Here's a perfect example of why ARS is crap, particularly in central Manchester.
Again, if I'd been let through at least before the second train, I'd have been through Oxford Road and on my way to Piccadilly before he'd even presented at Castlefield Jn but obviously ARS will just regulate based on whichever train should have gone through first.
This is not the correct way to do things on such a congested bit of line - indeed, with the thinned out service at that time of the night, trains being delayed by 10 minutes can't be called 'congestion' so much as it must be put down to bad regulation.
It's also worth mentioning that all this also delayed the previously on time Northern Chat Moss stopper:
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y57679/2020-02-11/detailed
(I will add that despite this, we made PPM at the Airport, but that's not really the point)