One of the UK”s most congested airport railway lines is to benefit from extra capacity.
Network Rail has awarded construction of Manchester Airport”s third railway station platform to Alfred McAlpine, with work slated to begin in the next few weeks for entry into service in December, 2008.
The new ”15m project is being jointly funded by Network Rail, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and The Northern Way, for train services operated by Northern and TransPennine Express.
Congestion is frequently a problem at Manchester Airport station, with an average of eight hourly trains often being forced to wait in a holding pattern. All trains to and from the airport have to pass through the approaches to Piccadilly Station, one of the most crowded sets of railway lines in the UK.
Any current train that is delayed in the Piccadilly area en route to the airport could also be out of sequence when it finally arrives, leading to knock-on effects in the Manchester area and beyond.
”Manchester is the North”s biggest airport, handling more than 60% of the traffic through the region”s airports,” said North West Development Agency chief executive, Steven Broomhead.
”This scheme to increase platform capacity at the airport”s rail station will improve the reliability and punctuality of services to and from the airport across the North.”
The work will also address extra rail services using Manchester Piccadilly in December, 2008.