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
8. "Manchester Exchange". Retrieved 2013-02-09.