NETWORK Rail have released a 3D animation showing how major engineering works will change the face of Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations as part of the wider Northern Hub rail project.
Manchester must address 'long standing bottlenecks which limit the amount of services'.
The video (see here) displays two of the project's key redevelopments:
- The widening of the railway viaduct and the lengthening of platforms at Oxford Road station.
- The installation of two new platforms (platforms 15 and 16) at Manchester Piccadilly.
Northern Hub - Piccadilly
Network Rail have promised more than £1 billion of railway investment across the north of England by 2019, with the aim to deliver 700 more trains each day across the North and provide space for an additional 44 million passengers.
The £600m Northern Hub project is part of this wider programme and includes upgrades to Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Victoria, Manchester Airport and along the Ordsall Chord - which will see a new section by the Castlefield Junction linking Piccadilly with Victoria and Oxford Road stations.
In a recent report published by the Council, forecasts suggest that at Manchester Piccadilly alone, peak demand will increase by 13% by 2019 and 21% by 2024, and all day passenger demand will increase by 26% by 2019 and 39% in 2024.
The reports states that Manchester - as one of the most important rail hubs in the country linking the whole of the north through fourteen key rail corridors - must address 'long standing bottlenecks which limit the amount of services'.
The Northern Hub project intends to meet these demands by accommodating larger trains with more capacity at longer platforms, increasing trains through Manchester from twelve to sixteen an hour, and reducing delays by allowing faster services to overtake trains that have stopped.
Northern Hub - Oxford Road station
The economic benefit of the Northern Hub project, the report claims, will generate up to £4.2 billion and create up to 20,000 to 30,000 new jobs for the region.
The public consultation period for the works has just drawn to a close and planning for the project is expected to be submitted before the end of 2014.
Work is expected to commence in 2016 and be complete completion by 2019.
